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About Our Project
Approximately 3.5 million people in the United States are likely to go without a home in a given year1. This population is diverse, and they experience homelessness in very different ways. Some choose life without a home; others fall upon hard times and pass through a shelter for just a week; some are hindered in their search for a home by mental illness or substance addiction; still others are teens and families fleeing domestic violence and abuse.
How can technology help these populations? What device, service, or system might ease life without a home, or help more people move past the state of homelessness? The goal of our team is to answer one small part of this question. We plan to apply our understanding of how humans interface with technology, combined with academic and field research, to designing a unique technology that addresses one of the many problems associated with homelessness. In doing so, we not only hope to help ameliorate the suffering of this often overlooked group, but also to learn to think more deeply and creatively about the ways technology can be used to effect good in the world.
We’re undertaking our project as part of SI682: Interface and Interaction Design, a class taught by Mick McQuaid in the School of Information at the University of Michigan . You can track our progress by clicking on the milestones at left, read our thoughts in the Team Blog , or learn more about us on the About our Team page.