Week 5 - Progress

This week had introduced us to ActionScript. In the lecture, it was referred to as ‘the glue’ - what defines and manages the interactivity, and combined all the individual elements together to form the product/prototype. In the workshops I worked through the examples and re-familiarised myself with OOP and the Java syntax.

Video Prototype from last week:

Storyboard sketch:

Script:

Introducing ZipperBan:

The new solution to keeping the valuables in your bag safe from theives. It uses facial recognition technology and proximity sensors to detect and deter thieves from unzipping your bag. Pickpocketing is a common and annoying problem especially in crowded places such as public transport, and there needs to be more done against this anti-social behaviour. Many pick-pocketers get away with it, without being deterred from this activity.

Tourists will be the main users of this product, as they are mostly targeted with this kind of activity. Important documents such as passports can be stolen. The product however can be used by anyone who wants their belongings to be more secure.

ZipperBan works by first scanning the face of the owner. When the zipper is opened, detected by the proximity sensors on each zip, the facial recognition technology tries to scan for the face of the owner, and if it’s not a match the bag itself will alarm, deterring the thief and causing them unwanted attention.

It also sends a notification to your phone, which the user can choose to dismiss.

With ZipperBan, your valuables are more secure, wherever you go.

Testing & Feedback:

In testing the prototype, users were asked to sit and watch the video and then answer some questions afterwards. Overall the feedback seems to be positive surrounding the first prototype. The purpose of this prototype was to see how well it communicated and pitched the concept. This is why in the user testing session, users were asked whether they had understood the concept well enough, and whether the video had convinced them to get this product.

Feedback/thoughts from the video prototype:

• Good use of background music
• Text on screen and visual aids were helpful
• Good editing and video/audio quality
• It could have incorporated some sound samples to give users an idea of what the alarm system would sound like
• Demonstrated effectively where the product can be used - puts the prototype in context
• How difficult would this be to implement?

Some concerns I have at the moment is being able to simulate the user experience from a wearable into a digital format. Perhaps the bag can be simulated on the screen, and the user drags the zipper open which sets off an alarm - will this be enough for the prototype?

Week 4 - Ideation

Questions:

What components are relevant to driving behaviour?

The steering wheel is a fundamental component of driving behaviour. Being able to steer into different directions is something that is core to driving and getting from A to B. The act of of steering also stems from vehicles throughout history such as sail boats. Other relevant components: dashboard to see the speed, petrol levels etc, footpedal to control accelleration.

What are the interactions of those components with the driver when driving?

Steering wheel - using hands to turn the wheel clockwise and anti-clockwise depending on the desired direction

Foot Pedal - as the name suggests, the user applies pressure with their foot to accellerate, and ease off pressure to decelerate

Dashboard - see lights/symbols that indicate different aspects about the current state of the car e.g low on petrol, speed etc

What would you test?

How each component responds to a given input from a user.

How would you test?

By testing each component independently of each other, and ensuring the input from the user (e.g push of a foot pedal, twist of a steering wheel) resulted in the expected output (car turns in the right direction, foot pedal is not too sensitive to pressure etc).

This week in the workshop sessions I have worked on finalizing the concept by first looking at the feasibility of each idea as summarised below:

Feasibility - Drunk Watch

• needs to detect blood alcohol level
• needs to calculate timing between drinks - when it’s safe to have another drink
• needs to provide feedback to user when over a certain limit - restrict movement?
• detect anger levels?

Feasibility - ZipperBan

• how is this different to other zipper locking systems? - maybe a bit easier for user to unlock themselves (less effort)
• facial recognition - if it detects the wrong face, it sets off alarm and deters thief, maybe takes a photo of thief which could be used for legal purposes
• camera that detects face - if right will unlock bag
• sends event to user - user gets notification and can approve/deny the other person from opening the bag e.g if user wants friend to get something from their bag

After further exploring these two ideas, I have decided to go with ZipperBan. The main reason being is that this idea would be easier to collect data as input, analyse this data and provide appropriate feedback. For example, if it uses facial recognition, it could use a camera to detect the person’s face and compare it with the owner’s face to determine if the person is a thief. A camera would be easier and cheaper to obtain than a device that measures blood alcohol level.

Video Prototype

ZipperBan - The solution for counteracting pickpockets

Video link: https://plus.google.com/110232461724810297821/posts/XYXTM67AK92

Problem:

Pickpockets. I’ve witnessed it happen to people I know. Although by ‘witnessed’’ I mean I was there when it happened but technically didn’t see it unfold. This friend of mine had her wallet containing about 300 euros stolen from her backpack while on a crowded train in Spain. We didn’t notice what had happened until I told her that her bag was unzipped, and now the pickpocket is suddenly 300 euros richer and it’s highly unlikely that would be the last time they take part in this anti-social activity.

The above situation depicts a tourist with a backpack in a crowded area, and this is a common set of circumstances that attracts petty theft. During the 2012 Olympics in London, pickpocketing cases rose to 1,700 per day (http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2175867/London-Olympics-2012-As-1-700-fall-victim-pickpockets-day-Eastern-European-gangs-it.html). It’s clear that tourists are the main people who are targeted, and many tourists will tend to wear backpacks when exploring the city. What if there was a way to know when someone is opening your bag when you’re not looking? What if there was a way to even stop them in their tracks and try to deter them from taking part in this anti-social activity in the future?

Solution:

In an attempt to address this issue, the concept of ZipperBan is a product that only gives the owner the permission to unzip their bag. It consists of various technologies integrated into a backpack to give the user more security and control over who opens their bag.

