Me-U

The second ideation strategy resulted in various prototypes, and through the process I achieved a preliminary study of movable arms and anthropomorphic form.

 3. Personas.

After prototyping and exploring design outlets, I developed user personas for the different intended users of the product, based on the function and purpose of the design.

Trevor

• 7 years old

• Has had to start first grade online-only due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and his parents had heard from word-of-mouth that Me-U was becoming a popular “toy”

• Has neighborhood friends that are also going through his similar transition and grade school

 4. Mid-Fidelity Prototype.

Experimenting in low-fidelity highlighted many design possibilities, especially as it pertained to the activity that I wished to facilitate through my design. Keeping these insights in mind, I developed a mid-fidelity prototype that brought the overall experience closer to the ideal. I scaled up the size to stand at around 8 inches tall, I used rounded cardboard edges to simulate a soft and playful aesthetic, and as in low-fidelity, I included movable arms — attached by push-pins — to simulate the core of the product intention: the physical interaction.

 5. Interviews.

The development of a Mid-Fidelity prototype helped illustrate the idea better, and made the concept more tangible. This allowed me to start facilitating interviews that addressed the intuitiveness of the design and its interaction, material suggestions, and other considerations to keep in mind when carrying the design through to final development.

Results yielded from interviews:

• Me-U appears to be interactive, like a robot or action figure

• Knowing that Me-U is used to physically interact with friends, it would be anticipated to be used at least once a day

• The way one’s Me-U interacts with other Me-U figurines would have to be made more known

• Me-U would be kept somewhere frequented, like a desk or bedside table

• Clear instructions of how to use Me-U would have to be included

• Customization would be supported by users in order to personalize the figurines and bring character to those who it is supposed to represent

6. Surveys and Usability Studies.

To better understand peoples’ impressions of the design and the experience of interacting with it, I conducted virtual surveys and usability studies to walk through using Me-U. The surveys helped me discover the behavioral characteristics of sample user groups, and the usability studies offered direct feedback on the sentiments of interacting with Me-U.

Results yielded from usability studies:

• Participants unanimously think that user experience was well considered.

• Most participants enjoy the prototype.

• Nearly all participants thought that they can quickly learn the actions needed to interact with the prototype.

 7. High-Fidelity Prototype.

The last iteration of the prototype involved the highest amount of development, but also yielded the most authentic interaction, and nearly achieved what was sought after for the purpose of the design.

To produce Me-U, I first created a Rhino model with all the desired components, such as movable arms, a body, head, neck/shoulders, and even movable legs that could be used to sit or stand the figurine. I then produced a file to be 3D-printed, which translated the Me-U model from its digital form to a physical and tangible form. I printed two 11-inch-tall figurines in order to create a prototype of the interaction between two Me-U devices.

The second main factor of the design was the mechanism to make the input of moving one figurine’s arm result in the output of moving the opposite arm of another figurine. To do this, I used Arduino boards, actuators, and motors. The Arduino board served as the system to handle inputs and outputs between Me-U figurines. The actuator was the input, which consisted of a turnable knob that was attached to the left arm of each figurine. The motor acted as the output, which received the turn input from the actuator knob in order to make the motor turn the opposite figurine’s right arm to the same degree. In summary, the Arduino network helped make the Me-U devices not only communicate with one another, but also bring the true interaction between Me-U figurines to life.

The future of Me-U development would be to make the interaction wireless. The prototype of the interaction — done by wiring both Me-U devices together — cannot take place from any distance, as the ideal interaction would. Because Me-U devices are intended to facilitate physical interactions over long distances, a communication system based on Wi-Fi or some other type of long-range signal would truly bring Me-U to life.

Pull-apart diagram of Me-U model in Rhino, showcasing all the components.

A Video of Me-U at Work.

This video showcases the intended function of Me-U, as two partners share a moment of connection through their interactive figurines.