Designing Ubiquitous Computing Systems for Sports Equipment

Matthias Kranz, Wolfgang Spiessl, Albrecht Schmidt

University of Munich

The Fifth Annual IEEE International Conference on Percomm 2007

Presented by Sung Chul Ha

Table of Contents

1. One Line Comment

2. Introduction

3. Problem Definition

4. Approach

5. Result

6. Critique

One line comment

Design a user-centered and interactive sports equipment with ubiquitous computing system using Therapy Top.

Introduction

A challenging task

The ubiquitous computing systems are penetrating through all around the world.

End users which don’t have a technical background encounter a different focus on ubiquitous computing systems.

Now a days,

Problem definition

Ubiquitous computing systems familiar with engineers and researchers. HOWEVER, do end users also familiar with that systems?

So, the engineers have to develop a user-centered process.

THINK !

Approach

Design & Develop a Process

Case Study : Therapy Top

Study & Evaluation

Approach - Design & Develop a Process

Design & Develop a Process

The objective was to build a system suited and customized perfectly to the respective needs of the users and based on the latest technology available.

Paper Prototype & Mock-Ups

Rapid Prototyping

Functional Prototyping

Iterative Development & Fast Development Cycles

Stakeholder Identification

Learn about the Domain

Educating the User

Approach

1. Stakeholder Identification

“Direct stakeholders refer to parties – individuals or organizations – who interact directly with or its output. Indirect stakeholders refer to all other parties who are affected by the use of the system.”

- by Friedman et al.

2. Technology Developers Learn About the Domain in Depth

Scientists attended a sports school as ‘customer’ and ‘user’ before the start of any development in the project for a period of more than three months doing regular sessions.

This gave the researchers insight in how people are taught to do the exercises, how reporting and error-correction is done.

Approach

3. Educating the User : Technology Previews and Technology Probes

For end users, even prototypes need a certain level of maturity. This is necessary to allow them to think aloud about the possibilities and not distract them with the shortcomings.

4. Paper prototypes and Mock-Ups

Using paper prototype – an efficient way for informal system specification and to document requirements.

-has limits when it comes to integration and time functionality and flow of information within the system.

Using Mock-ups – more efficient when we consider the ‘time’ than paper prototype.

Approach

5. Rapid Prototyping Support

System developing is difficult, because needs of users change very fast. So, we need a prototype which can be change easily and rapidly.

6. Functional Prototypes – Throughout the Development

By having functional prototypes, the experience and usage becomes very realistic and people using the system come across more issues than when just thinking or discussing about it

7. Iteration Development and Fast Development Cycles

Creation an idea – specification of the requirement – feedback – prototyping – demonstration - evaluation

Approach - Case Study : Therapy Top

Paper prototype & Mock-ups

Presenting the people involved in the design team with a technology preview was essential to make them understand what is technologically feasible.

Flash C program

Graphical user interface

Approach - Case Study : Therapy Top

Development Cycles

Presenting the people involved in the design team with a technology preview was essential to make them understand what is technologically feasible.

Entered & keep angle

Standard performance

Substandard performance

No data

Graphical interfaces make communication between trainer and trainee.

Approach - Study and Evaluation

47 participants over a two-weeks time frame.

21 female, 26 male participants.

The youngest was 18 years old, the oldest 64.

42 trainee and 5 trainer

The exercises of all participants were stored RFID cards.

Participant were already familiar with those card

Approach - Study and Evaluation

Pre-study interviews

Interview the participants with a structured questionnaire to get background information

Demonstration

36

64

ask not ask

Correctness

27

73

correct incorrect

Ask for support

8

92

ask not ask

Result

Participants were first demonstrated and taught the usage of the system.

How to use the systems?

Result

Asking 6 questions to participant.

Figure1. User study results for the following questions: system feedback, user’s self-improvement and more satisfying training with audio-visual feedback

Result

Asking 6 questions to participant.

Figure2. User study results for the following questions: system feedback: training without supervision, usability of the GUI, error awareness

Critique

Strong points

The think ,“user-centered”, is the best point in this paper.

Using “therapy top” is very interesting point because that can be familiar with people.

Weak points

Too simple experiments disappoint many passional readers.

- Improving performance

- Value of interesting and fun (Fun is the most important element when we exercise)

Why don’t use more familiar and more digitalized equipments?

- Running machines, Babel, and so on.

Critique

New Ideas

How about use “Running Machine”? “Running Machine” is more familiar with people and a necessary health equipment.

Checking the value of improving performance and concentration will be valuable data.

Using music sign can make happy to users.

Thanks for your attention