Designing Embodied Intelligence through Spatial Cues and Material Presence
The Opportunity
Our daily environments are filled with notifications and digital interfaces competing for attention.
Instead of supporting us, they fragment focus and disrupt cognitive flow.
How Might We…
Embed AI into our surroundings in a way that supports memory, attention, and calm presence
—without relying on screens?
The Insight
From cognitive science and design theory, several key insights informed the project
Memory can be strengthened by spatial organization (Method of Loci, topological memory).
Intelligence can be embodied in materials, extending human cognition into the environment.
Calm presence requires subtle cues rather than disruptive interfaces.
The Approach
MemoryFrame is a design concept for embodied AI, embedding intelligence into architectural partitions and material layers.
Architecture as Cognitive Interface
Key Design Features
Spatial Cues for Memory
Material Intelligence
Calm Guidance
Spatial Cues for Memory
Drawing on the Method of Loci, MemoryFrame structures information within space. Each frame or partition acts as a memory anchor, linking cognition to physical location.
It uses spatial cues, thermochromic surfaces, and E Ink technology to transform interiors into cognitive landscapes.
Interaction Level
MemoryFrame ensures that intelligence is experienced as a subtle layer of the environment.
By shifting focus from active commands to background presence, interaction becomes calm, embodied, and aligned with natural human cognition.
User Scenarios
Language Recall through Space
MemoryFrame links words to specific rooms, turning everyday movement into a learning path.
Greetings appear in the hallway, cooking terms in the kitchen, and conversational phrases in the living room—reinforcing memory through spatial association
Reconnecting through Movement
Recognising familiar gestures, MemoryFrame recalls positive past experiences.
When a user repeats a movement, such as dancing, subtle spiral patterns appear—transforming movement into a memory trigger and supporting emotional wellbeing
Structuring through Space
By rehearsing different parts of a presentation in separate rooms, the user anchors content to physical locations.
MemoryFrame later activates visual cues—helping the user recall structure through spatial practice.
