Details

OVERVIEW
The title of this project is ‘The Gigabit Connection‘. In a team of five, we were asked to design for the future of computing given an environment with unlimited bandwidth and ubiquitous technology. With that in mind, our team performed research to guide our focus to utilize the benefits of such ubiquitous high bandwidth technology to help people find a balance between their virtual and physical lives. As a team, we challenged ourselves to find a way to use technology to help people get away from technology. The project research consisted of exploration, generation, and evaluation phases from February to July, 2006.

DEFINING A FOCUS
Exploration methods including a territory map, SET Factors, and AEIOU revealed insights into today’s society and directed the project focus to outdoor activities. The key insights are that people today are leading faster paced, busy lives. Trends show an increase in the amount of time they spend indoors, often immersed in technology, and a general decrease in their in physical activity and health, with obesity and diabetes becoming a problem for many people. As research progressed, the focus developed towards helping people spend less time indoors in order to become more active, healthy individuals by participating in outdoor activities.

SOLVING THE PROBLEM
With a redefined focus of promoting healthy lifestyles by connecting new people to outdoor activities, we were left with a series of questions. In connecting people who do not know each other to the same activity, it was important to understand what would help them get involved. User centered research and design revealed that safe and comfortable real world connections are possible when the environment is developed upon a model of familiarity.

BUILDING THE FAMILIAR
When individuals are familiar with the people they are participating with, the activity they are doing, or the location they are at, they are more likely to get involved. With this in mind, the project refocused on ‘enabling participatory healthy lifestyles by building the familiar‘. In order to create a familiar environment, our research showed that it was necessary to create a connection where people feel both safe and comfortable by developing a product that 1) is a bonding object, 2) is always with you, 3) creates dynamic safe zones, and 4) enables activity comfort.

SOLUTION: goPlay
From our research, we developed goPlay: a service that allows you to play where, when, and what you want, helps you stay aware of outdoor activities, and enables you to meet people with similar interests.

FINAL DESIGN
goPlay demo (flash)
goPlay paper (pdf)

PROJECT BLOG
Spontaneous Parade

METHODS
Brainstorming
Observation
AEIOU
SET Factors
Directed Storytelling
Interviews
Diary Studies
Collages
Collaborative Design
Think Aloud