SweetHearts – tasty 3D printed chocolate rewards for exercise. Via 3DPrint.com:
From the SweetHearts project video:
We present SweetHearts that creates 3D printed chocolates displaying cheerful messages using the heart rate data of physical activity. Our work expands the view on representing physical activity data through the use of edible materials such as chocolates, which additionally serves as a hedonic reward for doing the physical activity. Ultimately, with this work, we aim to inspire and guide design thinking on food printing, which we believe opens up new interaction possibilities to support the physical activity experience. (read more)
And from Khot’s PhD research site:
Visualization can play an important role in enriching the experience of being physically active. Supporting this, previous works in the field of Human Computer Interaction (HCI) have created different digital representations of physical activity. However, the focus of these works has been primarily on increasing the awareness about physical activity and prompting users for the next achievable health goals. Inspired by the recent advancements in digital fabrication and sensing technology and fueled by the various engagement opportunities at disposal with material representations, I put forward an alternative design strategy: to represent physical activity in the form of material artifacts.
The aim of this work is to contribute to the understanding of the design of such material representations for physical activity. Following a research through design approach, I have designed three exemplary systems each exploring a different aspect of representation. The first one is a system called SweatAtoms that constructs 3D printed material artifacts using the measured heart rate of individuals engaged in physical activity. Next, I have designed two systems that make physical activity outcomes (such as heart rate) edible in the form of 3D printed personalized chocolates and the mixture of flavored sports drinks. Following “in the wild” study practices and cultural probing, I will deploy these systems in different homes to gather and investigate users’ experience with each of these systems….
Every Thursday is #3dthursday here at Adafruit! The DIY 3D printing community has passion and dedication for making solid objects from digital models. Recently, we have noticed electronics projects integrated with 3D printed enclosures, brackets, and sculptures, so each Thursday we celebrate and highlight these bold pioneers!
Have you considered building a 3D project around an Arduino or other microcontroller? How about printing a bracket to mount your Raspberry Pi to the back of your HD monitor? And don’t forget the countless LED projects that are possible when you are modeling your projects in 3D!
The Adafruit Learning System has dozens of great tools to get you well on your way to creating incredible works of engineering, interactive art, and design with your 3D printer! We also offer the LulzBot TAZ – Open source 3D Printer and the Printrbot Simple Metal 3D Printer in our store. If you’ve made a cool project that combines 3D printing and electronics, be sure to let us know, and we’ll feature it here!