This past summer, I UROP’ed (basically doing research or any other projects assigned to me) with CityHome in the MIT Media lab. Watch their video below to see what they’re all about.
It’s been a wonderful learning experience; I’ve improved upon some project management skills, technical skills, presentation skills, the list can go on. They have a working prototype already, but now their going into the next phase of making the design more robust. My task was more user-oriented; I was to create a platform using Processing, a graphic coding language, that would show a visual representation of a CityHome module.
Everyone’s needs for their home are different. CityHome is meant to be an entire apartment in 200sqft of space, and it includes a bed, a 6-person dining table which also functions as a desk, a kitchen, a bathroom area, and space for storage. But what if the user doesn’t need the bed? What if they just want it as a guest room and therefore don’t need the kitchen? What if they don’t want to pay for the table? With the many differences in users’ needs, CityHome has to be able to be customizable. YourCityHome can help build and visualize your own personal CityHome.
Since this project is rather involved, I first drew up a plan of the steps I’d take to finish it, or at least be moving towards the final draft, before the summer finishes. I won’t go into all the details, but I basically broke everything up into smaller chunks and gave myself time to test things out. There were many iterations with different functions that I will later go in to. Below is the video of me using the “final” product. Hopefully I can UROP with them again and make YourCityHome more robust and aesthetically pleasing. There’s definitely a lot of potential in this project, and I hope to continue with it.
Draw. Paint. Design. 