Thursday 8 May 2014

Active Forms (Tangible User Interface): Product Evaluation and Self Assessment

Product Evaluation

I believe that the final concept I created for the Active Forms project was highly successful for a variety of reasons, mostly based on the ways that it is interacted with by the user as well as the use of form to provide an enjoyable and satisfying user experience.

The product is visually similar to many existing contemporary household ornaments and so is able to be placed in a household environment without being intrusive. The use of fairly neutral styling combined with a minimalist design would allow it to be used in any room in a house without looking out of place. Just the right amount of surface texture and features provide an interesting aesthetic without clashing with any existing styling or theme of room decor. Sitting on a shelf or windowsill, it could easily be passed off as an interesting looking vase rather than a highly sophisticated tangible user interface used to control a room environment.
The device is also intended to have a low level of disruptiveness. As the interaction is quick and easy to perform without even having to look at it in great detail, the room settings can be adjusted with minimal concentration. It will therefore not have a significant impact on the user’s activity and so they will be able to carry on with the task as they did previous to the interaction.

The product provides information regarding the environmental settings of a particular room by either increasing/ decreasing in height and changing the intensity of its internal LEDs to represent the brightness of the room, or tilting left and right whilst changing colour to represent a change in temperature. Feedback and interaction is logical and is based on common knowledge and assumptions in modern day society.
The use of commonly known and understood gestures in combination with physical affordances built into the body of the product allows it to be intuitive and easy to use. Upon inspection of the device, the visible gaps in between the moving sections immediately communicate to the user that they are separate parts and probably move relative to each other. This then causes them to think about the ways in which it may require them to interact with it in order to open the sections. The use of a hole feature on the top of the device will, again, suggest that it is something for the user to interact with.
If a user places their hands near the device, they will immediately see a reaction in the form of the device moving away from their hands. The proximity sensors in the shell detect the introduction of another object and then cause the servo motors to react by moving in the opposite direction to the side that the object is on. This applies to both the change in height and the tilting action. By learning from past experience, the majority of users will understand that if they push an object, it will usually move in the same direction as the action of their hand. This logic is applied to the movement of the servo motors so that the device can be manipulated as expected by the user, without actually having to make physical contact.
A change in room brightness is represented by changing the height of the product. As the height increases, the gaps between the shell sections also increase, allowing more light (from the LEDs) to be seen by the user. This is similar to opening curtains during the day and so the same logic is applied to the device by the user. The light intensity is increased by a movement resulting in increased height and so the idea that both are moving in a positive direction is also logical.
The temperature is changed by moving the device either left or right. As the movement to the right resulting in an increase in room temperature, matches a positive increase on the X-axis of a graph, again, the interaction is logical. The commonly accepted idea that red means hot and blue means cold is also used here as the colour changes with the movement. This provides another, more visual and easily understood form of feedback.

As the device is easy to understand due to it being intuitive and logical, the user interaction will be a positive experience. The use of fluid motion and a quick reaction to the users input will show that the device is working correctly and will confirm that they are interacting in the intended way. As the reaction can easily be understood; both at the physical level as well as in a metaphorical sense, the user can easily make adjustments to their input in order to modify the output and therefore tailor the room environment to their needs.
The lighting and temperature functions are independent and can be operated simultaneously providing a quick solution to the user’s requirements. As the device can be manipulated so that it is in any combined position between the limits of the two variables, and is controlled solely by the user, they will feel empowered as they can fine tune the room settings in a fun and unique way. They will therefore feel satisfied with the interaction. The music on the other hand, although being able to be turned on and off at will by the user, is controlled by the settings of the lighting and temperature. The genre or mood of the music is determined by the position of these settings and so will provide an easy way for the user’s activity to be matched to an audio track that aims to enhance the experience.


The product provides an entertaining way to control the environmental settings of a room. This is achieved through the efficient and intuitive interaction and feedback methods as well as the aesthetics. The use of LEDS, which change colour and create moving patterns provide an interesting visual aspect which can be either relaxing or stimulating. They also help to create the impression that the device is alive; something which fits in with the overall appearance of the design and also ties in with the theme of “Health and Wellbeing”. The shell is also designed to aesthetically appealing and can be used as an ornament to decorate a house whilst also being a functional product.

