a total submersion telephonic experience
James Auger, Jimmy Loizeau, Stefan Agamanolis
The Iso-phone is a telecommunication device providing a service that
can be described simply as a meeting of the telephone and the
floatation tank. By blocking out peripheral sensory stimulation and
distraction, the Iso-phone creates a telephonic communication space of
heightened purity and focus.
The user wears a helmet that blocks out all peripheral sensory
stimulation while keeping the head above the surface of the water.
The water is heated to body temperature, dulling the sense of touch
and blurring the physical boundaries of the user's body. The result
is a space providing a pure, distraction free environment for making a
telephone call. The only sensory stimulus presented is a two-way
voice connection to another person using the same apparatus in another
Only a couple of decades ago our primary means of telecommunication
was the telephone box, which essentially provides a contextually
neutral space for remote conversation. Entering a telephone box
equates to a cessation of all other activities, allowing the
individual to concentrate solely on the conversation. The growth of
mobile telephone usage however has led to telecommunication being
practiced in an efficient rather that a qualitative manner. The
mobile phone decontextualizes conversation. It extracts talk from
specific social context, offering the user freedom to communicate from
virtually any social situation regardless of the suitability. It is
down to the sensitivity and discretion of the user to decide if the
circumstances are suitable for communicating.
The Iso-phone attempts to redress this awkwardness and imbalance by
providing a space totally dedicated to telecommunication. Going
against the grain of mainstream design, the Iso-phone trades
contemporary preoccupation with efficient, ubiquitous and
multi-functioning products for quality and depth of a singular
experience, requiring total immersion into the telecommunications
We wish to thank the Guinness swimming pool for their
assistance in early Iso-phone trials. Thanks to Brian McDonald for
his assistance with the audio electronics for the helmets.
Publications and Links
Iso-phone received an Honorary Mention in the "Interactive Art"
category of the Prix Ars
Electronica 2004 competition and was installed during the
Festival in the Hauptplatz of Linz, 2 - 7 September 2004.
More than 50 people used the Iso-phone to make a telephone call to
anywhere in the world of their choosing.
Iso-phone was presented at eQuiliBristas Design Week in
Valencia, Spain, 26 - 30 April 2004.
Iso-phone was exhibited at e-culture fair 2,
Amsterdam, 23 - 24 October 2003.
Iso-phone was featured at Experimenta Design 2003
in Lisbon in October 2003.
James Auger, Jimmy Loizeau, and Stefan Agamanolis, Iso-phone:
a total submersion telephonic experience, ISICT 2003
International Symposium on Information and Communication
Technologies, Dublin, 24 - 26 September 2003. (PDF)
New Iso-phone demo
movie (Quicktime, 8 MB).
Old Iso-phone demo
movie (Quicktime, 5 MB).
A first prototype of Iso-phone was exhibited at Mobilise: Exhibit 2 at the Digital
Hub, Dublin, 13 March - 12 June 2003.
James and Jimmy's web
site about their work.