In trying to solve the problems with Vuforia having limited capabilities, I have been trying to find other alternatives that would still be able to represent the concept accurately, or adapting the concept to match while still keeping with the teamwork aspect.

Talking to the tutors helped, giving me the idea of gameplay that is similar to the sport curling, which I had never heard of before. Upon research, I was able to plan out a different system, using two accelerometers, assigning them as right and left respectively. I intend a model where right and left are hypothetically forces exerted on a 45 degree angle to the centre line on either side, and depending on how fast each side moves the resultant force becomes somewhere in between. This also means that like curling, the faster both move, the faster the ball moves and in whichever direction. This limits each team to 3 people, one with the phone and 2 cleaning, rather than flexible.

Scoring would be slightly different, the competitiveness being which team gets the most balls into the goal within a set period of time. This also allows further development for different modes such as quick rounds or versusing the computer or even missions to complete.

I spent the week getting accelerometers and learning how to use them, including i2c with the Arduino as well as researching about curling.

Feedback

Conducting surveys with a few in the target groups regarding the implementation of the leaderboard to encourage healthy competitiveness suggests that although it played out well and the intention of the feature is clear in its purpose, it could be further developed to be a more cohesive part of the concept as a whole so that more players would be more likely to take advantage of the feature. Specifically, the leaderboard would include the score, who it is against, as well as whether it was a win or loss. In asking users to select what componenets should be included, the previous were included, while most thought that the date was unncessary.

This would be displayed in a table, picked over a more chart format. and users also preferred it to be with the most recent matches on top, with an option to view the 5 highest scores, rather than default by scores since it would be assumed that the higher scores would just mean that all the wins would be on top as well.

Even though i am not prototyping the scoring, the layout will need to be included in the app, and kept in mind that for development each match data such as score, opponent, win/ loss would need to be stored.

Critiquing

Learning about the different concepts were interesting, especially since one of them involved the same problem area as mine - enhancing mundane spaces. In general, the main trend I seemed to find was a unique solution that would however need more work but have potential, though sometimes hard to see how it could be executed in real life, especially with the musical test tubes.

I found it extremely innovative and amusing how each member of CDI simulated an elevator for this prototype, which was done really well and helped with visualising the prototype. Botherhood had small tweaks that could be done, but otherwise seemed viable. Most concepts though very usable, seem to be for a niche audience, mine included, which while it makes for interesting technology, could be a concern with developing it as a business product.

Summary and Response to Critiques

The response in general to the concept was favourable, though a part that confused me was a comment about using the system in the kitchen, where heat and knives would pose a danger, which was addressed in my report as an iteration from the previous feedback. I have to keep it in consideration clarity in the final submission. The main area of improvement was in demonstrating the full interactity, which I had struggled to fully exhibit due to limitations with Vuforia, and will need to do some editing for the final video if the same problem persists to give users an idea of the interactivity for accurate feedback.

Other suggestions for gameplay were given, but gameplay, rules and other additions also need to be clearly shown and stated in the final game, subject to further user testing.

This week was getting ready for the submission. Tutorials on Vuforia were extremely difficult to find, especially since it is constantly having new versions to cope with the new releases in technology. I managed to create a bat and make it appear over the brush, as well as a ball moviing. I was also trying to make them interact with each other, and will need to look into Lerping, since the objects are teleporting rather than actually moving in the space. I initially made the bat as a 2d flat overlay, but later decided a cylindrical shape would be more appropriate as well as more realistic to help users to better estimate its movements, as well as interact with the ball

I wanted to simulate the ball moving in as if hit by someone else, but for now having to only have it come in from off camera at a fixed distance. I was able to change the number of tracked objects at a time, making it suited for multiplayer use, though a concern is whether they can all fit within the view of the camera. Additional concerns is that since it relies on a camera, the user has to be able to look at it from behind a camera and screen, limiting the range of movement, or potentially blocking the image target from the cameras line of sight.

