We have many ways of communicating with our loved ones, using WhatsApp, Facetime, Google Meets, Zoom, and others. With the current world situation that disabled us to meet together properly, many of us had to rely on these tools to substitute for in-person activities, living and bonding. Although these digital communication tools have grown during these pandemic months, they are still general tools that lack personalisation, playfulness and affordances that we appreciate when physically being together.

 

Distance Companion is a device that connects people using technology in a non-standard way. Not trying to substitute the former communication tools but creating a different way to express yourself with others. By using an intuitive interface, a user can send their current mood by manipulating a cartoonish face's features, by creating a small drawing or by writing an eighty-character message to someone that they love in a fun way.