DAAP Mobile Computing Fall 2012 - Orbach

to be honest no, not really. I hadn’t really thought of the “business” side of things that much in depth. I think ad support for an operating system is a very interesting angle to take. Especially to combat the cost issues schools face so often. Online data security is another interesting thing to think about. Especially with grades/files. I’m not too entirely sure I understand the Upgrade-ability though. wouldn’t it just be digital like windows updates are now?

I appreciate the insight. Definitely want to make this more than just another laptop. A strategy piece would be valuable to develop and think about.

Upgrade wise was thinking more hardware. To sell this to school boards lifetime costs would be a big thing I would think. What is your plan for the purchase/use? Schools but it and provide to kids free? At some cost? Take back after each year to refurbish? How are broken or out if date hardware problems solved? How future proof is it?

R

Ahh, yea my group definitely thought a lot about that. One of the original concepts was to have yearly hardware upgrades through the school. The model that we ended up choosing is this: The schools would subsidize the purchase of the tablets for students, who would buy the tablet themselves. This is possible because the tablet is a textbook replacements, and many highschoolers spend a couple hundred dollars a year on textbooks. That number would drop considerably to purchase a digital version and over four years the costs would hopefully be close to even (but that’s honestly just projection. no way to come close to verifying any real numbers). The hardware won’t be upgradable save for RAM and Battery replacements. This is because replacing the CPU/GPU/board is extremely costly as it is. This computer isn’t running Adobe Suite programs, it’s just a basic school computer so it should be able to last four years.

Current programs have yearly refurbishing for the laptops that happens over the summer. I’d imagine this program would be the same.

Broken hardware is taken care of through an on-site repair team, and sent off-site if needed (again, this is the popular solution for current programs and our research shows it works quite well). We designed the device to be fairly simple and durable. The double-sided display was in part born out of the fact that swivel screens break often at the hinge (the tech guys at several schools we spoke to told us it was the most common hardware failure)

The future proof concept is this: at the end of four years, this laptop might be a bit out of date. But it still functions as an e-reader for textbooks. When a school invests in this program, theyre essentially providing all of their college bound students e-readers for college and the future. I think that’s a powerful concept that will accelerate the shift to digital books by empowering students to use them.

Personally, I see the life cycle road map and economic viability via design thinking the strongest possible potential of this project. Hardware is just another laptop among 1000s. How easily can the covers be changed after a kid put stickers on them? Modularity in accommodating for new technogy? Ports? Down cycle reusabity in a lower grade for a different purpose. Etc.

R

To clarify, in this case I think it’s not so much about the object but the paradigm and case model.


R

I totally agree. I’ll have to search for some inspiring projects to see what a well implemented solution looks/feels like

Dan, the physical interface is looking really clean.

On the OS, if you get familiar with Keynote you can actually make some pretty sophisticated digital interface mockups using some of its animations tools… I recommend starting on paper though. Sketch it out first. Just like the hardware, build a library of reference, both physical and digital, and sketch out concepts based on functional need. We were working on an app for the last few months that seemed to hit a bit of a dead end in the development f the interface. It just wasn’t feeling right. A quick analog sketch charrette and the entire thing had a breath of fresh air infused into it.

Sounds like a good idea. I did a few sketches and paper prototypes. Maybe I just need to do some more sketching work on it.

After some paper prototyping in class and a few brainstorms between my group we’ve generated a few more things:

Personally I’ve never seen or heard of anyone doing a chart like this (though i’m sure it’s common) and we found it very very helpful. Lifecycle vs. stakeholder chart. We plotted intersections where a stakeholder interacts with the product, and tried to think of ways to add value to those interactions.


My favorite idea that came out of this exercise: Rewarding students who keep laptops in good shape! example: student A doesn’t have any maintenance issues with their laptop for a year (doesn’t lose a charger, no broken parts, etc.) they are rewarded with a discounted accessory to personalize the device. Externality based economics (subsidizing good behavior!)

And a screenshot of refined OS aesthetics. I have clickable prototypes, but those aren’t too thread-friendly.


Thanks for all the feedback and help so far everyone. It’s really having an impact on the project in a big way and I appreciate it big time.

More UI Development. Additional Screen from other group members should be coming soon!

We also discussed the best way to display a project with a service component, UI component, and product component. We’ll be designing a website. So development on that will be starting soon!

starting to do a lot of cmf revisions and tweaking in keyshot. here is the latest one. not satisfied with the rubber on the outside yet…

An animation with a 360 view of the final design:

nice Dan, I imbedded the video for you:

[vimeo]http://vimeo.com/53895674[/vimeo]

a couple of small points.

The CMF is bright and contrasty, the image on the front screen (the bridge) is very desaturated an neutral. The selection of that image is important.

You might want to get a flyover from a higher angle to show off the hardware detailing on the keyboard surface.

Thanks Mike!

How do you embed videos? I feel like I should be figuring these things out by now hahaha.

It didn’t even occur to me about the image on the e-ink screen. I guess I thought it was just black and white so it would always be desaturated, but I do see your point. It’s kind of a warmish grey, and doesn’t pop too much as an image. I could also sub that for an actual screen from the OS we designed as well…

I was also thinking of doing another animation of just detail flyovers. This one was more to show the total design and take in the reflections and that kind of thing. I think a series of 3-4 detail flyovers might be good to do as well…

Thanks for the feedback!

There is a vimeo button in the upper right of the reply window next to the youtube button. Push that and then post the link to the vid between the little bit of code that pops up in the reply pane.

I forgot that is e ink. Instead of a photo, consider a contrasty dynamic graphic. Maybe something op-art like.
Edeltraud-Kloepfer-Abstract-art-Modern-Age-Op-Art.jpg

I tried the op art thing on a frame from the animation, I think it might distract a little too much from the product. Even an Ansel Adams photograph, which is about as contrasty as they come distracts too much for my taste I think…

Here is the final render as well, showing both the e-ink and lcd state.



Hey everyone,

Thanks for all of your help and feedback this semester. I really appreciate it. Here is the final motion reel for the project (though I’m sure more refinement isn’t too far off):



[vimeo]http://vimeo.com/55390143[/vimeo]

Nice job Dan! Two small crits that I think would help for your portfolio:
I might explain the USB dongle in the “Classroom Utility” as a thumb drive for easy file transfer (You probably talked about it earlier but what about adding NFC? Seems like a cleaner transfer media from student to student in a collaborative setting and doesn’t depend on strong wifi networks).
The “School Login” process seems a little slow and inconsequential, if there’s nothing novel about it maybe speed it up or axe it. Maybe I missed it but it seems to just be the standard username/password. What about highlighting a novel way to log in from the e-reader side of it? Win 8 has the picture puzzle thing as an example, could you complete an equation or draw your favorite chemical compound?

Anyways congrats on wrapping up!

p.s. I edited your vimeo tag, for some reason you have to take out the “s” in “https” for the embed to work.

very nice skills presentation…

Thanks for the feedback Guys! Choto I’ll definitely be making changes when this goes into portfolio so those will be on the list!