2012
Addicted Products
A real fictional service of self-sharing things.
What if products didn't need to be owned — what if they could choose their owners instead?
Addicted Products is a thesis project from TU Delft, developed at Haque Design + Research. Ten months of exploring cybernetics, early connected devices, Douglas Adams references, and conversations about zero-growth economies. The project introduces the idea of "peer product pressure" — networked devices that compare themselves to similar products and act accordingly.
The experiment centred on toasters. They were not sold but placed: participants applied to host one, and the toaster evaluated its applicants. A satisfied toaster stayed. A dissatisfied one communicated its frustration through physical movement or Twitter, and could leave to find a better host by opening applications on its own website. The service ran for months in the UK and received thousands of requests from around the world.
"Somehow it is surprising that a toaster could have a whole parallel life and could leave you for a better habitat. Somehow we may have to face the fact that we do not have buying power towards products, but rather, only keeping power."
Prototyped with Arduino Ethernet and Pachube. Thanks to Usman Haque, Dot Samsen, Paul Hekkert, Walter Aprile, and Charles Armstrong. Featured in Fast Company, Wired, The Atlantic, and Slate. IxDA Best in Show, 2014.