Awareness of our immediate environment is often cited as a dying sense, clouded by the fog of technology and notifications, blinded by incessant screen use and the always-on nature of modern life and work. Google’s new Little Signals home sensors project, developed by the company’s Seed Studio in collaboration with London’s Map Project Office, is a suite of ‘unassuming but charming objects’ that reinvent the art of the notification.
Strictly conceptual for the time being, Little Signals consists of six different devices, each utilising a different method of unconventional communication to attract attention without unnecessary distraction – a tightrope walk that modern technology usually fails to master.
Little Signals ambient home sensors
The Little Signals Family (image courtesy of Google Seed Studio and Map Project Office)
The six objects – Air, Button, Movement, Rhythm, Shadow, and Tap, offer an array of subtle nudges using sound, movement, and visual cues. The end result verges on the realm of hauntology, adding a barely perceptible layer of animation to the home in the form of taps, knocks, and flickering shadows.
Describing the objects as a collection of ‘thought starters’, Map Project Office and the Google Seed Studio hope this array of unassuming but charming objects are forerunners of a new era of ambient computing.
It certainly makes a change from barking at Alexa or patiently spelling things out to the Google Assistant – both devices that offer colossal improvements in convenience but hardly encourage a more reflective or contemplative approach to life.
See how each of the Little Signals communicates below.
'Air' interacts with its close surroundings. Pulses of air move nearby objects, like the leaves of a plant, to attract attention (image courtesy of Google Seed Studio and Map Project Office)
'Button' combines scale and sound to communicate and provide control. The top twists – right for more details, left for less – and grows as it receives information (image courtesy of Google Seed Studio and Map Project Office)
'Movement' features seven pegs that graphically represent information – like a calendar or timer – through their height and motion. The pegs work individually or as a group, and are tapped for simple input (image courtesy of Google Seed Studio and Map Project Office)
'Rhythm' generates ambient sounds. Qualities of the melody convey qualities of the information, like its importance, urgency, or tone. A wave over the object, or simply turning it over, mutes it (image courtesy of Google Seed Studio and Map Project Office)
'Shadow' communicates through the movements of the shadow it casts. They show the object’s status, like gently breathing when active or stretching in response to presence (image courtesy of Google Seed Studio and Map Project Office)
'Tap' makes use of surfaces to create sounds that act as notifications. A stronger tap means more pressing news (image courtesy of Google Seed Studio and Map Project Office)
INFORMATION
More information at littlesignals.withgoogle.com
-
Designer Marta de la Rica’s elegant Madrid studio is full of perfectly-pitched contradictionsThe studio, or ‘the laboratory’ as de la Rica and her team call it, plays with colour, texture and scale in eminently rewarding ways
-
‘Nothing just because it’s beautiful’: Performance artist Marina Abramović on turning her hand to furniture designMarina Abramović has no qualms about describing her segue into design as a ‘domestication’. But, argues the ‘grandmother of performance art’ as she unveils a collection of chairs, something doesn’t have to be provocative to be meaningful
-
A local’s guide to Los Angeles by defiant artist Fawn RogersOregon-born, LA-based artist Fawn Rogers gives us a personal tour of her adopted city as it hosts its sixth edition of Frieze
-
Layer conceptualises a next-gen AI-powered device: introducing the PiAPiA, the Personal Intelligent Assistant, is a conceptual vision of how AI might evolve to dovetail with familiar devices and form factors
-
Point, shoot and process with Lomography’s two new colourful Instax camera editionsWith the Pemberley and The Blues editions, the Lomo’Instant Square Glass camera provides stylish and pocketable analogue photography
-
We put the new ultra-compact Dyson Car+Boat handheld vacuum through its pacesA cordless handheld vacuum pitched at a plethora of tasks, Dyson has tasked the new Car+Boat with far-reaching functionality without compromising performance
-
The Century Series, Philips goes retro to celebrate over 100 years of audio innovationDutch audio brand Philips has drawn on its extensive archive to shape the form of the five Century devices, all of which offer stylish ways to enjoy vinyl, radio and more
-
E-ink comes of age: the best new tablets for distraction-free reading and writingWe explore the world of E-ink tablets to find the best device for handwriting input, editing, sketching and light computing duties
-
Loop’s quiet revolution: design-conscious earplugs that really workThe makers of Loop earplugs offer ever-more colourful and functional options to allow anyone to turn life down a little
-
Leica’s SL3-S is its newest camera, an upgrade of its pro-grade full-frame systemPhotographers and videographers are catered for by the Leica SL3-S’ performance upgrades and expanded compatibility
-
Shine on: Yaber brightens home entertainment with two new compact projectorsYaber showcased new projectors at CES 2025 – its first ultra-short-throw device, as well as an ongoing collaboration with the estate of Keith Haring
