Artificial Intelligence (AI) is a complex, developing technology that opens up a world of possibilities, from automation to enrichment of human skills. However, this complexity often means that only data scientists or computer geniuses are able to use it. AI-kit is an explorative project that aims to create a platform for people to explore and learn about the possibilities of AI without the need for a background in computer/data science. It guides people through all practical steps to use AI: collecting data, training an algorithm & deploying the algorithm in real-world scenarios. These steps are operationalized into a system of connected data probes, that send collected data to an online training environment for processing and categorization by an algorithm; these categories can then be acted upon by output probes. The focus within this project was to design a set of data probes that work in tandem with a software platform for training an AI model.

This design project was conducted at Bureau Moeilijke Dingen, a small Eindhoven-based design studio. Over the course of half a year, several iterations of data probes were developed, in parallel to hardware and software implementations of all features. The primary activities of this project were overall product & interaction design of the probes, depending on which function they embodied; as well as the overall user experience of working with the probes and accompanying software. The resulting system was a demonstrator of a data probe that worked in conjunction with a web application, which showcased the vision for how the data probes could be connected, set up, and used.