Sidekick Studios is interested in ways in which the internet can make the real world better. We’re pretty excited by (and bewildered by in equal measure) the promise of ubiquitous computing and the internet of things. This is our contribution to tinkering in this field. It’s also unashamedly yet another fanciful internet curiosity.

We think there is something impersonal about contact forms. Write the most heartfelt communication, and you’re greeted with the indifference of ‘Your message has been submitted’, as your words disappear into the internet ether. We wanted to make writing to us a more human experience. A more playful experience. Just better.

Write to us now and your words will be typed out with a satisfying clink-clunk noise. The moment a typewriter starts typing without a typist, is enough to get the whole room running towards it. Suddenly, messages seem more important. More valuable even.

Now, we know the novelty will wear off. We’re pretty sure it’s going to breakdown. Lots. It’s probably not going to win any eco awards. And we don’t think the future is web-enabled typewriters. We’re mainly having fun with mixing the web and electronics, but underneath this flight of fancy are possibilities that we think genuinely have a social role.

Digital exclusion is one thing that comes to mind. It’s too easy to assume that in this world where texts, emails, Facebook updates, blogs, and Tweets are flying around that everyone is invited. They’re not. We’re not just talking about the old, the ill, and the less abled. Believe it or not, some people don’t have computers. Many more don’t have broadband. They might have mobiles, but they don’t have credit. They might have all of the above, but don’t know how to use it. They might, just might, be one of many people who don’t like digital communication [gasp].

For us, internet products like Otto point a way to a future where people can connect to one another, in whatever way that suits them. A mass manufactured version of this could be a present for your grandma to keep her in touch with the family. A bit like this conceptual project. Mobile to Email. Email to Social Networks. Social Networks to Physical Product. Physical Product to Television. How you receive or send information isn’t the important thing. In fact, the sooner the technology doesn’t matter, the better. The message is the most important thing.

Read here if you’re interested in the technical spec of Otto. Try it now if you dare.

Concept, hardware and electronics by Ben Tomlinson. Web development by Ian Kynnersley. Fine fellas.