Experiential Design - Task 1

 

Task 1 - Trend Exploration and Idea Generation

The aim of this task is to come up with three AR solution proposals that are unique and address specific problem statements. We need to ensure that the ideas we propose are not already available in the market, and that they are creative and innovative.

At first, Angel and I planned to work together on this assignment because we had a similar idea and style for our AR app, which is about stargazing and exploring stars, constellations, and planets. But since there are already many similar apps out there, we felt it was important to make our ideas different. As this task is individual, we decided to do our own research and come up with our own AR app ideas. Below is my main proposal, and I’ve also added two extra ideas as backups.

1. ARtro
2. ARnatomy
3. EduToy

Figure 1.1 Proposal

Feedback

ARtro 

• The idea is acceptable.
• Can add a toggle to switch between outdoor and indoor mode. For indoor mode, use a night sky overlay instead of camera-based AR.
• Limitation: Location-based AR may not be possible for this module because it needs API integration, which won’t be covered. The goal is to create AR using only Unity.
• Do research on how to create the AR without marker-based, as our users will be scanning the sky, which cannot be a marker. 
• Perhaps can try to make a sphere within the virtual environment.
• Try not to use videos for the learning part in AR, as users will likely open them in full screen instead of viewing them in AR, which is small and sometimes unstable. Use animations instead to make learning more fun and engaging.

ARnatomy

• This idea is acceptable.
• It would be look nice if I am familiar with Blender as these biological systems require quite high level of modelling technique.

EduToy

• This idea is acceptable.
• However it might be very tedious to make the toy interactive with many animations.
• The animation will be very heavy for the AR.

In the end, I chose the first idea, ARtro, and decided to work with Angel. Both of us discussed and combined our ideas. Angel suggested incorporating gamification, with a feature that allows users to explore and collect achievements. We decided to scale down the scope to focus solely on constellations. Below is the draft we came up with together.

Figure 1.2 Combined Idea

Concept Idea

1. When the user starts the app, they can toggle between viewing the sky with or without the virtual night sky overlay.
2. Stars will appear and shine in the background.
3. Tapping on a star will cause it to link with nearby stars, gradually forming a constellation.
4. Once a constellation is completed, it is unlocked and saved to the user’s achievement collection.
5. At the same time, an animation plays, explaining the myth or story behind the constellation, integrated seamlessly with the night sky.
6. In the Achievement section, users can view all constellations they’ve unlocked. Locked constellations will appear as silhouettes or faded outlines to indicate they haven’t been discovered yet.
7. Tapping on an unlocked constellation, it will display detailed information about the constellation (e.g. name, origin, myth). There is also a button to replay the animation.

Reflection

This assignment has given me valuable insights into the concept of AR. I not only developed a proposal, but also researched existing AR apps in the market, studied their features, and came up with an idea that does not yet exist while addressing a clear problem statement. In addition, I considered the user's perspective more deeply based on our lecturer’s advice and made adjustments to my proposal to make it more valid and user-centered.