RemoteFeeder was designed for the author's relational practice with his girl friend in long-distance relationship. The device consists of two parts: an automatic food dispenser to serve food to May and a “feeding bowl”, which is an awareness system and a remote control. The dispenser is installed in Claire’s flat and, of course, needs to be loaded with food by her. The feeding bowl is kept by me. A sensor registers when May hungrily claws the food dispenser and transmits this to the feeding bowl. The bowl then vibrates and makes noises, as if May is scratching the bowl in my place. Taking the bowl up and holding it in a sloping position sends a signal to dispense food into May’s bowl.
Reference: W.-C. Chien & M. Hassenzahl. 2017. Technology-Mediated Relationship
Maintenance in Romantic Long-Distance Relationships: An Autoethnographical Research through
Design. Human–Computer Interaction.
