IDEATE
DECO3005
PROTOTYPE
ADVIXD Marvin Cheung
EVALUTATE
Daniel Lia
Alex Williamson
IDENTITY
MNIBAND
MNISTATS
WEARABLE TECHNOLOGY
APPLICATION INTERFACE
Omniband is an elite-level ball sports monitoring product in the form of an armband. It is designed to improve gameplay and the player-coach interconnectedness through a shared awareness of player and team bio-statistics.
An in-depth statistical overview of the data gathered from the Omniband. Data visualisations are interfaced for a coach to analyse the performance of the team and individual players throughout a match.
CONCEPTUALISATION
The decision for the Omniband and the Omnistats app to compliment one another is to strengthen the player-coach relationship. Hence the data that is read by the Omniband must correlate to the information displayed within Omnistats. Omnistats requires signiďŹ cantly more interface data than the physical interface of the Omniband as the aim is to assist the coach to gain a greater insight into his players, thus being able to evaluate performances and improve in the future. The players wear the Omniband with the primary aim to capture their bio-statistics for the coach, whilst providing a simple imterface for basic self monitoring.
MNIBAND BRIEF
In its final form, the Omniband will be constructed of cutting edge innovative materials that complement the human physical form. Its unobtrusive nature is derived from the adhesive grip rubber band and the flexible, shock resistant LED lighting. The Omniband includes an array of microsensory technology that records and transmits feedback given off from the body during physical activity. The integrated IR sensor pair monitors heart rate, blood sugar and blood oxygen (pulse oximetry), while the temperature sensor records the bodies temperature. It is these core elements that have proven through extensive research to be vital to the success and well being of athletic participants of physical sports. The osmosis of sweat through the pores of the human skin provides an abundance of beneficial information which are efficiently harnessed by the Omniband’s sensory system. The sweat level of player correlates greatly towards hydration levels, which can further affect upon an individual’s performance and fatigue. The GPS module progressively tracks players field position; while all data is conjunctively transmitted and received via wireless Bluetooth technology. An embedded miniature vibration motor also provides instant coach to player substitution notification. The visual aesthetic of the Omniband depicts three core symbol illuminations; a water droplet (hydration), a heartwave (heart rate) and an exclamation mark (Vibration alert). The colour of the exclamation mark varies depending on the specific intent of the message which coach intends to imply. All materials the Omniband is hypothetically constructed from are readily available materials.
MNISTATS BRIEF
Omnistats was developed as a complementary technology to the Omniband product, designed to act as a tool to aid data analysis, collating all of the statistics gathered and transmitted by numerous Omniband devices into one central location. The primary goal of the application is to elevate the coaches overall awareness of each of his players on the individual and team scale. Taking data feeds from the devices themselves via bluetooth technology, the application acts as a port of interpretation for the real-time data being generated by the players on the field. The data is broken down into six key categories displayed through a dashboard interface allowing for minimal user interaction to access the necessary data at any given time. These six categories will be broken down and explained in further detail below:
Match Overview The match overview section acts as the primary port of call for the coach, and following basic principles of design was placed in the top left to be quickly and easily absorbed by the reader. These basic statistics included number of tackles, game time and point score.
Reserves Our reserves menu lists the same elements as our on field slide, and can be ‘drag-dropped’ overtop an on-field player to bring a player off the field. This action triggers an alert on both players Omnibands, instructing them to interchange roles.
Match Statistics Alongside the match overview lies the match statistics, designed to fall into the basic ‘F’ Shape reading principle, our match statistics appear as a child of the overview segment listing more complete details of the game ranging from possession percentage to missed tackles and penalties.
Player Status Our player status section provides an easy way to see a deeper breakdown of an individuals current status. Through this panel the coach can also send an alert to the player, gaining his attention unobtrusively whilst on-field. These alerts can be specified to be a certain colour, with different colours representing different assigned meanings to the player. To select a player for this element, it is as simple as touching a player node amongst either the on-field side or reserves panels.
On-Field Side This section claims our third key category, listing all of the players on field at any given time. These player names are complemented with a unique feature to omni stats that predicts the players remaining field-time through machine learning established from archived player data from previous games in combination with current player conditions.
Field Tracking Field tracking is a miniaturised view of the field from a birds eye perspective, allowing the coach to gain a greater overall view of player position and team formation.
BODYSTORMING Utilising basic materials and resources, we simulated possible locations on the body in which our product would be suitable. We also tested various sizes of the product. The primary area we had chosen was the user’s arm as it would seem the most convenient in terms of use for an athlete when competing.
