I design physical products with digital capabilities. Accordingly I am constantly navigating the boundaries of perception for both human & machine. We build in our own image, and so we should understand the parallels between how people and devices operate in the classical robots paradigm of Sense / Plan / Act.

I am an engineer by formal training and a designer by experience and disposition. So I tend to start analytical and then move into the intuitive. Accordingly I set out to understand the robotic mantra of Sense Plan Act with by exhaustively exploring what that means for both our biological structures and engineered devices.

To wit, I started compiling a spreadsheet that covers every human and machine I/O that I could conceivably utilize in designing products and experiences. Every human sensor in the nervous system. Every category of miniaturizable digital sensor. Every means for a electronic or electromechanical device to do something perceptible.

Clearly this requires painting with broad strokes, but I strive for clarity and specificity where possible.

The work-in-progress list can be found in this Google Doc spreadsheet. Comments and suggestions for additions are welcome.

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1oBe27BKbpvts7UNANxv9ZgIUA5QyFdx9Bppj7GQuYaw/

We have great responsibilities as shapers of usable technology, let us use these powers for good. Build well and be well.