Wireless cup and string

Recently, this blog ran an item about the best materials to make a primitive cup-and-string phone. Now artist Duncan Wilson has created a wireless version.

Tug the cord to activate, squeeze to talk and hold to the mouth and ear. The design of the Cup Communicator is focused around a series of physical actions and gestures that create a poetic etiquette of use and a tactile intimacy between user and object. By designing a communication device focused on the gesture of use, the relationship between the users and between the user and object I aim to explore the potential of the product as a medium for interaction and reassess the way we use technology. The form and function of the Cup Communicator refer to the ‘two-cans and string' children's toy and the physical factors involved with that device. This typology and its associations remind us of the magic and playful intrigue of our first communication devices that has been lost by the desire for more efficient forms of telecommunication.