Roca's "Jump the Gap" Competition - SONA Toilet

SONA

The SONA bathroom fixture is the public bathroom fixture of the future. In a time when the concept of self identity is changing, SONA offers a de-stigmatized bathroom experience, removing barriers to choice created by gender and age. It is based on the idea of a personal experience in a public space, no matter who that person may be.

With a gestural swipe in front of a user-friendly screen, the user can choose to sit or stand at a comfortable height. Their selection instantly sends a heat current through a wax-coated foam mesh which allows SONA to soften and assume the desired pre-programmed shape. This unique material is a rigid mesh that softens with the addition of heat–perfect for an instantly shape-changing fixture.

This fixture responds to the changing fabric of society, with gender issues at the forefront and consumers wanting choice and automization. With one fixture appropriate for any user, fewer fixtures are needed which results in water, energy, and especially material savings.

The interface above the fixture allows users to communicate with the system gesturally using nearfield communication technology.

The user simply swipes their hand near their selections and the mesh is activated to assume the shape change, as a heat current is sent along wires running within the mesh. This allows for instantaneous communication between the interface, the user, and the fixture, and keeps it sanitary by eliminating the need for touch.

On the first screen, users select whether they would like to sit or stand–irrespective of gender.

On the second screen, users select their relative size relating to the height of the fixture for maximum comfort.

Shown below are different combinations of settings chosen via the interface and the resulting shape assumed by SONA. Child-sized settings are smaller and closer to the ground, improving the child’s autonomy in a public setting. Elderly settings feature a slightly higher seat and angle to aid in getting on and off the seat.

The final screen flushes the fixture, activating a UV light that sterilizes the surface and gives a visual indication to the user that it is clean.

cool

heat

cool

rigid

shifting

rigid

anti-microbial silicone skin heat-activated wax-coated foam mesh water barrier heat current sit + small

stand + small

sit + medium

stand + medium

sit + large