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Sushi Samurai

Sushi Samurai

Made in 2010, my third year as an Industrial Design student at the Holon Institute of Technology for IDHO PLAY, an interaction design course run in the interaction lab. The game is an interactive sushi preparation station that can teach you how to prepare, roll and cut sushi like a pro!


Our objective was to create a playful object that is outside the "usual" world of play. We Brought it into the kitchen showing that food preparation can be instructive and enjoyable at the same time. The sounds the board makes amplify the excitement around sushi making process and give a complete experience to the user so he gets to use all of her or his senses. 


The board has very simple hardware, it is composed of a wooden board with metal strips all connected to one input while the knife acts as Ground. Each time the blade cuts the vegetable we have a signal. The interface is projected from above and sound is played as well.

This was a relatively short project, it took us about one month from start to finish. I specifically liked working as part of a team because it gave me the chance to work with very talented people and allowed me to be exposed to their ideas. My part was making the board and connecting the hardware. We were all brainstorming the concept and behavior the game would have. My favorite part in this project is the samurai screams the board makes any time the blade runs on it because it really brings the fun to slicing veggies.   

This board is an interactive instructor and it takes you through all the steps of sushi making by lightning and telling the user what the next step is. To get started you pas the knife on the board and you are asked to chose your vegetable. The light turns on the veggie plate until you chose the vegetable by slicing it from the veggie menu projected on the board. You are then instructed how to cut the chosen vegetable by projected markings on the board. Once you complete the cutting process the board will show you how and where to place all the ingredients on the together, how to roll and then cut the roll. 

At the end of the coarse we held an exhibition and had the opportunity to test our creations on real users. The board was both intertaining and instructive and there was a lot of sushi made and consumed.