PERSONAS
DAVID
BRUCE
JOE
MARVIN CHEUNG
ALEX WILLIAMSON
DANIEL LIA
Persona Origin
Persona Origin
Persona Origin
Based on user research:
Based on user research:
Based on user research:
Individuals that seek to perform better and progress.
Individuals that seek to perform better and progress.
Individuals that seek to perform better and progress.
Individuals who wish to improve based upon learning from past errors.
Individuals who wish to improve based upon learning from past errors.
Individuals who wish to improve based upon learning from past errors.
David is 24 years old as is currently a professional rugby player. With many years of competing in the sport and a few years playing as a professional, David believes he has mastered his self awareness to his physical limitations. However, David still wishes to evolve as a player through detailed analysis of elements such as his physiology during the game and how this impacts his performance.
Bruce is a 27 year old professional NRL player with 8 years of national-grade experience, but returning from a season off due to injury that involved little-to-no training. Having a well-established professional career under his belt, Bruce is well aware of his limits and had developed somewhat of a “gut feeling” that aids him through his on-field performances, guiding him as to his limits and how far he can stretch himself as an athlete.
Joe Maguire is a professional rugby league coach. He is 44 years of age and has been involved in the game since the age of 12. He has an extensive knowledge of the game and player wellbeing; which has led him to his professional coaching position that he occupies today. Joe sits within the coach’s box during each game his team plays. Because Joe highly prioritises player health and wellbeing, and it can be difficult to assess from such a long distance from the field.
DAVID
SCENARIO During pre-game whilst in the locker room, David is mentally preparing himself to compete. Whilst preparing himself for the game, he attaches the Omniband to his forearm which is synced to the coach’s app. When the game begins, David follows the coach’s gameplan. Occasionally during the game David would look down at the Omniband to check the the readings of his physiological state. As the match progresses he realises that as the skin temperature and sweat quantity increases, he begins to feel fatigued. As a result he notices his performance decreases. His decline in performance is recognised by the coach through Omnistats and a remote alert is sent to the Omniband thus signifying David to be substituted. David acknowledges that although he can be completely mentally prepared for the game as usual, his physiological state can greatly alter his performance during the match. Whilst he is on interchange position, he rehydrates and is advised by his coach to make certain improvements based o of Omnistats.
BRUCE
SCENARIO Bruce finds himself mid-way through the season’s opening game, a friendly match between his team and a British invitational team. Having just had a new programme implemented, his team was just recently outfitted with device, and he was wearing it for the first time in a live-game scenario. In his previous years Bruce has always found himself on-field for the full game-time, only tiring in the game’s final minutes, and as Bruce begins to tire, he notices the game-clock sits at only 5 minutes past half time. Bruce checks his Omniband and notices his heart rate at a critical value, with his hydration levels indicating a similar status. Immediately Bruce is provided with awareness that his time away from the game has had its toll and he is not as fit as he originally anticipated. With this information, Bruce is substituted off the field and he later meets with his coach to gain a better understanding of his fitness through Omnistats and to seek his coach’s professional advice as to further strength and conditioning to ensure he can restore himself to his fullest ability.
JOE
SCENARIO Players attach the device to their forearms before play commences. Joe the coach takes his place in his box seat and launches his application that is synced with the devices that his players are wearing. Joe continuously monitors the live stat readings that are given by the device. He conjunctively monitors the game through the box window. One of the players on the field becomes severely dehydrated. Joe realises that one of his players is suffering from severe dehydration causing his body temperature. As a result, Joe makes a call to the on field trainer – requesting that the dehydrated player be given water immediately in the next break in play. The player is promptly rehydrated and his athletic performance increases.
THREE PHASE
USER EVALUATION PLAN
Concept
PHASE ONE Daniel Lia
The design process we decided to follow from an early stage was one of seven separate steps. These steps included an initial group conceptualisation of the wearable device, followed by a series of individual evaluations. Following each evaluation, our group collaborated to iterate the concept, based on the evaluation feedback. Once this process was completed three times, we subsequently came to a a ďŹ nal design concept. Through the execution of this plan it allows for a rapid rate of iterations to be produced and achieve a more reďŹ ned product with the time given.
Iterate
PHASE TWO Alex Williamson
Iterate
PHASE THREE Marvin Cheung
Iterate
WEARABLE TECHNOLOGY
CONCEPTUALISATION Our initial stages of the conceptual design steamed from a several core elements. These core elements were comfort, display and interaction. Through initial extensive research of existing products and potential ‘holes’ in the wearable technology market we decided to produce a wearable device that recorded live data from players of contact sport; this data would be visible to both players and coaches live throughout the game. Our initial concept consists of a nanofibre rubber band with elastic properties. Embedded within the band is an array of sensors - these sensors progressively measure a number of crucial body elements. The band incorporates a flexible LED screen which displays data to players throughout the game. The entire device is waterproof, shockproof and unobtrusive.
