May 24 2008
Ripple faucet – visualization of water temperature
The ‘RIpple Faucet’ designed by Smith Newnam brings new interactions to faucets. The faucets that we are used to have to manipulators; hot and cold that also controls the flow of the water, or with a thermostat faucet, one for the temperature and one for the flow. The design eliminates this separation of controlling the flow and temperature, with one single movements both can be set. (article continues below)
Operation
The amount of water that comes out the faucet, called flow, is operated by dragging the ball away from the center. The farther away from the center the more water comes out of the faucet. The faucet has basically four ‘flow settings’ since there are four ridges in which the ball falls. To operate the temperature the ball can be dragged in one of the ridges to the left or right, left is hot and right is cold.
Feedback
In faucets we use nowadays our feedback is the temperature of the water itself. We can burn our hands or we see steam coming from the hot water. In the case of thermostats we see which temperature is chosen on the temperature know, but it is not very distinctive and if anyone would set the temperature to sixty degrees, chances to still burn your hands are real.
In the case of the Ripple Faucet the color represents the ‘hotness’ or ‘coolness’ of the water. Leds below the surface that controls the ball light up, red for warm and blue for cold. Users also get feedback in the form of light intensity, the farther the ball is from the center (the more water exits the faucet), the higher the intensity is of the light. In one quick view you get direct about your chosen setting.
Critique
Overall we like this concept at a lot, the chosen interactions are intuitively and will be playful for first time users. There could arise some problems with first time use in for instance in hotels or other places where users have to interact with the product for the first time. It is not directly clear how to use the product, our guess is that most users don’t understand they have to manipulate the ball. A more practical problem is what happens if you loose the ball? Or what happens if you have multiple balls?
We are sure going to keep a close eye at designer Smith Newnam.
Via Yanko For more visuals check Smith Newnam or more information Touch360 Studio
September 26th, 2008 at 6:32 pm
Hello Smith Newnam, its a very innovative concept from interaction point of view. Congratulations! I am very keen to know your thoughts on color-blind users who would not be able to recognize the temperature looking at the color indications. Thanks.
October 5th, 2008 at 4:45 pm
very nice design.very great innovation.I hope we can buy on the market recently.
February 6th, 2009 at 8:18 pm
Good Design.
March 23rd, 2009 at 11:46 pm
My first thought is how long before I drop the ball down the drain?
Is the tap off when I am holding the ball in my hand? To have the same behaviour when it’s in my hand as when it’s in the middle would be redundant. And it raises the question of what value is there in making a piece that can be removed?
May 8th, 2009 at 7:22 pm
[...] More about the ripple faucet here [...]
May 20th, 2009 at 4:15 pm
lets see:
- more complicated but has less features (what if i want a level of flow that’s in between one of the predefined levels)
- less intuitive, the ball will be disgusting w/ soap within a week
- more fragile and has more parts to require maintenance
- requires an electrical connection along w/ plumbing thus increasing infrastructure costs.
this will never be suitable for any large scale deployments.
sounds like a solution to a problem that doesn’t exist.
cute thought experiment, hope you didnt put to much money in it.
May 21st, 2009 at 12:56 pm
@Michael,
Thanks for your elaborate contribution! You are right that the solution is more complex and might not solve a real problem. I think the point Smith Newnam wanted to make is that the product experience of a faucet can be more playful or interesting instead of a standard faucet.
I too doubt large scale deployment.