It can be argued that the view is then only for each individual, viewed through their phone, though still being individual gameplay since movement between persons is still simulated and the team aspect has to be imagined. Other alternatives could be further explored, though I have been unable to find anything that could achieve much of the intended experience. The ball would also be extremely difficult to hit, being an moving object in space with the bat since even if the X and Y axis aline the Z more often than not doesnt, which would not be a problem in the actual concept since the ball would appear on surfaces.

Possible solutions to be ignored could take further research in maintaining the 3d look of the objects but have them all appear on the same 2d plane, or making the ball a cylinder that only appears as a circle to the camera but stretches then entire z axis to ensure the bat would hit it regardless. I wish I could further fix many of these problems but due to lack of time and skill will have to leave that to further development, since learning Unity from scrath was extremely hard, and I will have to Learn to produce and edit a video in Premiere Pro as well, which I decided on as it could give me the most flexibility in editing the video, since there is now free access, one of the things I am grateful for in this pandemic.

I am wondering if this is the best way to prototype this concept, yet after much research there are not many ways possible, even phone projections being unclear and only working in pitch blackness, which is not feasible. I also have expended alot of time working on learning Vuforia and Unity, which if i change at this point in the semester is not the best solution given the multiple other assessments from other courses. I definitely regret the choice of concept and would have gone for something more physical to build (whilch i love building things, though the Arduino would be new to me) which seems more doable to prototype than a concept where nothing similar exists and no protyping method is able to adequately fully test.

User Feedback

From the user testing I conducted, it was apparent that some still found it unclear that this was meant to be a prototype and not the real thing, and the simulated parts had to be explained. I was also unable to implement an actual timer and like scoreboard, since it was not linked. in future implementations if i am able to make the scoring system work in Unity, it could be explored if the app portion could be done in Unity as well. This though is of low priority, compared with getting the normal gameplay to work, especially as a team.

Users said they would like to see a leaderboard function, wthough undecided whether the scores should be displayed or simply a history of wins or losses, as long as the added motivation of a record was there.

The other function or screen that could be added would be a screen of how the scoring would work, especially since the score would be averaged out to be fair, allowing households with different numbers of people to still compete against each other fairly.

Based on a few people I had asked for feedback, they had trouble visualising how the setup would work. I decided to try prototyping a major aspect of the concept - the app. After researching some tools like marvel (googling that was fun), invision, figma, framer etc to find the best fit, i settled on using invision. I decided to make the design of the screens using canva, making a logo as well for a cohesive feel, and opted for the designs to be playful but still having a consistent colour scheme and classy, to suit all ages, as fits our intended audience. for screens ivolving waiting the other household to connect, i used a timer to simulate that, since i do not intend to test that part of the protype as it is not hard to imagine or involve the main interactivity of the concept.

Link to prototype: https://gloriacheah24987.invisionapp.com/public/share/SV1500PYN2

Upon conducting user testing, i realised there was an unfixed glitch with invision that meant that the timer did not work when viewed on mobile, which after reading up on their documentation was something that had not been fixed. As such, I had to conduct user testing on my laptop, or where conducting remote testing, request that they used theirs and not their phones.

After discussion with my teammates, we decided to use prototype our concept using augmented reality for the greatest accuracy and capabilities to the original concept possible. We intend to use Vuforia, which i had never heard of before today. As such, I had to spend this week reading up on Vuforia and what it can do, as well as starting to install the SDK and exploring and geting used to it. I will definitely be seeking some help from the tutors in the workshops this coming week. We mainly chose this due to the easy access it allows us to have since it only needs a mobile phone, not anything else since we do not have access to the labs or other equipment. The phone also allows it to be easily tested in the current pandemic. My teammates have conducted user testing, while I am still focusing on adapting it for team gameplay.