Daniel Lia
PHASE ONE
USER EVALUATION Aim To trial our first level of implementation in our device and gather an array of feedback to further develop our wearable technology. Participant Demographics Participant number
1
2
3
Age
22
21
23
M
M
M
Sports Involvement
√
√
√
Wearable Tech Experience
min
min
min
Gender
Method Each participant was given the hypothetical garment to wear. At this stage of our evaluation phase we had to simulate the function of the device, due to not having the working apparatus available. The garment consisted of a sweat band that was the exact size of our proposed design. Although slightly thicker, the sweat band provided a similar bodily feedback to what the proposed design would produce. The participants were asked to imagine a (LED) screen on the innerside of the garment that would display an array of information. Participants were also informed that that information would be documented live and also avaliable to a coach to view on their computer interface (because this is an early stage of evaluation, design interface is not readily available and will be evaluated at a later stage).
Garment is placed on the participants arm Participant was explained the function of the device and the visual elements displayed on it; conjunctively the results that would be displayed to a onlooking team coach. Participant was asked to run 10 meters, and then drop to the ground to simulate being tackled, before getting to their feet again – this action was repeated over a 100m field. The participant was told to speak thoughts aloud and was continuously followed by the assessor who recorded all spoken words.
Daniel Lia
PHASE ONE
USER EVALUATION Results Participant 1 As I fall to the ground and get back up the device feels too large on my wrist and gets in the way - especially if I was holding a football or tackling someone. Having the screen on the inside of the wrist is kind of awkward too. Maybe the screen should be on the side or top of the arm. Good concept though - having the stats available live to the player and the coach at the same time is helpful. Participant 2 Device is quite comfortable on the position on the arm as long as the final product is made out of soft and bendable materials. As I run its fine - but when I get myself back on my feet after a tackle and my wrist bends, it does get in the way a bit. Maybe the device doesn't need to be so big? What if it just displayed a few core things and the coach saw the rest? Participant 3 The device is flexible so it works well. Being thin on the arm is great - bit wide though. As I run it doesn't slip or have to be adjusted.
Conclusion The participants came to several conclusions that all interrelate with one another. Device is too big and obtrusive Having a big screen on the device seems like a waste of space Screen may be too bright
PHASE ONE
ITERATION This iteration required for the device to be smaller in size.
Alex Williamson
PHASE TWO
USER EVALUATION Aim Taking ideas initially developed in our first phase of iteration and clarifying & evaluating the strengths of the products display format and physical placement on the player’s body. This phase is to insure that no future issues exist with the product interface and it operates unobtrusively but effectively when needed. Participant Demographics Participant number
1
2
3
Age
18
19
23
M
M
M
Sports Involvement
√
√
√
Wearable Tech Experience
min
min
min
Gender
Method With working prototypes yet to be developed, testing was undertaken using fabric mock-ups with plastic inserts worn on the players wrists secured with elastic allowing them to be stretched upon different body parts. Each participant was tested individually, and taken to a large open field to simulate the in-game experience. Using the ‘’think aloud” technique we encouraged the participants to speak freely and actively on problems or conveniences that they encountered during the testing with relation to the device.
The tests to be executed were designed to highlight the most effective area for placement of the device as we encountered numerous issues with placement in our previous iteration. Our screen was replaced instead with figures of iconography, each reflecting the element of data we wished to represent. Three bands were developed for this test, each with different coloured icons, allowing the following test to be executed: Band #1 was selected and placed on the participant’s wrist with specific instructions not to look at their band until told so. Each participant was instructed to sprint 20 meters, and dive to the floor and then get up and sprint another 20 meters before yet again diving to the floor. After this second dive, an icon was called out and the participant was to reply with the corresponding colour as they look at their band whilst they get to their feet. This activity was repeated a further two times, with band #2 placed on the participants forearm, and then with #3 on their bicep. This test allowed us to examine the toll of examining the device when performing a routine recovery after a tackle on the field and highlight the most convenient position for the device in said scenario.
