KeepsakePreserve your memeories in Objects
Mentors: Massimo Banzi, Pierluigi Dalla Rosa
Duration: 2 week
Team: Edha, Hun, Gayatri
Keepsake is an exploration of memory as a living, tangible experience. Rather than keeping memories locked away in digital archives or paper journals, Keepsake lets objects—your coffee mug, a childhood toy, a family heirloom—become portals into the past.
The core interaction is simple: place an object on the Keepsake surface, and it responds. A built-in camera captures the object, and a locally hosted LLaVA model processes the image to extract its key characteristics. If the object already has a memory, it plays automatically; if not, the user is invited to record a new one. The interface is intentionally screen-free, relying on physical affordances—a recessed object slot, a pop-up microphone, and press-to-record cues—to guide interactions. LEDs and sounds provide feedback during analysis.
Recording interactions initially relied on standard start-and-stop buttons, but users often forgot to stop, creating frustration. Switching to a press-and-hold system with a physical microphone pop-up helped people remain engaged and deliberate in their storytelling. Processing time was another challenge—the LLaVA analysis could take up to 10 seconds, and users could get impatient. Introducing LED animations and gentle sound cues made this wait feel intentional, keeping the user’s attention.
Looking forward, Keepsake could expand into shared and community contexts, letting multiple users layer narratives onto the same artifact, or integrate subtle haptic cues to enhance the intimacy of memory playback. The project is a step toward rethinking memory not as static content but as a tactile, evolving dialogue with the things we cherish.