MurMur is an interactive furniture and toy for office environments. MurMurs take the form of fantastical creatures that you can sit on and play with. They make sounds and interact with each other facilitating social activities in a meeting room.

The name MurMur refers to onomatopoetic growling sound of an animal in Finnish.

We are game researchers from the University of Tampere Game Research Lab studying playful environments and games. This project is part of two separate research projects: Hybridex and RYM SY UTA. Hybridex studies the intersection of toys and games, namely hybrid products and services. In RYM SY UTA we are examining the playful aspects of physical learning environments. Game Research Lab has a history of over 10 years of research on digital games phenomena.

Our first prototype is an IKEA hack (such items used as ALSEDA chair and HAMPEN carpet), there are Raspberry Pi and Arduino inside accompanying battery and a speaker.

Download images:

MurMurs all have unique personalities.

Mur is the grumpy MurMur: Very wise but easily frustrated.

Mus is the goofy MurMur: Always happy and social.

Muh is the mellow MurMur: Melancholic daydreamer lost in thought.

Mut is the sensitive MurMur: Soft at heart but easily frightened.

Mum is the shy MurMur: Silent and modest, always kind and friendly.

All MurMurs dream about different kinds of environments.

Mur dreams of windy days and stormy nights.

Mus dreams of green forests and clean streams.

Muh dreams of dark and starry nights.

Mut dreams of endless meadows and sea of flowers.

Mum dreams of blue ocean and the roar of the waves.

The technology in MurMur is composed of an Arduino Uno board, a Raspberry Pi, a battery, a speaker, and various sensors.

A lot of murmur materials comes from IKEA.

The core of murmur is an ALSEDA stool.
The fur of murmur is cut and fitted from a HAMPEN carpet.

Other materials used: velcro, felt, hot glue, foil etc.

We are game researchers from the University of Tampere Game Research Lab studying playful environments and games. This project is part of two separate research projects: Hybridex and RYM SY UTA. Hybridex studies the intersection of toys and games, namely hybrid products and services. In RYM SY UTA we are examining the playful aspects of physical learning environments. Game Research Lab has a history of over 10 years of research on digital games phenomena.

Responsible professor: Frans Mäyrä

hybridex.wordpress.com
gamelab.uta.fi

Special thanks to:

Matti Luhtala
Kati Koivu

Here are some pictures from the making of murmurs:

This work is under a research project that studies the intersection of toys and games. Hybridex project is a University of Tampere Game Research Lab project and it is publicly funded by TEKES.

The murmur chairs are designed to be used and played within a special room called OASIS.

Please let us know what you think of our project, and if you are a maker, leave a hint or trick for us to make this project better!