Empathy Box and Empathy Amulet

Sophia Brueckner / USA

University of Michigan - Ann Arbor

www.sophiabrueckner.com

"An empathy box is the most personal possession you have. It's an extension of your body; it's the way you touch other humans, it's the way you stop being alone" "I had hold of the handles of the box today and it overcame my depression a little—just a little...I felt everyone else, all over the world, all who had fused at the same time" – Philip K. Dick, Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? In Dick’s novel, thousands of anonymous people connect haptically and emotionally through their empathy boxes in a fragmented and isolated world. Inspired by the story, the Empathy Box and Empathy Amulet are two networked devices that connect many anonymous people through shared warmth.