Shashwath Santosh is a
designer based in New York. 



1. Google Deepmind Gemini
2. Portable Black Cat Radar
3. Desires of My Microwave
4. Stooper App
5. Open Source Salt Battery
6. Futures for Times Sq
7. Turnip Architecture for Deer
8. Climate Controlled Dosa Picnic Basket
9. Quantum Brownies
10. Seating Device Collection 


Secret Lab
 About

Shashwath Santosh is a designer and researcher based in New York. Currently at Google Creative Lab.


About
Instagram




2022


Desires of
My Microwave 


Role:
Designer, Collaborator

Researcher




As a designer drawing inspiration from post-human critical theories such as Object Oriented Ontology, I was interested in separating form and function and examining how objects influence each other solely on their affordances.





FIG 01. Initial Ideation FIG 02. Successful Execution


GOAL

To turn my microwave into a fully functional calculator that could perform mathematical operations using only its existing buttons.




FIG 03. Reaching out to Engineers


FIG 04. Communicating to Non-Designers











FIG 05. Planning and Research 






1. Safe Opening and Discharging 2. Desolder the Motherboard 3. Re-solder to Custom Circuit 4. Re-design and Test Circuit




INDUSTRY COLLABORATION

Opening a microwave is dangerous due to the high-voltage capacitors inside. To ensure safety, I had an electronic engineer supervise the discharge of the circuit before reprogramming it.

With the assistance of a creative technologist, I developed a custom Arduino circuit to power the microwave's new arithmetic brain.







FIG 06. Prototypes








WORKING MODEL

A microwave has multiple buttons and functions that are already similar to those on a calculator, such as addition, subtraction, and a clear button. To me, a microwave was always a calculator that is waiting to be unlocked.













REAL-WORLD TESTING


I went to Whole Foods to buy groceries, and I brought my microwave to add up my grocery bill and heat up some food after. When I arrived, I found that the microwave conveniently fit into the shopping cart, which made it easy to transport around the store.










OTHER EXPLORATIONS



Adding grow lights to my Microwave to help plants grow. All after removing the heating of course.

(More Info Coming Soon)








Research under the guidance of:
Allan Wexler, Award Winning Artist + Designer

Special thanks to:
Creative Technologist: Krithi Nalla
Electronic Engineer: Usama Mughal
Programmer: Usama Mughal
Studio Photography: Arjun Sivaprakasam
Lighting: Arjun Sivaprakasam