Yulia Silina
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The Distant Heart

" Distance never separates two hearts that really care..."

The Research outline


The long distance relationships are a prevalent cause of stress and can generate a profound sense of longing and nostalgia. It is common to use a variety of methods to stay in touch with each other. But despite wide availability of audio, video and written communications, it is not unusual for us to experience occasions when all we want is to share a moment with the loved-ones and let them know that we are thinking of them without having to say or write any words. It is equally important to know that the other person cares and thinks about one, even if they do not necessarily directly communicate such emotions in voice or writing.

One of the cultural practices that allow individuals to intimately and meaningfully conjure up memories and presence of each other is an ancient practice of exchanging love-tokens and keepsakes such as wedding rings and pendent lockets. The rapid development of the new multidisciplinary field of computational jewelry (colloquially known as smart or digital jewelry) is on a brink of merging technological potential of wearables with aesthetic and cultural significance of jewellery. But as the field is young, there are many unanswered questions.

The Distant Heart is a computational necklace, developed as a part of the research into rectifying the emotional void created when families, friends and loved ones move away from each other. The system was designed for two people that love and miss each-other, but are separated by distance. One of them would measure and share his or her heartbeat through a dedicated Twitter account, another would wear The Distant Heart necklace just as any other necklace. When the necklace wireless detects the shared heartbeat, it would have it revealed to the wearer, giving an intimate glimpse of the other person.



Publication:


Yulia Silina, Hamed Haddadi, "The Distant Heart: Mediating Long-Distance Relationships through Connected Computational Jewelry”, May 2015, available on arXiv [paper]


Public presentations


2015: 11-24 May
Digital Shoreditch
Shoreditch Town Hall, London UK

2015: 10-11 March 
The Wearable Technology Show
ExCel Center, London UK

2014: 5-6 November
Wearable Showcase 
as part of Innovate UK 2014
Old Billingsgate, London UK

2014: 15 November. 10:00-18:00
London Mini Maker Fair 
London College of Communication, Elephant & Castle SE1 6SB

2014: 20-21 September. 10:30-17:00
Victoria & Albert Museum
Cromwell Road, London SW7 2RL

2014: 17 September. 10:00-15:30 
Media & Arts Technology Centre
Queen Mary, University of London, School of Electronic Engineering And Computer Science
Mile End Road London E1 4NS

Appendix C


CC2014  Collaborators: Victoria & Alberts museum and Media & Arts Technology Centre at Queen Mary University of London
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