0:00:00.000,0:00:03.000 My name is Kate Hartman. 0:00:07.000,0:00:09.000 And I like to make devices 0:00:09.000,0:00:11.000 that play with the ways 0:00:11.000,0:00:13.000 that we relate and communicate. 0:00:13.000,0:00:16.000 So I'm specifically interested in how we, as humans, 0:00:16.000,0:00:18.000 relate to ourselves, each other 0:00:18.000,0:00:21.000 and the world around us. 0:00:28.000,0:00:32.000 (Laughter) 0:00:32.000,0:00:34.000 So just to give you a bit of context, 0:00:34.000,0:00:37.000 as June said, I'm an artist, a technologist and an educator. 0:00:37.000,0:00:39.000 I teach courses in physical computing 0:00:39.000,0:00:41.000 and wearable electronics. 0:00:41.000,0:00:43.000 And much of what I do is either wearable 0:00:43.000,0:00:46.000 or somehow related to the human form. 0:00:46.000,0:00:48.000 And so anytime I talk about what I do, 0:00:48.000,0:00:50.000 I like to just quickly address 0:00:50.000,0:00:52.000 the reason why bodies matter. 0:00:52.000,0:00:55.000 And it's pretty simple. 0:00:55.000,0:00:57.000 Everybody's got one -- all of you. 0:00:57.000,0:00:59.000 I can guarantee, everyone in this room, 0:00:59.000,0:01:01.000 all of you over there, the people in the cushy seats, 0:01:01.000,0:01:03.000 the people up top with the laptops -- 0:01:03.000,0:01:05.000 we all have bodies. 0:01:05.000,0:01:07.000 Don't be ashamed. 0:01:07.000,0:01:09.000 It's something that we have in common 0:01:09.000,0:01:12.000 and they act as our primary interfaces for the world. 0:01:12.000,0:01:15.000 And so when working as an interaction designer, 0:01:15.000,0:01:17.000 or as an artist who deals with participation -- 0:01:17.000,0:01:21.000 creating things that live on, in or around the human form -- 0:01:21.000,0:01:24.000 it's really a powerful space to work within. 0:01:24.000,0:01:26.000 So within my own work, 0:01:26.000,0:01:29.000 I use a broad range of materials and tools. 0:01:29.000,0:01:32.000 So I communicate through everything from radio transceivers 0:01:32.000,0:01:34.000 to funnels and plastic tubing. 0:01:34.000,0:01:36.000 And to tell you a bit about the things that I make, 0:01:36.000,0:01:38.000 the easiest place to start the story 0:01:38.000,0:01:41.000 is with a hat. 0:01:41.000,0:01:43.000 And so it all started several years ago, 0:01:43.000,0:01:46.000 late one night when I was sitting on the subway, riding home, 0:01:46.000,0:01:48.000 and I was thinking. 0:01:48.000,0:01:51.000 And I tend to be a person who thinks too much and talks too little. 0:01:51.000,0:01:53.000 And so I was thinking about how it might be great 0:01:53.000,0:01:55.000 if I could just take all these noises -- 0:01:55.000,0:01:57.000 like all these sounds of my thoughts in my head -- 0:01:57.000,0:01:59.000 if I could just physically extricate them 0:01:59.000,0:02:01.000 and pull them out in such a form 0:02:01.000,0:02:04.000 that I could share them with somebody else. 0:02:04.000,0:02:07.000 And so I went home, and I made a prototype of this hat. 0:02:07.000,0:02:09.000 And I called it the Muttering Hat, 0:02:09.000,0:02:12.000 because it emitted these muttering noises 0:02:12.000,0:02:14.000 that were kind of tethered to you, 0:02:14.000,0:02:16.000 but you could detach them 0:02:16.000,0:02:19.000 and share them with somebody else. 0:02:20.000,0:02:25.000 (Laughter) 0:02:25.000,0:02:27.000 So I make other hats as well. 0:02:27.000,0:02:29.000 This one is called the Talk to Yourself Hat. 0:02:29.000,0:02:31.000 (Laughter) 0:02:31.000,0:02:33.000 It's fairly self-explanatory. 0:02:33.000,0:02:37.000 It physically carves out conversation space for one. 0:02:37.000,0:02:39.000 And when you speak out loud, 0:02:39.000,0:02:43.000 the sound of your voice is actually channeled back into your own ears. 0:02:45.000,0:02:47.000 (Laughter) 0:02:47.000,0:02:49.000 And so when I make these things, 0:02:49.000,0:02:52.000 it's really not so much about the object itself, 0:02:52.000,0:02:55.000 but rather the negative space around the object. 