HUB-AR caters their mobile app, H.AR, to large, outdoor-event organizers. The augmented reality technology and user-centered approach allow people to find people and places.
HUB-AR caters their mobile app, H.AR, to large, outdoor-event organizers. The augmented reality technology and user-centered approach allow people to find people and places.
Duration: About 1 month
Dolores Park, a mostly lawn,16-acre public park in San Francisco’s Mission District, draws large crowds on sunny days. During those times, people have trouble finding each other and experience long bathroom lines. Additionally, the large crowds attract charismatic vendors who sell consumable products by walking around. Users find it hard to find these vendors when they want to.
A mobile app that leverages augmented reality technology as a wayfinding tool to find people and moving vendors. The second component of the solution is communal input as a way to share information on restroom line lengths and vendor locations.
Explaining *4.1 Product Repositioning:
Though I initially had my sights on a product for a specific location, designing features led to the realization that the same technology can apply to many other situations; particularly large, outdoor events.
This is where the idea got bigger. If finding people and locations, finding changing locations, and rating places can help alleviate the stresses of crowded events with the aid of AR, HUB-AR has the potential to access the events market.
Dolores Park during Pride Weekend.
Due to its great location, milder Mission District micro-climate, and beautiful views of the city, Dolores Park draws huge crowds on sunny weekends while the height of its human-density occurs during Pride Weekend every year.
Though I’ve frequented this park numerous times, I can’t recall a bad day at the park. Only small blips along the road (like finding people). I realized that this was the first common problem on a typical day there and wondered about more opportunities to make a good day a great and seamless day.
Often a fun set of characters (and animals).
Dolores Park reflects the diversity, quirkiness, and freedom of expression that exemplify San Francisco’s unique qualities. Costumes, spontaneous shows, tight-rope-walking, and leash-free dogs are commonplace. People come to play, to picnic, see their friends, people-watch, and be part of the palpable energy.
Additionally, alcohol and marijuana are freely comsumed on site. Although public drinking is illegal on public property in California, this law is somehow overlooked at Dolores. Long before marijuana was legal, people consumed it there freely. This almost-unspoken “pass” that people get at this particular location adds to the atmosphere of the park.
Google Earth model
The park is fairly large (16 acres) and open with large slopes down to Dolores St. With it being so open, I conjectured that the lack of landmarks was part of the reason people had trouble finding each other
Coconut Kyle (far left) and Truffle Man (far right)
Dolores Park also serves as an economic opportunity for people. The most well-known vendors are the “Truffle Man” and “Coconut Kyle” (Or, Michael, the Coconut Guy).
With people imbibing freely, restrooms lines are a concern for many Dolo-goers (later confirmed with data).
"Dolo" app from 2013
A friend-finding app, Dolo, existed in 2013, but is now defunct. This app is not to be confused with a more recent app, also called Dolo, that offers insider-local tips.
Since 2013, Dolores Park has only gotten more crowded on nice days and Pride attracts more people than ever before.
With my interest in AR, I knew that this would be a great opportunity to take a fresh look at the Dolores Park experience to facilitate opportunities.
Halfway into wireframing the app, I realize that the features tested at Dolores Park can apply to other outdoor situations, which led to the eventual concept of HUB-AR.
Players can collect virtual creatures that evolve and battle with each other.
Available in the regular Yelp app. Overlays Yelp-reviewed places to your camera’s view.
Users can animate text and make scenes come to AR life. Can record scenes to share.
Users can place landscape elements in AR to design their real spaces (indoor or outdoor).
The goal of the survey was to pinpoint and prioritize the user needs of Dolores Park-goers for the purposes of an MVP. The beauty of augmented reality is that it reveals hidden layers of information that users can't otherwise access. With an understanding that this information will only be available upon user-participation, the survey also tested what users want versus what they're willing to do.
What are the reasons you've visited Dolores Park?
97%
To hang out with friends
55%
For a special event (like Pride)
16%
To hang out solo
What kinds of activities have you participated in there?
97%
Eat / drink
97%
People-watch
77%
Drink alcohol
55%
Smoke pot
Have you ever had trouble finding people at the park?
87%
Yes
10%
No
3%
I have never had to find people
Why do you think you had trouble finding people?
93%
It was too crowded
70%
No significant landmarks to refer to
37%
Poor communication
What information would you like to know about the rest of the park while you're there?
87%
How long the bathroom lines are
68%
Where are the vendors?
39%
Who is single?
29%
I'd like to see messages/signs from other groups
What information would you be willing to share publicly while you're at the park?