It uses facial recognition technology (small camera mounted on the top of the backpack) combined with proximity sensors attached to the sliders of both zips. When the zipper is opened, the camera kicks in and scans the faces in view. If there is no match, the bag’s alarm will go off (see Technical Implementation Details) deterring the thief and discouraging them to continue the activity. The wearable also serves to warn the people around them about pickpockets, and consequently people in the immediate surroundings would become more wary of their belongings thus further deterring the thieves.

Technical Implementation Details:

• As the zipper opens, the proximity sensors will detect a distance reading that exceeds a certain range (that indicate the zipper is ‘closed’).
• This will trigger the camera to anaylise the faces within view and compare them against that of the owner using facial recognition technology.
• If the face is that of the owner’s, the bag will unzip and no alarm will be set off.
• If the owner’s face cannot be detected while being unzipped, the bag’s alarm will go off: a small flashing red light will flash and a beeping alarm. This will attract unwanted attention to the pickpocket. A notification can also be sent to the user’s phone (who can dismiss it if they wish) so that they can be notified even when physically removed from their bag.
• Another potential feature could be to take a photo when the alarm is set off. This would give some identity information about the pickpocket and this can be used for legal action/further public shaming. Issues about privacy will also need to be explored here.

Prototype of facial recognition technology and how it can be incorporated:

Prototype of proximity sensing zippers and how it can be incorporated:

Micro proximity sensors out there:

(http://www.controldesign.com/assets/00_images/2012/1203/CD1203_standex.jpg)

Week 3 - Video

This week we looked at some kickstarter video examples and thought about how effective they were in communicating the concept. For our video prototype we will be required to prepare a video script that we use in the video in order to pitch the idea effectively. I also did some research in regards to the structure of a kickstarter video (which can be found here http://www.wordstream.com/blog/ws/2014/03/13/explainer-videos):

1. Description of the product - what does it do?
2. Introduction of problem - what is the problem we are trying to solve?
3. How product solves problem - how can this product make your life easier?
4. Call to action - ‘but 2 in the next 5 minutes…’
5. Trust signals (not sure if this is relevant to us)

During the workshop sessions I also did more brainstorming on possible ideas. Some ideas/notes that came to mind:

• A thief detector - detects if someone is opening your bag
• contains bag zipper sensors
• perfect for travelling (knowing tourists are a big target)
• sensors incorporated in the zip
• locked/alarms if tries to be opened when person is wearing it
• can dismiss on phone/press button only wearer can press
• should provide feedback to thief to ‘correct their behaviour’
• possible names: ZipperBan, NoTouchy, ZipLock
• Drunk watch - helps people to regulate their drinking to reduce alcohol-induced anti-social behaviour
• detects blood alcohol level
• reaches certain level, restricts movements
• somehow stops alcohol-induced violence
• and perhaps something to counteract road rage although this would obviously not directly involved mobile phones as that can be dangerous

Overall it seems there a few ideas to work with and I have discussed the first two ideas with my tutor who seems to think they should be feasible enough. The next week will involve further research into these topics and possible technologies that can be used. My primary concerns at the moment is that the thief detecting idea may not really be correcting anti-social behaviour, although it would help to prevent it. Also this idea could be quite difficult to implement, which is why further research into this is necessary.

Week 2 - Excercise/workshop

This week’s exercise is to think about a device we use every day and, and design variations around the way we use it. My idea for this is a music player (like an iPod or phone) that can detect the similarity of music between you and people around you. These music players would communicate with each other depending on their relative location in order to determine the devices that hold the highest similarity rate in regards to the music on the device.

During the workshop sessions this week, we were introduced to the upcoming projects and encouraged to explore some aspects of the topics. We first brainstormed some ideas about social faux pas that annoy us. Some ideas that came to mind:

• People listening to loud music on public transport
• Cutting in line
• Pickpocketing
• Road rage

We also formed groups and were allocated 3 games to mashup and create a new game. The games we were given were Snakes and Ladders, Frogger and Pacman. The idea we came up with:

Frogger tries to move up to the top without getting hit, but there are areas within the ‘safe zones’ that can become snakes (move down to a lower safe zone) or ladders (move up). This can also be a multiplayer game, and at certain points throughout the game, it enters a mini game of hang-man where all players must compete and the winner may get an advantage in the next round by either moving up, or forcing other players to move down. This is illustrated below:

Week 2 - Prototypes

What do YOU think a prototype is?

I think a prototype is a scaled-down, relatively inexpensive and abstract representation of a design. Theoretically it is an unfinished version of the final product, and aims to portray specific aspects/functions of the design.

What form does it take?

A prototype will usually be in physical form and should resemble the main functionality of the product. For instance, a prototype for an app could be made up of multiple pieces of paper stacked on top of one another, containing the most important aspects/fields on the screen without too much detail.

What do you need to make one?

To make a prototype, you just need materials that can withstand testing and should resemble the final product (e.g paper, cardboard, pens etc). In the case of the projects for this course, you may also need conductive material for the interface, a computer etc.

What is it used for?

Prototypes are used to test the main functionality and design of a product without having to build the final version. It allows for an iterative approach, and the designers/developers can make changes to the design relatively inexpensively.

What is it’s purpose?

Its purpose is to be able to see the idea materialised, perform better user testing and be able to pick up potential problems that would not have been noticed through a sketch on paper.

When would you create one?

You would create a prototype after building a design in order to test its functionality. Prototypes could also be built throughout the design process in order to adhere to agile methods through building a product incrementally (i.e design, build and test one aspect at a time).