Self Assessment

Overall, I believe this to be one of my most successful projects to date, as I not only created what I feel to be a well designed conceptual product but have also learnt many things regarding design and the interaction between user and product. I have also developed many other skills that will be useful during the actual process of design and in real world applications.
Early on in the project, through discussion and annotated diagrams/ sketches, I provided many ideas about the direction in which the group should take the product. These proved useful later on as even the concepts we didn’t choose to develop had relevance in terms of interaction and so could be applied to the chosen design in order to improve it. From these activities, I improved my sketching ability as well as how to make the most of concept generation techniques.
I had significant input during the development stages and helped the group make important decisions regarding the logic of the interactions and the methods of implementation of feedback. This is reflected in the final design which takes much inspiration from both my initial concept sketches as well as the diagrams I produced to help explain my ideas about the internal mechanism. By doing these tasks and researching electronic components and mechanical systems, I learnt a lot about mechanical and electronic engineering and how it is integrated into products to provide functions.
I helped to create two physical prototypes. They helped the group to visualise the design and imagine it being used in a household environment.  This allowed us to then make decisions about the dimensions and shape, choice of components as well as the configuration of the parts and the internal mechanism.
As the final design took a lot of ideas from my previous work, I created a CAD model on SolidWorks in order to demonstrate the component configuration and method of assembly. This was then used to create final product renders and with the help of the other group members, animations demonstrating the functions. By doing this, I discovered some features on SolidWorks that I didn’t previously know about as well as understanding some of the ones I initially didn’t know how to use.
By creating the final product storyboard diagrams, I developed my skills at using Adobe Photoshop. I learnt a lot about enhancing hand-drawn sketches and how to use the various tools to create lighting/ shading and 3-dimensional effects.
Being assigned the role of group leader, something which I haven’t experienced much in previous group work, showed me the amount of work and dedication required in order to manage a team of designers/ engineers in order to design a product. In order to meet deadlines, as well as putting in a lot of effort to complete my own work, I also had to assign tasks to other group members based on their strengths and distribute the work load efficiently. It was especially important to communicate with the other group members effectively, something which was achieved through the use of a Facebook group. It was here that all individual work was set and uploaded, in order to keep it organised and keep track of what tasks were still to complete. Regular group meetings allowed me to ensure that all group members were on the same page in terms of the direction of the design.

Active Forms (Tangible User Interface): Initial Concepts, Development and Final Design

Initial Concepts

I first created a mind map in order to generate ideas regarding the aesthetics of the product, as this would play a key role in its functionality as well as the user interaction.


Using the key words generated by the mind map, in conjunction with the internet, I then gathered various images that would help to inspire my initial concepts and created a mood board to display them.



After much group discussion, I decided that our product was going to be based around the idea of a shell like structure that opened up to reveal a glowing, patterned core which would be used to reflect the user interactions and the changes they had made to the environment of the room. Here are the initial sketches I produced to communicate my thoughts to the other members of the group.

Heavily inspired by lava lamps, these designs incorporated large transparent sections which housed coloured lights surrounded by flowing liquid.I felt that while the use of lights and liquid provided an interesting appearance that could be used to effectively represent an environmental change, the external shell was too rigid and mechanical looking.



Instead, I created some much more organic looking concepts which resemble shelled mollusks.

JOT - Design Development 6

I found the use of segmented sections to be interesting as they could provide a unique way of manipulating the device. They would also allow the light-up section to be revealed through different movements rather than just being hidden or revealed. The texture of the shells gave them a rustic quality that made them look slightly like ornaments.

Here I experimented with external patterns which could be incorporated into the texture of the shell whilst providing visual feedback without having to open the device. Different methods of opening were also explored. These ideas are much more futuristic and unique than the previous ones.

JOT - Design Development 2

Development

After group discussion and review sessions with our lecturer, I then began to develop the ideas and themes I had established.

The following sketches show how the focus was shifted towards the actual mechanical functions whilst refining the appearance.

The use of annotations demonstrates how the concepts are intended to operate and interact with the user. Here I worked on developing the various styles in order to see which held the most value.



These sketches show the development of the organic shell appearance and how the mechanism was developed so that the sections would open up vertically revealing the internal glowing core. This vertical movement would be used to control the brightness of the room Again, the use of external patterns for feedback is shown, whilst also providing a unique texture that is pleasing on the eye.



This sketch shows how I decided to add a tilting action that would be used to control the temperature of the room.



Here is a close up of an un-assembled section of the shell. The transparent piece surrounds a core mounted with an array of LEDs. The mechanism for both the tilting action as well as the increase/ decrease in height would be attached inside this part.



Here is an example of the product after the height has been extended by pulling the sections apart. Notice the estimated inital height of 500mm.



Here are some further explorations with the shape and texture of the product.



JOT - Design Development 3

JOT - Design Development 4

Prototype

This is a rough prototype I made using cardboard and a plastic tube to visualise an early idea. After group review we decided that the method of interaction wasn't as unique or interesting as the vertical extension and resembled a flower bud too much.

Concept - Neutral 'Resting' Position

Concept - Open 'Vigorous Excercise' Position


This is the prototype of the vertically opening idea that we made out of foam and a cut up plastic bottle.

Prototype - Visual 2

Prototype - Visual 5

CAD Model and Animation



MetaMood - Exploded

MetaMood - Isometric

MetaMood - Red (Hot)

MetaMood - Bending

MetaMood - Bending (Side)

Links to the animations:

Exploded View

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0Rul71e500A

Revolve

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4_kCFtO0LdE

Diagrams

These diagrams explain the change in form when the product is interacted with by the user in order to adjust the environment of the room.

Changing the brightness.
Extension Motion - Light Control

Changing the temperature.

JOT - Temp Change 1JOT - Temp Change 2JOT - Temp Change 3

This diagram shows the internal components of the device.

