The concept is two sets of a seed and a pod. The seed contains an opening with a microphone for speaking or recording sounds and a speaker for the transmission of the content. The seed is used to talk and listen into while the pod represents the base that the seed nests into in order to send the data content. When one of the users sends a message, the seed begins to glow. When the seed is touched or picked up, the speaker end of the seed also illuminates and the message starts to play after a one second delay. When the message is completed, the user shakes the pod to erase the message and the speaker end of the seed illuminates to encourage a response. To respond, the user talks or records sounds into the microphone end of the seed. The seed is glowing throughout; once completed, the seed is placed into the Pod, at which time the data is transferred and this is indicated by the light moving through the Seed to the Pod to indicate a flow of data. When the data is sent, the Pods lights turn off.
Source: Feltham, F., Vetere, F., and Wensveen, S. 2007. Designing tangible artefacts for playful interactions and dialogues. In Proceedings of the Conference on Designing Pleasurable Products and Interfaces (DPPI’07). ACM Press, 61–75.
