Inspiration
The interactions between teams in offices have moved almost exclusively into the digital environment. Although this has improved productivity, it has removed some of the human aspect of office cultures. With tools like Slack, teams have been able to find a way to effectively collaborate, balancing a sense of privacy with easy communication between coworkers.
COBI, an office bot, aims to enhance that balance by sensing the office environment and reacting to it via Slack.
What it does
COBI SENSES IT'S SURROUNDINGS Using a variety of sensors including a rangefinder, COBI senses changes in it's environment. From hearing laughter in the office to detecting if a conference room is available, it can be programmed to suit the needs of any office.
ENGAGES TEAM THROUGH SLACK Using Slack's chat, COBI interacts with coworkers engaging, informing or just breaking the ice when needed. It can be programmed to compliment the culture of any company. From sending a big hello as soon as someone walks through the door, to sharing a fun cat GIF to react to the silence in the office, the possibilities are endless.
How I built it
COBI's brain runs on a SparkCore microcontroller. It connects through Wi-fi to communicate to a Node.js bot running on Heroku. Using SparkCore's web API's, and Slack's webhook integration, CODI is able to interact with the physical environment and take these interactions to the digital world.
COBI's looks were modeled on Rhino and fabricated using a Makerbot.
Challenges I ran into
Having a team with mostly new hackers (on their first hackathon) we faced a few large challenges such as learning server infrastructure and the node.js language. Other challenges included logistical setbacks like limited access to tools and defining and framing a problem with a compelling solution within a few hours.
Accomplishments that I'm proud of
Being able to join friends in learning how to operate and create using new technologies. Also we persevered in defining a very rough idea and taking it to the whole design process, from user research, generating a brand and defining the vision for our project.
What's next for Cobi: The Co-working Bot
Refining and exploring the posibilities of Cody using more inputs and code combinations. We see Cobi as an open source platform that engages a whole community of users and creatives.
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