The concept I am working on is that of a pong game that works with the entire household as a team competing against another household. The gameplay for this remains largely similar to that of my teammates, the difference being mainly in setting up the game as well as a different scoring system, since different households could have different numbers of people in ut, and limiting the competitors to only those with the same number of people would severely handicap the usability of the game. Further imagery and diagrams to follow as it is made.

While we are only capable of producing an augmented reality prototype, We would love for the ideal finished product to be a cohesive system with smart walls imbued with sensors as well as displaying the ball, as well as bouncing seamlessly and realistically between each person. It would have the sensitivity and flexibility required where the different cleaning tools that are used would all be compatible with the sensors, regardless of type or texture, without any complicated modifications needed.

This week was largely spent researching possible methods to build the prototype, given that the projector idea would no longer work. Researching possible sensor options that could be used. Filtering through all the sensors they had, I narrowed it down to these options and researched it further into the technical capabilities of each and how compatible they would be.

• Hand Gesture Sensor Module for Arduino https://www.jaycar.com.au/hand-gesture-sensor-module-for-arduino/p/XC3742
• Arduino Compatible IR Obstacle Avoidance Sensor Module https://www.jaycar.com.au/arduino-compatible-ir-obstacle-avoidance-sensor-module/p/XC4524
• Motion Sensor LED Light with Solar Charging https://www.jaycar.com.au/motion-sensor-led-light-with-solar-charging/p/SL3503

Some of these would mean a lack of sensitivity in gameplay, where any sweeping gesture would have to work and have it assumed that that would hit the ball and make it bounce, where it could work, would also mean that it would be almost impossible to not score and have no difficulty included since no precision is required to hit the ball. I decided to look further as this would not be good enough.

Other additional work I did alongside this was to go through what The work i did last year for Digital Prototyping (DECO2300) to refresh my memory as well as explore how the sensors could be swapped out for the other potential sensors

I felt really nervous coming into this week trying to figure out how the project would work as a team assisted individual project as I was already not confident in my skills for this course. Adding to that, my teammates had all wanted to build something I felt was not the most practical but they were confident in. The report backs started of badly for me as well as I found out another teammate had dropped the course, leaving 3 of us.

However, the group discussion later with Lorna really helped in figuring out which direction to explore the concept in. Since my other 2 teammates were housemates, it meant they could easily work on the main project, while I would then use what they built and adapt it to a multiplayer setting, where each household functions as one team, competing against different households.

Moving forward this week is mainly going to be researching how this would work for me, as I still largely have no idea how to accomplish this.

For now, our focus is still howver on writing the report, conducting background research into the problem space specific to housework, existing technologies, the Internet of things, and pong, as well as preliminary surveys and user testings to narrow down the field. I would also like to fully flesh out and plan the specifics of the game - if an app is used to connect each thing, how would it look like, what are the rules, what are the interactions a user goes through, site map, and the specific gameplay of each chore as mentioned in my previous journal, among others

I guess to avoid feeling overwhelmed I intend to just take each challenge as it comes and focus on the immediate plans to complete this week. I intend to use the next week as well as Mid sem break to improve my technhical skills in Arduino as well as going more in depth into the specifics of the problem space and learning about that

Presentation

This week was stressful being the first week online. We decided on doing a prerecorded presentation as it would allow us to show how pong would be used in daily life. My job was to film, which meant figuring out exactly how each type of chore would be done and what tools could be used to play pong. Due to the restrictions, I had to make do with what I had at home to try to convey the message. Having to figure out the filming and and framing to show the game best was a challenge, then having to edit the videos. It was interesting working these out and we definitely need to explore how different chores where perhaps have no tool or many interchangable tools could still use this.

Response to critiques

The most commented on by far was the usage of the knife in game, where in hindsight would be dangerous for children or if some were too engrossed with the game. Initially, I had thought that cooking would be mostly done by an adult, hence being responsible and that simple flicking motions would not be too dangerous. However, different options might need to be made.

Another common trend in the feedback was that it should be available in multiple rooms. While not addressed in the video, it was what we had originally intended, hence the scenes of a door outside, a bedroom, bathroom, and kitchen. It could have been made clearer in the video.