Alex Williamson
PHASE TWO
USER EVALUATION Results Participant 1 Test 1 Observation: The player stalled whilst checking his wrist for the icon, and through his cursing it was assumed that he faced difficulty in attempting to locate the appropriate icon on his wrist. Test 1 Participant Comment: “Mate, there’s got to be a better place for it than that, I feel like I had to stop to read the damn thing.” Test 2 Observation: The player faced less difficulty in checking the band, and his movement seemed to better emulate his original recovery. Test 2 Participant Comment: “Far easier to check than on the wrist, but it’s something I’ll have to get used to” Test 3 Observation: The player lost his balance upon recovering from his “tackle” and was unable to locate his icon. Test 3 Participant Comment: “The most difficult place was on my bi’s, I could barely see the band let alone read it well, I feel like it could get lost under my shirt sleeve in a game or training too, my footy jersey is longer than this one.”
Participant 2
Participant 3
Test 1 Observation: Like our first participant, our player seemed to struggle balancing both activities at once.
Test 1 Observation: Our participant called the incorrect colour, mistaking our heart symbol for the hydration symbol.
Test 1 Participant Comment: “The icons were a little awkward to read, I can’t honestly say that was a comfortable experience” Test 2 Observation: The player seemed far more competent, and his response was rapid. Test 2 Participant Comment: “It’s a bit out of the way, but a lot easier to read than the wrist because I don’t have to move my whole arm to see it.” Test 3 Observation: The player rose just as easily as in the previous test, and had little trouble responding. Test 3 Participant Comment: “It’s a bit hard on your eyes when it’s that close, but not too bad. I’d go for the forearm if I had to pick one, just a little bit easier on my eyes, especially when I’ve got floodlights to cope with on the field.”
Test 1 Participant Comment: “When I’m trying to get back on my feet I sort of had to give it a good guess, I could only get a quick look at the bracelet.” Test 2 Observation: The player managed to correctly pick the colour, but was a little slower in rising than the last test. Test 2 Participant Comment: “I slowed it down a bit and I could see the icons pretty clearly this time, it’s just a little weird not looking at your wrist” Test 3 Observation: The player seemed to delay between looking at his arm and rising. The icon was correctly chosen, but far slower than the two previous instances Test 3 Participant Comment: “It’s just awkward, I don’t think your neck is meant to bend like that. I reckon the first and second were way easier.”
PHASE TWO
ITERATION Conclusion Points raised by the participants break down into 2 main ideas: Forearm seems to be the most ideal placement for the device Icons similar in shape can easily get confused, and hence must be revised. Iteration This iteration resulted in the removal of the LED screen in order to cater for more simplistic interfacing. Various concepts where considered before arriving on the decision to utilise symbols to represent the data.
Marvin Cheung
PHASE THREE
USER EVALUATION Aim Further iterate on the concept based upon the evaluation feedback provided from the second phase of our user evaluation plan. As a result the feedback provided from this phase of the feedback plan contributes greatly towards the final iteration of the prototype, thus a device which caters greatly towards user experience. Participant Demographics Participant number
1
2
3
Age
20
20
21
M
M
M
Sports Involvement
√
√
√
Wearable Tech Experience
X
X
X
Gender
Method Having being in the situation where the working apparatus was still unavailable, during this user evaluation a piece of garment was provided to the user and placed on the designated area (upper forearm) to simulate the product. The participants were asked to utilise the think aloud technique whilst performing actions in an open area. They were asked to perform runs individually as well as together to simulate passes, runs and tackles in the team based sport. The participants were asked to keep a few factors in mind as a loose form of a criteria whilst performing the actions: Is the positioning of the device comfortable or bothersome? Is the usability/visual interfacing of the device feasible or problematic? Did the actual device obstruct activity during performance?
Marvin Cheung
PHASE THREE
USER EVALUATION Results Participant 1
Participant 2
Participant 3
Is the positioning of the device comfortable or bothersome?
Is the positioning of the device comfortable or bothersome?
Is the positioning of the device comfortable or bothersome?
The armband was comfortable for the duration in which it was attached to my arm. It did fit snuggly on the arm which is suitable because you wouldn’t want for it falling off or flailing around during the game.
It was a bit tight but I guess if it needs to read things like heart rate then it makes sense for it to be compressed against the skin.
It was fairly comfortable even though it’s not the actual thing and didn’t really notice it when paying attention to other aspects of the game. Also how it’s on the forearm you can see the face from any angle I rotated my hand which is necessary when playing rugby.
Is the usability/visual interfacing of the device feasible or problematic? The symbols are a pretty cool however it was a bit annoying how they were horizontal along the band because its not how you would usually read things on your arm. Did the actual device obstruct activity during performance? I was still able to run and catch and throw the ball perfectly fine with it on so there wasn’t really a problem in terms of it obstructing my performance.