0:02:55.000,0:02:58.000 So what happens when a person puts this thing on? 0:02:58.000,0:03:00.000 What kind of an experience do they have? 0:03:00.000,0:03:03.000 And how are they transformed by wearing it? 0:03:06.000,0:03:08.000 So many of these devices 0:03:08.000,0:03:11.000 really kind of focus on the ways in which we relate to ourselves. 0:03:11.000,0:03:14.000 So this particular device is called the Gut Listener. 0:03:14.000,0:03:16.000 And it is a tool 0:03:16.000,0:03:18.000 that actually enables one 0:03:18.000,0:03:21.000 to listen to their own innards. 0:03:21.000,0:03:28.000 (Laughter) 0:03:28.000,0:03:31.000 And so some of these things 0:03:31.000,0:03:33.000 are actually more geared toward expression and communication. 0:03:33.000,0:03:35.000 And so the Inflatable Heart 0:03:35.000,0:03:37.000 is an external organ 0:03:37.000,0:03:40.000 that can be used by the wearer to express themselves. 0:03:40.000,0:03:43.000 So they can actually inflate it and deflate it 0:03:43.000,0:03:45.000 according to their emotions. 0:03:45.000,0:03:48.000 So they can express everything from admiration and lust 0:03:48.000,0:03:51.000 to anxiety and angst. 0:03:51.000,0:03:53.000 (Laughter) 0:03:53.000,0:03:55.000 And some of these are actually meant 0:03:55.000,0:03:57.000 to mediate experiences. 0:03:57.000,0:04:00.000 So the Discommunicator is a tool for arguments. 0:04:00.000,0:04:02.000 (Laughter) 0:04:02.000,0:04:05.000 And so actually it allows for an intense emotional exchange, 0:04:05.000,0:04:07.000 but is serves to absorb 0:04:07.000,0:04:10.000 the specificity of the words that are delivered. 0:04:10.000,0:04:16.000 (Laughter) 0:04:16.000,0:04:18.000 And in the end, 0:04:18.000,0:04:20.000 some of these things just act as invitations. 0:04:20.000,0:04:23.000 So the Ear Bender literally puts something out there 0:04:23.000,0:04:25.000 so someone can grab your ear 0:04:25.000,0:04:27.000 and say what they have to say. 0:04:27.000,0:04:29.000 So even though I'm really interested in the relationship 0:04:29.000,0:04:31.000 between people, 0:04:31.000,0:04:33.000 I also consider the ways 0:04:33.000,0:04:35.000 in which we relate to the world around us. 0:04:35.000,0:04:38.000 And so when I was first living in New York City a few years back, 0:04:38.000,0:04:40.000 I was thinking a lot about 0:04:40.000,0:04:42.000 the familiar architectural forms that surrounded me 0:04:42.000,0:04:45.000 and how I would like to better relate to them. 0:04:45.000,0:04:47.000 And I thought, "Well, hey! 0:04:47.000,0:04:49.000 Maybe if I want to better relate to walls, 0:04:49.000,0:04:51.000 maybe I need to be more wall-like myself." 0:04:51.000,0:04:53.000 So I made a wearable wall 0:04:53.000,0:04:55.000 that I could wear as a backpack. 0:04:55.000,0:04:57.000 And so I would put it on 0:04:57.000,0:04:59.000 and sort of physically transform myself 0:04:59.000,0:05:01.000 so that I could either contribute to or critique 0:05:01.000,0:05:03.000 the spaces that surrounded me. 0:05:03.000,0:05:05.000 (Laughter) 0:05:05.000,0:05:08.000 And so jumping off of that, 0:05:08.000,0:05:11.000 thinking beyond the built environment into the natural world, 0:05:11.000,0:05:14.000 I have this ongoing project called Botanicalls -- 0:05:14.000,0:05:16.000 which actually enables houseplants 0:05:16.000,0:05:18.000 to tap into human communication protocols. 0:05:18.000,0:05:20.000 So when a plant is thirsty, 0:05:20.000,0:05:22.000 it can actually make a phone call 0:05:22.000,0:05:25.000 or post a message to a service like Twitter. 0:05:25.000,0:05:29.000 And so this really shifts the human/plant dynamic, 0:05:29.000,0:05:32.000 because a single house plant 0:05:32.000,0:05:34.000 can actually express its needs 0:05:34.000,0:05:37.000 to thousands of people at the same time. 0:05:37.000,0:05:39.000 And so kind of thinking about scale, 0:05:39.000,0:05:41.000 my most recent obsession 0:05:41.000,0:05:45.000 is actually with glaciers -- of course. 0:05:45.000,0:05:48.000 And so glaciers are these magnificent beings, 0:05:48.000,0:05:51.000 and there's lots of reasons to be obsessed with them, 0:05:51.000,0:05:53.000 but what I'm particularly interested in 0:05:53.000,0:05:55.000 is in human-glacier relations. 