Giorgia Bianchetti, Greta Lapesa: Sync it!

Description

Sync it! is a tool that lets two people communicate only when both their devices are synchronized using hardware data. This makes communication a conditional act. The desktop widget shows the alignment status in real time, and communication starts only when all the parameters are met, making the interaction active and shared.

References / case studies

The project is inspired by communication systems and digital devices that make the conditions for interaction visible.
Walkie-Talkie (radio communication): a two-way system that works only when two devices are tuned to the same frequency. Communication depends on signal presence, interference, and distance.
Sync it! follows the same logic but replaces the radio frequency with digital and hardware parameters (mouse, uptime, battery), turning synchronization into a visible and interactive process.

Design

Sync it! appears on the desktop as a square widget, discreet but always visible, designed to show the synchronization status without interfering with the workspace.
Inside the square, there are white rays representing the system sensors. When the rays align and the user starts recording a message, they merge into a pulsing circle, indicating that recording is in progress. When a message is received, the circle stays still, showing that the message is ready to listen to.

Movement and interaction details:
the rays rotate smoothly, with speed varying according to the distance from the unlock threshold. The farther a parameter is from the target, the faster the ray moves; as it gets closer, the movement slows down, visually guiding the user.

Function / habit / output

Sync it! allows voice communication only when the devices are synchronized, constantly updating the alignment status and guiding the user toward synchronization. Messages are sent and received only when the channel is open, with clear visual and audio feedback.

Relation with the user

Sync it! creates an active coordination between users. Communication is not immediate but depends on the synchronization of hardware parameters on both sides. The user actively participates: they must observe and adapt to their device behavior to send and receive messages. This turns communication into a collective and aware experience, based on time, body, and machine.

Technology

Sync it! monitors battery, uptime, and mouse X position every 500 ms, sending data to a real-time database (Supabase) to compare the status of the two connected users. Communication starts only when all conditions are met; if any parameter is not satisfied, the channel closes. The rays indicate the status: smooth during searching, merging into a pulsing circle when synchronization is complete.

AI Integration and real voice:
to make voice communication faithful to the user, each participant has their own voice cloned through the ElevenLabs API. Original audio samples generate a unique Voice ID with natural inflection and cadence, 95% stability, and support for Italian pronunciation.

The user’s voice is sent and received through the system, while a speech-to-text module (Web Speech API) listens for keywords like “send” to automatically trigger message delivery.

During recording, the pulsing circle gives real-time visual feedback; when a message is received, the synthesized audio plays and the widget stops the rays’ movement.