Sound would be incorporated, as well as exploring alternative means of playing the game that are task specific, where chores such as cleaning, mopping or sweeping would still work if not be extremely suited for it if where the ball lands over time helps ensure the whole area is cleaned well and no spots are missed, but chores such as cooking or doing the laundry could benifit from a different approach to the game while still being fun and playing a part while completing the chores.

Competitiveness could definitely also be worked on, having a reward motivating gameplay to aim for, making it less repetitive and encourage users to get better at each task.

Other general critiques

A wide range of interesting ideas were presented, and a main trend I noticed was adapting it for use to a group or people, whether in the context of teamwork to complete a challenge, or simply how it would function in a public setting where many others who might not be interacting with it or be the primary user but still be affected.

Other feedback mainly involved developing their concepts further, although a particular area that I noticed was how a few concepts could potentially affect mental health negatively, the opposite of the majority of users that would likely be encouraged. This could involve different cultural norms, which I found interesting especially growing up in a culture different to Australia, where i now live.

Tuesday

From the beginning of the semester, I saw world cafe in the schedule and was immediately intrigued. As a result, i was looking forward to today.

I found out that it worked by sitting at tables of about 6 around a theme, then discussing and iterating various concepts.

My first table was for musical things. What we focosed on was the punching bag musical fountain, where users could punch it to destress and have the fountain and music adapt to the punches. This reminded me of performances such as Master of Tides by Lindsey Stirling and Kairos by Derek Hough, which led me to think that it could be further developed as an unique element to similar flash mobs, where beat heavy music could have punching incorporated into the choreography and have the water be synchronized to the performance. Another table that stood out to me was Bothersome Tech. The cover roller morning alarm seemed like a great way for users who have trouble getting out of bed. i thought more interactions could be incorporated, such as snooze functions, or having the bed vibrate. I thought this could be incorporated with my own concept, the smart curtian, where the curtains turn fully trasparent or open when the alarm rings to let light in, or having the user get out of bed to open the curtain to shut the alarm off. Going back to musical things, we moved on to prod paper, where lines and shapes drawn on paper with different thicknesses are transformed to sound. I thought this could be developed further, with different coloured pencils being played with different instruments. It could be also used on normal score sheets in a more professional sense, where it would be played in order with the different colours, allowing composers to hear and plan out how each note sounds played together with different instruments The percussion glove, which makes various sounds based on hand shape, could be further developed for use with a guitar or piana, where the various shapes made could play accomaniying drumbears, or the user could use the hand shapes while playing the guitar for drumbeats, which could be useful for buskers or one man bands.

We also came up with a concept - The Sounding Board. this involves a board which can be connected to others, and blocks can be placed in the grid positions on the board, different colours being different instruments, where stacking blocks higher would result in a higher pitch, and more consecutive blocks would be the note playing for a longer time. this would be useful in kids to develop fine motor skills as well as understanding how things work. this could also primarily used in music classes to understand different notes as well as counts in music.

Wednesday

The talk with Bash was extremely informative and inspiring. I was not expecting the exercise and ended up with the word designer. It describes me as I try to find art and beauty in everything, and try to find creative ways to complete a task. I also learnt useful tips on how to plan for employment, such as finding a place where you fit.

We also received our team allocations. I was surprised to have not gotten any of my preferences despite dates matching up, and am quite worried as i struggle with a language barrier with all my teammates. We also have very similar skills and talents, while having different personalities, which will be interesting to overcome in the long run

Below are the potential base ideas we narrowed down our options to, before developing them further to allow for more interactions

Smart Curtain

The smart curtain allows indecisive users to change the colour of their curtain according to their mood. The varying degrees of opacity allows users to customize the amount of light that is let in according to the activity that is taking place.

