Forest Collector

1. Design
2. Goals
3. Users
4. Prototype
5. Critical Tasks
6. User Tests
7. Other

Design

The design of our project shifted a lot initially. Our concept started with trying to bring the forest experience to someone in the city. After many discussions we decided that this was not the direction that any of us really wanted to go in. As a group we felt an internal conflict with recreating something we believed could only be experienced in person. At this point we decided to switch over to creating a device that would help bring people to the forest with the end goal of educating the user.

Goals

The end goal for the Forest Collector project is to create an enjoyable product that will not simply recreate a forest experience, but instead entice modern urbanites to the forest. The project serves as a bridge to connect individuals that may be more interested in technology, but less interested in the forest. We hope that this project will spur that interest in the forest through education, collection, and enjoyment. The project aims to provide the following major functions:

• A glove that can scan marked objects in the forest
• Feedback when objects are scanned
• Object identification
• A website where a user's collected objects can be further researched and viewed

Users

Potential users of the Forest Collector project can be anyone from students on a field trip to your everyday park attendee. Below are two user personas that may benefit most from the Forest Collector project.

Carl Freed

• Age: 26
• Gender: Male
• Location: Rochester, NY
• Education: Business degree
• Occupation: Entry-level project coordinator at Marshfield Inc.
• Nature Experience: Camped as a child a couple of times

Carl works everyday Monday through Friday. In the evening he enjoys movies, reading, and the occasional video game. On the weekends he participates in a R/C Airplane club and likes to hang out with friends. Recently, Carl entered a relationship with a girl that really likes the outdoors. His new girlfriend wants Carl to experience the outdoors and really understand why she likes it, through hiking and camping trips on the weekends. Carl respects the outdoors, but has not had too many experiences or much outdoor education. Carl would like to be able to identify plants and animals so that he can one day teach his kids about the things he feels like he missed out on.

Karli Sween

• Age: 11
• Gender: Female
• Location: Pittsford, NY
• Education: Elementary
• Occupation: Student
• Nature Experience: Goes to the park to play and explores the depths of her backyard

Karli is really interested in computers and the Internet. Her favorite class is social studies. She also likes science and wants to know more about the different kinds of nature around her. Every summer she goes to a weeklong summer camp. During the camp, the kids do a lot of outdoor activities. On one of the days of the camp, she gets to go hiking in a local park. Karli is interested in learning more about the local plants at the park, but wishes she could identify them better to research them online later.

Prototype

Critical Tasks

• When obtaining user feedback for our project we will attempt to ensure that we are providing an engaging, enticing, and educational experience that would drive users to learn more and aid them in finding enjoyment in the forest sans technology.
• Can users easily scan marked objects in nature without error and without outside help?
• Does the user find the feedback presented when objects are scan to be enjoyable and informative?
• Is the device comfortable for long-term use (day hike in the forest)?

User Tests

Our testing will focus on the critical tasks mentioned in section 2. The individual test steps and benchmarking guidelines for each test are as follows:

Task 1: Scanning an object

Steps:

1. Put collection glove and required hardware on.
2. Approach test objects.
3. Place hand near the first marker you come to.
4. Once experience is finished (feedback and identification are confirmed), try scanning a new object. Successful completion: The user is able to successful attach the system to their person and scan an object without outside intervention. The object should be stored in the device's memory.

Task 2: Device Feedback rating

Steps:

1. Repeat steps 1-3 from previous task.
2. Observe the feedback.
3. Fill out questionnaire about feedback received once object is scanned.
4. Successful completion: Questionnaire produced without outside help
5. Benchmark: Ratings given on questionnaire about enjoyment and educational value should be above 0 (average rating). Ratings about annoyance level should be very low.

Task 3: Comfort Level & Overall emotional response

Steps: On the back of the questionnaire from the previous task, answer questions about the comfort level of this product. Also answer questions about overall feel, design, and use of the product. Question regarding desire to use this product again.

Benchmark: Ratings given on about comfort level should be high (>0). Predictions about long term use, such as for a day hike, should be greater than 0.

Other

• User test form
• User test results 1
• User test results 2
• User test results 3
• Final Presentation Slideshow [ppt] [pdf]