Archive

A modified パチスロ “pachislo” Pachinko (slot) machine that distributes player losses to charity.

For my masters thesis, I created the physical prototype for Win/Win, which looks and feels like a classic slot machine with a twist: its iconography reflects the game’s purpose—to channel player losses to charitable endeavors. As with traditional slot machines, players win money when specific image patterns align. But when they lose, their bet becomes a donation to the charities symbolized by the icons on the reels.

The machine’s actions are managed by an Arduino I/O board, enabling customized gameplay through an interface on a built-in video display. Using the machine’s buttons and knobs, players can navigate the interface to select which organization will receive the majority of their losses.

The concept was inspired by a report from the Alberta Gaming Corporation, which noted nearly a threefold increase in charitable returns after legislation permitted nonprofit-run, short-term casinos. If realized both as a physical installation and an online platform, Win/Win could provide a continuous, 24-hour revenue stream for participating charities

The machine was exhibited at the Sheila C. Johnson Design Center in New York in May 2010.

A web- and SMS-based system for tracking community vulnerabilities and capacities to support disaster response and resource allocation.

While working in Hanoi, I designed, developed, and tested a system for the Red Cross to track and visualize data from Vulnerabilities and Capacities Assessments (VCAs). When disasters occur, Red Cross administrators often need to sift through scattered or inaccessible VCA documents to inform their decisions. The organization needed a way to access and update this data using tools already available to volunteers in the field.

I deployed the system in Dai Yen Commune, near Ha Long Bay, Vietnam. It enabled volunteers to submit and update VCA indicator values via text message or through a web interface. To update a value, a volunteer would send a simple locale-indicator code by SMS. If the system didn’t recognize the code—either because the commune had not yet been registered or due to a misspelling—it automatically generated a new entry and returned the correct code via text. This ensured data was captured with minimal friction, even in cases of error, and without requiring multiple messages—saving time and mobile phone credit.

The web interface included four levels of navigation: country, province, district, and commune. At the commune level, users could view current indicator values and track changes over time. They could also share insights, experiences, and images such as hand-drawn charts and local maps. At higher levels, administrative boundaries were displayed on an interactive map and color-coded based on aggregated resilience scores. Users could assess risk and drill down to specific locales with ease using Google Maps integration.

A portable messaging system that allows users to “tag” the airspace by renaming Wi-Fi network names (SSIDs).

After spending a day walking through New York City recording Wi-Fi network names, I noticed that SSID naming patterns often reflected the demographics of a neighborhood—such as the predominant language or median age. This observation inspired me to create a system that would encourage more intentional and expressive use of this otherwise overlooked communication space.

Wifiti is a battery-powered router running a customized version of open-source firmware. When a laptop or smartphone scans for available Wi-Fi networks within range, they see a list topped by a network called CHANGE THIS MESSAGE NOW! along with a set of related SSIDs (Figure 5.2). If a user connects to any of them, their browser is redirected to a website hosted locally on the router. There, they can edit three of the network names (Figure 5.3).

The system preserves the display order of SSIDs, enabling users to “tag” the local airspace with messages approximately the same length as tweets. These messages become visible to anyone nearby who scans for Wi-Fi networks.

Wifiti was deployed in cafés throughout New York City, where in several cases it prompted spontaneous and ongoing public interaction.

A web- and SMS-based platform for tracking the availability of essential medicines across sub-Saharan Africa.

In the summer of 2009, I received a fellowship from the Open Society Institute to provide technical consulting to Health Action International (HAI) in Kenya. My focus was supporting the Stop Stock-outs campaign, which aimed to ensure access to essential medicines and expose inefficiencies in drug distribution systems. Active in five sub-Saharan countries, the campaign relied on shared technology and coordinated data collection during its "Pill Check Week." The result of my work was the Pill Check Mapping System, developed in collaboration with a Zambia-based OSI fellow.

Data was gathered from two primary sources: direct calls to public health facilities and SMS reports sent by individuals experiencing medicine stock-outs. I designed a simple, user-tested SMS format to ensure accurate and efficient data collection. HAI communications managers introduced this format at public forums, and it was later promoted by local radio personalities to reach a wider audience.

We used Ushahidi—an open-source crisis mapping platform—to visualize the data, though we customized it to enable automatic plotting and streamline the process. After just one week of nationwide data collection, we held a press conference in downtown Nairobi. The resulting media coverage was substantial and continuous. For the first time in Kenyan history, a Ministry of Health official publicly acknowledged the severity of the stock-out issue and committed to addressing it.

The campaign has since been featured in major international outlets, including Business Week and PC World.