Inspired by the chaos of the morning rush, the team created Giacco: the coat rack who cares. Giacco does what a coat rack is supposed to do (holds jackets and accessories) but also is connected to local weather data. Based on the weather that day, he’ll indicate what the user should wear, such as a hat for sunshine or a scarf for snow, by lighting up the arm with that item in a corresponding color.
Giacco really cares, and wants to make sure people are taken care of, so if they take his suggested item, he’ll be very happy, and if they don’t he might look and sound upset! He is for anyone who has gotten caught in the rain because they didn’t check the weather, and doesn’t mind if their coat rack has a strong personality. Giacco was inspired by the team’s morning routines, specifically how one team member and her roommates would always ask each other if it was going to rain that day so they could decide whether or not to carry an umbrella.
Since his creation, there have been numerous occasions where people have wished for their own personal Giacco to make sure they were grabbing the correct items on their way out the door in the morning, though the team knows the hardware challenges involved in making something life sized. In future iterations, they would want to streamline the overall look with new materials to ensure the complex combination of sensors, motors and lights work seamlessly.
