Recently, Ovü and I made it into the Jorno do Brasil. Pretty cool.
Archive for the 'Ovü' Category
Yes, I am going to obliterate any remaining possibility of every getting a date in the future - by future, I mean as long as I am searchable on the web - by continuing to blog about issues of fertility, monthly cycle monitoring and making babies (’cause you know that is the first thing EVERYONE wants to talk about.)
So here goes: I found this app, called Mon.thly.info, in my RSS last week and was too tired from my broken hand to type it all out. Basically, you add in some dates about your cycle and it generates stats based on that. Email reminders are sent out when estimated start date is indicated (based on the numbers of the average woman’s cycle. Therefore, irregular cycles need not apply here.)
The interface is very web 2.0 and quite fun. I didn’t feel weird having it open in the browser, as I often do with so many other sites on fertility and monthly cycle monitoring. That’s a plus (no pun intended.)
I haven’t put any information in but plan to update the post once I know more about the core functionality. My fave parts so far are that it provides an average cycle duration and YOUR normal day of ovulation (not the textbook date.) It lets you know also what stage of the cycle you are in, which most women I have spoken to do not even know themselves (aka: “follicu-what?!”)
I’m curious, though, how it knows the stage of the cycle you’re in if your stages are based upon ovulation which is indicated by factors other than just the number of the date since the start of the cycle. Have to chat with these guys…
Ovü was recently shown on television in Brazil. Here’s the feedback from my Brazilian reps:
The format of this program “Atualíssima” is a afternoon live daily show hosted by 2 journalists that talk about daily live issues. They did an interesting thing; since Ovu has had a very good media exposure they talked briefly about it and ask for viewers to call or email the tv program in order to find out if they know the project and its purpose. Turns out, a lot of people did!
Now with version 2.5 in the works, I already know which country in which Ovü will make its debut! See more pics on Flickr.
So after you have measured & determined your fertility using the Ovü, and- of course- made the proper “baby-making arrangements” with your partner, congrats- you’re pregnant! Now what?
Well, let me tell you about the latest and greatest device for tracking the human body- this time, for babies! The monitor is called KickTrak, and is a hand-held (hopfeully, soon to be wearable) pink-for-girls, remote-control-like device.
What happens is this: every time the baby kicks, you record that into this device. When its done recording, it plays a tune. (Hm, sounds a bit familiar… I wonder what song they chose?)
The Kicktrak keeps a record of the last 10 kick-counting sessions to be used in comparing to new (increased/decreased) activity. They recommend using this device during the last trimester, since this allows the woman to catch any potential complications of which they might need to notify a doctor or midwife.
Okay, so we’re now tracking mom AND baby. Where’s the tracking device for dad?
Ovü is still vacationing in Brazil. It is currently being displayed at Campus Party Brasil 2008, a technology event showcasing everything mobile- from telephony, data transmission, sound and images, online services and more.
Here is some press on the event (and Ovü):
“Entre as novidades da mostra, um dispositivo “vestível” no qual as mulheres podem ter os seus ciclos de fertilidade monitorados e saber o momento exato de sua ovulação.” Tecnologia
“…um sapato plataforma equipado com sistemas de alarme sonoro e um bracelete que permite às mulheres monitorarem os seus ciclos de fertilidade.” Pernambuco.com
The Ovü will be making yet another appearance in Brazil, this time at the Bienal de São Paulo. (I am becoming a little envious.) There will be a video conference taking place in February, as part of it. Hopefully, the footage will be available via podcast shortly afterwards.
A big OBRIGADO (thank you) to Paulo Hartmann for all his hard work in putting this all together!
Notes from the Mobilefest2007 Conference in Brazil
– Speakers –
Johan Cohen-Brockman- Multiple Projects: Networked Contexts, old interface on new, displacing context so anyone can connect, UMBRELLA.net, “Networks of Coincidence, ad-hoc networks (multi-hop, mobile ad-hoc), where the device has the connectivity; Bumplist.net: forcing people to find news ways of interaction; placing claim on wireless space (compare to Homestead Act); GPS: geo-coding spaces; Kate Bauer- Ovu; Kate Hartman- Botanicalls; Norene Leddy- The Aphrodite Project platform show becomes “platform” for discussion; How To… available in this month’s Make Magazine; alternative site; Shawn Van Every- Mobile Projects @ITP (Dodgeball, Socialight, hugms)
– Discussion –
centralization vs decentralization; annonymity=death; inspire to citizenship, not consumerism; “the majority of my work, I plug into electritcity”l; adding values to social communities, establish a collaboration w/other generations; trying to connect with; the “zapping” culture: fast; are we really doing anything different or doing the same thing differently?; we have become “super-interruptable”, spontaneous (continuous partial attention); text message w/phone call, accessibility issues w/ interface; one technology does not distinguish old but changes it; people get the functionality but don’t know the functionality; Gen Y: figuring stuff out, social, important, Legos; complicated interfaces favor younger people; adults are no longer the guardians of information, the older people must teach the next generation how to use the information, the “culture of content”; the Wii: large acceptance among public not used to games but interface is intuitive; Agitprop?
This project began less than 1 year ago, in a class called Personal Expression & Wearable Technologies. The assignment was to hack an everyday object and create something wearable from it (taking into consideration the functionality & usability, as well as aesthetics.)
During that time, I was particularly interested and involved in methods of data aggregation and analysis. The thermometer is a device that registers biological data. I started research into thermometers and in discussing the idea with others, came across the basal thermometer. The basal thermometer can detect a more precise temperature change and women typically use a basal thermometer to track their fertility when trying the become pregnant (or in some cases, to avoid pregnancy.) The temperature is most accurate after a woman awakens and is still lying in bed.
The first iteration of this project was lingerie that has a basal thermometer incorporated into the design. This lead to questions involving comfort, ease of use, and also the inevitable, “What if you choose to sleep naked?” The purpose of the project was to make the whole complex process of tracking fertility more streamlined and even fashionable- eliminating the current levels of complexity that often fall on the shoulders of the woman and allowing couples to focus more on “other things.”
The Ovü went from lingerie to a lace armband that takes temperature under the arm. When the temperature changes to indicate ovulation, it plays a song. However, as mentioned in several blog posts, one may not necessarily want an employer to hear this tune if the armband is worn during work hours. Other issues arose.
The Ovü 2.0 aims to address these issues by adding a database functionality, as well as a mobile component. Revisions to this project will be posted on this blog during the course of this semester.
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