All this is achieved by intuitive gestures already commonly in use, such as swiping and twisting. The user can swipe upwards or downwards anywhere on the curtain to increase or decrease the opacity of the curtain, controlling how bright they want to room to be. Meanwhile, a five fingered twisting motion allows the users to change the colour, according to the adobe colour wheel. The learning curve isn't too steep as the colour wheel is intuitively following the colours of the rainbow, while even if users do not remember the order, are able to still keep twisting until it reaches their desired colour without too much effort.

A mid opacity setting, combined with different colours also allows users to tinge their room various colours, allowing that there is sufficient light coming in.

During this ideation process, I thought through the problems I faced in the past few months, and having moved house and designed my new room was unable to decide on colours as i liked many different options as well has wanting more than binary options of light.

Alternative uses of the Smart Curtain also include easy set changes for stage productions, providing simpler ways to change the tone or mood of each scene.

https://color.adobe.com/create

Tuesday

Today we discussed our fears, hopes and expectations on the course. Some of my fears were that I would suffer from my lack of programming skills and that I might struggle to come up with good ideas. I am also concerned about the long hours as well as the stresses that come with working together in a team.

However, I hope to improve my programming skills throughout this course as well as work well together in teams to produce innovative and unique interactions through our projects. Additionally, I hope for the support and collaboration of my coursemates for the coming semester.

In looking for inspiration, I found I was drawn to projects found on the Hardware UX/UI Instagram account such as the modern piggy bank whose emotional wellbeing is solely dependent on how much money you feed it, and the Abanico clock that redesignes the way we interact with a bedside alarm clock in such a creative way.

I hope to be able to one day design cutting-edge technology that is both affordable to the average consumer but still effective and impactful enough to change the way they interact with their daily lives after incorporating such products into their lives.

Wednesday

My section of the HCI Grand Challenges were on wellbeing, health and eudaimonia.

During project ideation, we used playing cards with each suit having its own property that reflected each of the 13 values. For each design round, a sentence is made from the 4 properties by each team.

With the individual rounds, we were allowed to swap between the other suits of cards on the table.

I started with the following sentence, but then swapped cards to get the next sentence as I could no come up with an idea. The ideas I came up with are in the bullet points following each sentence.

Design for creating in a lounge room to shout using the quality of personal

Design for confronting in a lounge room to shout using the quality of personal

• A safe space with an interactive wall display that confronts you so you shout and release your problems

• A sound proof private relaxing room for resolving arguments

Design for confronting in childhood to look using the quality of personal

• A tv show that exposes childhood myths -santa, tooth fairy, but they cannot tell anyone

Design for confronting in the apocalypse to look using the quality of ambiguous

• Art installation that flicks between normal and zombie when someone isnt looking

Design for confronting in the apocalypse to point using the quality of ambiguous

• A watch that tracks when the user points at something and produces either an interesting relevant fact or shocks the wearer if no fact is found

Design for capturing in the apocalypse to point using the quality of ambiguous

• A game where the user captures zombies to free humanity by pointing and them but some are humans in disguise to survive the zombies

Design for creating in the apocalypse to point using the quality of ambiguous

• A build your zombie game where you get features by pointing at another zombie but being unable to choose which feature is taken

The final round had us choosing an idea from the initial team round and expanding it. We chose misdirectional sound, changing it to have users follow a prerecorded description of art pieces to find it, then being able to record their description for the next person to find.

While we had a rough idea of how we would run the tests, we still have a long way to go before the final idea is fully developed.

I am in my final year of a BInfoTech(UXDes) program. I am interested in combining my love for crafting and coding in an innovative way. I am concerned about being unable to complete technical requirements satisfactorily, or not being able to come up with a sufficiently groundbreaking idea. However, I feel that this course will allow me to grow in my technical skills.

I am looking forward to learning the relevant machinery needed to bring my ideas to life in both creative and practical ways. In this course, I am excited to explore physical computing in the area of fun and enjoyment to promote human eudaimonia while still producing useful and impactful products that enhance the user experience.