Lunchtime Talks are a series of informal presentations at Watershed's Pervasive Media Studio. They normally take place at 13:00 on a Friday, are free and are open to everybody who is interested in what they do. Come along, bring a sandwich, and get to know more about the Studio community, current and up-coming projects, or residents' work.

What do you miss when you live away from your loved ones? The sound of the door opening and knowing your child is home? Sitting at your desk, listening to your mum cooking downstairs? These can create a feeling of connectedness, without direct communication or interruption.

Love, intimacy, presence, in short, the feeling of connectedness is important for people’s psychological well-being and overall happiness. People move away for various reasons and miss the presence of loved ones. Although they can talk on the phone or send messages, constant notifications from cell-phones can be disturbing and intrusive. With the Internet of things, that is increasingly becoming part of our lives, there is an opportunity to connect people unobtrusively.

In this Lunchtime Talk, Studio resident Bhagyashree Patil, a PhD student at the CREATE lab, will share her research ideas and questions around ways that the Internet of Things can support relationships between adults and their parents. She will present some of the findings from her user studies and the key questions, challenges and ideas product designers should consider when looking to design IoT technologies for inter-generational communication.

The Pervasive Media Studio is located within the Watershed building. Let us know if you'd like a tour and we'll be happy to show you around. Send an email to admin@pmstudio.co.uk

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