Is the usability/visual interfacing of the device feasible or problematic? The symbols and the interface were pretty clear and didn’t really need any thinking when I looked at it as it was pretty self explanatory. I also didn’t really see the need for the blood sugar and the body temperature. Did the actual device obstruct activity during performance? I mentioned that it was a little tight but during action I took little notice of that and it didn’t really affect the way I performed.
Is the usability/visual interfacing of the device feasible or problematic? I would definitely looking at it throughout a game just to check how my body is reacting to the situation. There is definitely quite a bit look at on the band even though it’s only five things some of them weren’t really relevant to me like the blood sugar. Did the actual device obstruct activity during performance? It didn’t slow me down or mess with anything. I performed as I usually would have even with the band on.
PHASE THREE
ITERATION Conclusion Points raised by the users in will contribute towards the ďŹ nal iteration of our product include: Readable angle was not convenient for the user. Some of the readings provided were irrelevant to the player. Iteration The removal of the blood sugar level and body temperature did not only mean that irrelevant readings were removed, it also resulted in being able to achieve greater spacing between symbols. This correlates to the phase two as users also had a problem with the clarity of information. The rotation of the symbols onto the vertical axis along the band was done due to the feedback about the awkward reading position. However, as watches tend to be read on the perpendicular axis to the arm, it is understandable as to the reason the user saw ithe original positioning as unconventional.
FINAL ITERATION The removal of the blood sugar level and body temperature did not only mean that irrelevant readings were removed, it also resulted in being able to achieve greater spacing between symbols. This correlates to the phase two as users also had a problem with the clarity of information. The rotation of the symbols onto the vertical axis along the band was done due to the feedback about the awkward reading position. However, as watches tend to be read on the perpendicular axis to the arm, it is understandable as to the reason the user saw ithe original positioning as unconventional.
WEARABLE TECHNOLOGY
MNIBAND
APPLICATION INTERFACE CONCEPTUALISATION
The primary aim established in the conceptualisation of the application interface was to create an efficient user-friendly interface. This is so that the user, most likely being the coach, would not be obstructed whilst having to analyse the data. There would thus be various factors which would have to be considered to achieve the desired result:
The data visualisations would have to achieve a design that would be sleek, efficient and relevant to the data. Minimalise interaction which would stall thus obstruct the coach from being able to observe and analyse the data real-time.
The main features to be included: Readings from the Omniband reflected in the player status Player position tracking In-game stats Match overview/score On-field and off-field players
APPLICATION INTERFACE
USER EVALUATION
Aim Through user feedback to create the optimum user experience and usability towards Omnistats. Since the application is targeted towards coaches, we aimed to have coaches or individuals who were capable of being coaches udertake the user evaluations for the application interface. Method Users were provided with the high fidelity mockup and asked to interact through completing various tasks whilst being monitored. Since there were only two screens, the only interaction they would have encountered was clicking on one button which interchanged between the screens. They were then asked to perform a basic heuristic evaluation of the system with a simple survey. They were also asked to provide any additional information about the system.
Daniel Lia
Alex Williamson
Marvin Cheung
Task were given to the users in order to gauge the usability of the system. Tasks included: Look for match time and score Look for the amount of penalties occurred Look for [player name]’s current game time Navigate to find where the player’s data is located Send an alert to the player Questions Included: How well do you feel the structure of the interface performed in improving your interpretation of otherwise raw numbers and figures? [Scale 1/2/3/4/5] How well does the grouping of data elements throughout the interface aid your understanding of the data relationships presented? [Scale 1/2/3/4/5] How Intuitive did you find the placement of the interface elements throughout the application? [Scale 1/2/3/4/5] How well were you able to navigate around the site itself? [Scale 1/2/3/4/5]
APPLICATION INTERFACE
USER EVALUATION Results
APPLICATION INTERFACE DASHBOARD FIRST CONCEPT
Use of various colours would allow for the ease of locating a certain data group.
Varying font sizes to provide a visual heirarchy of how certain elements of the page should be focused upon
APPLICATION INTERFACE PLAYER STATUS FIRST CONCEPT
Use of iconography to allow for efficient reading and reduces text heaviness on page
All players are listed so that the user can simplay browse through and analyse a player’s bio-stats.
APPLICATION INTERFACE DASHBOARD FINAL CONCEPT
The integration of the player status and ďŹ eld tracking screen into the dashboard to minimise obstruction of interaction
APPLICATION INTERFACE
MNISTATS