84%
How long the bathroom lines are
68%
Where are the vendors?
35%
If I'm single
42%
A message/sign from my group to other groups
Though embarking on the social aspect was enticing (finding an avenue for singles and groups to mingle), the most obvious features to tackle for an MVP were:
“It’s hard when there’s special events, it’s shoulder-to-shoulder, super-packed. There aren’t any landmarks. 10 feet over could mean like 500 people.”
“I can specifically remember walking on Dolores street and calling or texting friends and asking where they are. They may say things like “close to the center walk,” but that’s super general. It usually doesn’t take that long to find them, but it’s still always a process.”
“Usually when I’m at Dolores, there is drinking involved. Handicap number two is that I’m checking my phone intermittently because I’m already socializing. I’d see a text and realize that the person has already been there for like 10 minutes and I’d call the person right away.”
“It’s hard when there’s special events, it’s shoulder-to-shoulder, super-packed. There aren’t any landmarks. 10 feet over could mean like 500 people.”
“I can specifically remember walking on Dolores street and calling or texting friends and asking where they are. They may say things like “close to the center walk,” but that’s super general. It usually doesn’t take that long to find them, but it’s still always a process.”
“Usually when I’m at Dolores, there is drinking involved. Handicap number two is that I’m checking my phone intermittently because I’m already socializing. I’d see a text and realize that the person has already been there for like 10 minutes and I’d call the person right away.”
The survey and user interviews allowed me to prioritize these user types:
With more time, it would've been great to include a feature to connect outdoor communal activities (like frisbee and yoga) and a way for singles to connect.
The issue I mentioned in Competitive Analysis, the problem with overlay when new and moving real-life objects are introduced to virtual objects, is an issue of occlusion.
That is, current apps in the market cannot detect the depth of new and fast-moving objects (like a hand), then render a masked version of the virtual objects to the user’s screen.
The two companies that I’ve seen actively tackling occlusion right now (Feb. 2019) are: Niantic and Placenote (though I’m sure there are other companies).
Current available apps’ inability to occlude AR objects, was particularly worrisome because finding someone through AR requires pointers/markers. Additionally, if the whole point is to navigate through large crowds (lots of fast, moving objects), how do we handle the issue of occlusion?
The answer was in some site analysis and in this article by Placenote and hinges on a pre-mapped environment.
GPS accuracy has come a long way in smartphones and will only get better. According to MIT Technology Review and the IEEE, Broadcom chips allowing 30cm (slightly less than a foot) accuracy will begin rolling out. In fact, the Xiaomi Mi 8 include this chip and rolled out May 2018.
Iteration 1 (initial sketch)
Iteration 2 (vectorized, cleaned up)
Iteration 3 (more thorough, shows users a way out)
Iteration 1 (initial sketch)
Iteration 2 (vectorized, cleaned up)
Iteration 3 (more thorough, shows users a way out)
My inspiration came from tropical images. Tropical, here, has a set of deep and saturated colors, light and muted colors, and high-chroma brights. The textures are organic and the feeling is festive.
From the moodboard images, I derived a color palette that gave off a similar vibe.
AR is about the layering of information, so I sought a way to convey a sense of layering with the UI. Inspired by natural elements, I experimented with some linework which was later incorporated as buttons and panels.
Hard Identity
Soft Identity
By "hard identity," I mean that H.AR should have a permanent logo that's simple and on the conservative side, while the "soft identity" can change as tastes change.
I chose one very screen-legible font, Inter. The single-font choice was made in anticipation of complex UI elements. With more types, I felt that future content may become needlessly cluttered.
HUB-AR, the app, is also a company and needed a website. Above shows two different schemes that were preference tested.
The homepage for HUB-AR is where users can access all of their hubs. It can be Dolores Park (HUB-Dolo) or whichever hubs on the list (HUB-AR's clients).
Setting virtual markers and having people be able to find it. The UI, shown at the right, still needs to be tested.
See PrototypeOrienting people will need more than just AR. I believe that clear, well-crafted, interactive 2D maps with icons will be necessary.
See PrototypeFor the MVP, HUB-Dolo, has three distinct categories: 1) Events, 2) Restrooms, and 3) Vendors. Through the "Events" category users can find their friends and create their own event to drop their own markers.
See Prototype"Restrooms" and "Vendors" have three features: request, report, and find. The "request" feature sends a message to the park so other users can "report" this info. The "find" feature allows users to either find the restroom or vendor.
**Results may have changed since posting
