Sometimes the most ubiquitous, boring objects are the ones most in need of an overhaul. These everyday textures can become so commonplace that they are unconsciously accepted, and we never stop to rethink and question them. However, taking the time to pay attention to these things can breathe new life into them, making people’s lives easier in ways nobody had thought of.
Take your average glass drink bottle and make the top twist off. Suddenly the need for clumsy bottle openers on every vending machine is obsolete. Add a spring mechanism to the inside of a pen. You have removed the need for easily lost caps. Replace the rotary dial on a telephone with buttons and you eliminate the finger yoga and frustration associated with making a phone call. Some people still have a fascination with the old way, but these new technologies catch on quickly due to their inherent speed and usability.
One everyday item that has yet to jump the usability barrier is the daily cup of hot coffee or tea. There have been a flood of attempts to make these easier to use, including styrofoam cups, Java Jackets, and my personal favorite, the plastic lid. These lids retain heat, become soft and change shape, and force you to drink through a tiny hole that focuses the burning liquid onto one spot in your mouth. Due to their lack of usability, these lids now have warnings embedded all over them, thankfully included in braille for the blind. That is, providing they want to get second degree burns on their fingertips to find out the liquid inside is hot.
Enter Dynamic Textures. April Tsui has invented a new material that, when activated by heat or pressure, translates two dimensional patterns into three dimensional shapes. The result is a cup that emulates a pufferfish, with spikes that stick out, not allowing you to grab the cup and pour the possibly scalding liquid onto your tongue until it has reached a cool enough temperature to drink.
As effective as this is, some people may have an aversion to this technique, particularly those that hold their coffee between their legs on the morning commute. Thankfully, she also offers a more subtle approach to making sure you don’t accidentally pour your drink all over yourself. This variation of the material stays two dimensional until you have the lid on your cup securely. When your beverage is safe, the material pushes out to form the grips used to hold and enjoy your morning refreshment.
While these may currently be experimental projects, considering how many times I have been fooled by a cup into thinking it wasn’t a dribble glass, I would love having the latter design on my desk. Meanwhile, April has been working with NASA to translate these textures onto Aerogel, which could have some amazing new implications.
They may not know what the full possibilities are of combining these futuristic directions, but they know it’s worth looking at. It’s worth the time and effort of exploring and rethinking what they have in order to find solutions that are exponentially better. By spending the time to look at the objects and solutions you use every day, you can end up revolutionizing everyday life.
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