JOT - Internal Layout 1

Tuesday 11 February 2014

Active Forms (Tangible User Interface): Introduction and Brief

For this project I am working in a group with fellow students Simon Smith and Harry Crawford.

The group blog address is http://pdtjhs.wordpress.com/

Different types of exercise require different environments in order for the participant to be comfortable and therefore perform to the best of their ability. For example, vigorous exercise such as aerobics will benefit from a low temperature environment as it will combat the large amount of body heat generated from participants. This will allow them to perform for long periods of time without over-heating. Motivation may also be improved by the presence of fast paced, upbeat music which will encourage participants to exercise to their limits. On the other hand, activities such as yoga will benefit from a slightly warmer temperature as the movements involved are much slower and so do not generate as much body heat. Slower tempo music will also help to provide a relaxing but focused atmosphere.

At present, there is no quick and easy way to control the parameters of a room from a central point; instead the user would have to set up each one individually. The solution to this problem is to create a central system that is controlled by an intuitive Tangible User Interface. This will allow the tuning of all room parameters to the user’s needs simply by moving an object in a certain way.

The aim of this project is therefore to design and create a working prototype of a Tangible User Interface in order to control the environment of an exercise room. The device must be able to be interacted with intuitively through the use of affordances and commonly known gestures. The method of changing the parameters must be logical and relatable to the objective as well as being quick and easy to perform. Physical feedback should be provided in order to inform the user of the changes they have made to the output.

Plastic Fantastic: Presentation Boards, Development Sketches, CAD Model and Prototype




















Monday 23 December 2013

Mobile Phone Symbiosis: Sony Xperia UV Exposure Monitor: Self Assessment

I feel that this project was one of my most successful to date as, in our group, we created an innovative and useful concept that could one day become an everyday healthcare item.We discovered a gap in the market and made use of existing similar products as inspiration to create a much more advanced and usable next generation device.

I believe that the way I carried out my role in the project to be much more professional than in previous work as I carefully planned out each step that we had to take in order to develop our idea to the best of our ability. I took responsibility for combining our individual efforts and organizing them into a logical order for our final presentation. This included learning how to use photoshop in order to edit and colour sketches to create an aesthetically pleasing and easy to follow layout, for the best possible design communication. By doing so, I have developed my skills of using computers to enhance my design work and have learned valuable techniques that I will be able to implement in the future.

Again a Facebook group and chat was used in order to communicate to each member of the group from a distance as well as sending each other work for discussion and review. This was important as it ensured that every member was on the same page in regard to the direction of development and allowed us to keep track of what work had been done and what steps were to be taken next. After I created the final presentation, I was able to use this to send the work to Leon who then used it as a basis for the group blog. This allowed us to keep the style of our work consistent, something that is particularly important when marketing a product through the use of corporate branding.

The project could have been improved by creating a better prototype that would communicate our design intent more successfully. This however would have taken much longer and having only two weeks for the whole project, was not something that would have been possible this time around.

Mobile Phone Symbiosis: Sony Xperia UV Exposure Monitor

The aim of this project was to design a symbiotic "add-on" product for a smartphone in groups of four. The other members of my team were Aiden Dawson, Leon Pullin and Lawrence Halls.

We began by researching the term "symbiosis" and learned that it is a "close and often long-term interaction between two or more different biological species." Further reading revealed that there are in fact three main types common in nature; Parasitism, Commensalism and Mutualism.
A parasitic relationship is where one organism benefits to the detriment of the other. Commensalism is where only one benefits but the other remains unharmed. Finally, Mutualism is where both organisms benefit from the situation. From a designers perspective, a mutual relationship would be ideal for two products that are to work together and so later on during the design process, we focused on how this could be implemented.

We then each created a mindmap in order to help generate the possible directions we could take the project in. As the theme decided by our lecturer was to be Health and Fitness, some of the ideas we explored were a blood sugar monitor for sufferers of diabetes, a pregnancy/ fertility checker and a UV exposure monitor. After looking into existing products, it became apparent that there were not many aimed at helping people keep their skin safe from harmful UV rays, especially in an interactive and electronic form. Because of this, this was the direction we chose for development.



I then created a brief to help focus our thoughts which was to design and create a prototype mobile phone add-on that will help the user to stay safe whilst being exposed to the hot summer sun. The physical product should work in conjunction with a downloadable application in order to provide a useful and easy to use service.

Following the guidelines of the brief, I began to generate some concepts. As shown in the following sketches, I originally intended for the UV monitor to be attached to a phone case by a extendable wire. During use, the monitor would then be placed out in the sun, whilst the phone could remain in the users pocket. This would help prevent the device from being stolen or lost and would allow the user to use the phone as normal during use. A conversation with my lecturer then gave me the idea of adding a secondary mode where the monitor was not required to be removed and could remain mounted on the phone case for a "quick check" of the UV index. I then named the two modes "Active Mode" and "Quick-check Mode".







After developing the concept, I created some sketches of what the final product would look like. I used Adobe Photoshop to colour and shade them in order to give them a more professional appearance. These images were then used in a poster I created in order to advertise the product.