0:05:55.000,0:05:57.000 (Laughter) 0:05:57.000,0:05:59.000 Because there seems to be an issue. 0:05:59.000,0:06:01.000 The glaciers are actually leaving us. 0:06:01.000,0:06:03.000 They're both shrinking and retreating -- 0:06:03.000,0:06:05.000 and some of them have disappeared altogether. 0:06:05.000,0:06:08.000 And so I actually live in Canada now, 0:06:08.000,0:06:10.000 so I've been visiting one of my local glaciers. 0:06:10.000,0:06:12.000 And this one's particularly interesting, 0:06:12.000,0:06:14.000 because, of all the glaciers in North America, 0:06:14.000,0:06:17.000 it receives the highest volume of human traffic in a year. 0:06:17.000,0:06:20.000 They actually have these buses that drive up and over the lateral moraine 0:06:20.000,0:06:23.000 and drop people off on the surface of the glacier. 0:06:23.000,0:06:25.000 And this has really gotten me thinking 0:06:25.000,0:06:27.000 about this experience of the initial encounter. 0:06:27.000,0:06:31.000 When I meet a glacier for the very first time, 0:06:31.000,0:06:33.000 what do I do? 0:06:33.000,0:06:37.000 There's no kind of social protocol for this. 0:06:37.000,0:06:39.000 I really just don't even know 0:06:39.000,0:06:41.000 how to say hello. 0:06:41.000,0:06:44.000 Do I carve a message in the snow? 0:06:44.000,0:06:46.000 Or perhaps I can assemble one 0:06:46.000,0:06:48.000 out of dot and dash ice cubes -- 0:06:48.000,0:06:50.000 ice cube Morse code. 0:06:50.000,0:06:52.000 Or perhaps I need to make myself a speaking tool, 0:06:52.000,0:06:54.000 like an icy megaphone 0:06:54.000,0:06:56.000 that I can use to amplify my voice 0:06:56.000,0:06:58.000 when I direct it at the ice. 0:06:58.000,0:07:00.000 But really the most satisfying experience I've had 0:07:00.000,0:07:02.000 is the act of listening, 0:07:02.000,0:07:04.000 which is what we need in any good relationship. 0:07:04.000,0:07:07.000 And I was really struck by how much it affected me. 0:07:07.000,0:07:10.000 This very basic shift in my physical orientation 0:07:10.000,0:07:12.000 helped me shift my perspective 0:07:12.000,0:07:14.000 in relation to the glacier. 0:07:14.000,0:07:16.000 And so since we use devices 0:07:16.000,0:07:20.000 to figure out how to relate to the world these days, 0:07:20.000,0:07:23.000 I actually made a device called the Glacier Embracing Suit. 0:07:23.000,0:07:25.000 (Laughter) 0:07:25.000,0:07:28.000 And so this is constructed out of a heat reflected material 0:07:28.000,0:07:30.000 that serves to mediate the difference in temperature 0:07:30.000,0:07:33.000 between the human body and the glacial ice. 0:07:33.000,0:07:36.000 And once again, it's this invitation 0:07:36.000,0:07:40.000 that asks people to lay down on the glacier 0:07:40.000,0:07:43.000 and give it a hug. 0:07:43.000,0:07:45.000 So, yea, this is actually just the beginning. 0:07:45.000,0:07:47.000 These are initial musings for this project. 0:07:47.000,0:07:50.000 And just as with the wall, how I wanted to be more wall-like, 0:07:50.000,0:07:54.000 with this project, I'd actually like to take more a of glacial pace. 0:07:54.000,0:07:56.000 And so my intent 0:07:56.000,0:08:00.000 is to actually just take the next 10 years 0:08:00.000,0:08:04.000 and go on a series of collaborative projects 0:08:04.000,0:08:06.000 where I work with people from different disciplines -- 0:08:06.000,0:08:08.000 artists, technologists, scientists -- 0:08:08.000,0:08:10.000 to kind of work on this project 0:08:10.000,0:08:13.000 of how we can improve human-glacier relations. 0:08:14.000,0:08:17.000 So beyond that, in closing, 0:08:17.000,0:08:20.000 I'd just like to say that we're in this era 0:08:20.000,0:08:23.000 of communications and device proliferation, 0:08:23.000,0:08:26.000 and it's really tremendous and exciting and sexy, 0:08:26.000,0:08:28.000 but I think what's really important 0:08:28.000,0:08:30.000 is thinking about how we can simultaneously 0:08:30.000,0:08:33.000 maintain a sense of wonder and a sense of criticality 0:08:33.000,0:08:36.000 about the tools that we use and the ways in which we relate to the world. 0:08:36.000,0:08:38.000 Thanks. 0:08:38.000,0:08:44.000 (Applause)