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/02ACT 2AI Object · Conversational Hardware2024

Babblin Wastebin

A waste bin that argues for its own usefulness.

The question

What if the things we throw away could talk back?

The problem / context

We discard objects the moment they stop being convenient, and waste bins are the most ignored objects of all - mute, anonymous, easy to misuse. A silent bin can't ask to be used correctly, and it certainly can't make anyone care about what goes into it.

The outcome / reflection

An anthropomorphic, AI-powered bin built on the Babblin conversational core. It speaks for itself: reacting to what it's fed, nudging people toward the right behaviour, and turning a piece of invisible infrastructure into something with a point of view. The bin becomes a small argument that even waste deserves attention.

// OVERVIEW

Babblin Wastebin sits at the intersection of the empathetic-object thesis and real hardware. It takes Babblin AI - conversational AI that gives everyday objects a voice - and embeds it in the least loved object in any room, asking whether personality can change how people treat waste.

// MAIN IDEA

Personality as an interface for behaviour

Signage and rules don't change waste habits much; they're easy to ignore. A bin with a voice and opinions is harder to ignore, because we instinctively respond to things that seem to respond to us. The wastebin uses conversation, not instruction, to make correct disposal feel like an interaction rather than a chore.

// DESIGN PROCESS

  1. Give the bin a character

    Define a voice that is funny and a little needy, so people want to engage rather than tune it out.

  2. Map the interaction loop

    Decide what the bin senses, what it says back, and how it escalates from charming to insistent.

  3. Fit voice into form

    Design the physical bin so the speaking, sensing, and the object's body read as one anthropomorphic thing.

// TECHNICAL DETAILS

  1. Babblin conversational core

    The shared object-voice engine, tuned to a single object's persona and context.

  2. Sensing

    Input on what's being deposited and when, feeding the bin's real-time reactions.

  3. Embedded response

    On-object speech and feedback so the conversation lives in the room, not on a phone screen.

// MAKING

Tool making & fabrication

The body was designed as a product, not a prop: an enclosure that houses electronics while still reading as an approachable, talkative object rather than a kiosk.

// BACKGROUND

It started as a question about anthropomorphism: if a chair can have a point of view (see Sitting with Jakarta), why not the most disposable object in the building?

// WHAT DID I LEARN?

  • People follow objects that seem to notice them far more readily than objects that issue rules.

  • Humour is a serious behaviour-change tool.

  • Embedding the voice in the object beats routing it through an app.

// CREDITS

  • Laurensius Rivian Pratama - concept, hardware, AI integration

// WHAT’S NEXT

Field-test the bin in a shared space to measure whether conversation actually shifts disposal behaviour over weeks, not minutes.

NEXT / 03Selayar Buoy