Design 02: Group Brainstorm

Team Toqepi

Group Members

• Brian Ly
  
• Phoebe Lin
• Karan Chitnis
• Fieyang Xue
• Yiju Rita Tuan

Brainstorm

Miscellaneous

1. iclicker for Voting/Attendance - an application that allows students to vote in answers during class or sign in for attendance much like an iclicker.

2. Powerpoint Companion- an application for presenters to be able to switch powerpoint slides and access other functionality on a computer without having an additional remote

   Present with style

3. Translations-on-the-Go: an application for travelers in a foreign country just starting ot learn the language in which they can speak into the watch a foreign phrase, and the watch will display a translation in their chosen language

4. Notetaker - an application for students with mobile disabilities that lets them use their voice to input notes into your watch. Could also intelligently parse the text and recommend other links/products.

5. Love Note: an application for long-distance couples to send custom notes or thoughts to their significant other with a simple gesture on the watch

   Never miss another note from your loved one.

6. Nike Fitbit for Watch - an application that tracks calories burned, hours slept, daily activities, and weight

7. Runner’s PhotoOp: an application for outdoor runners that lets them snap quick photos with a simple button press on the watch while they are running to visually document their exercise route

   Even a run cannot stop you from taking a selfie now.

8. Running Tracker - the smartwatch will track the duration, steps, time, and number of miles ran and run statistics on it. The smartphone will have plots and graphs showing how your exercising patterns have changed over the last week, month, or year.

9. Task Organizer - application to organize your individual or group tasks like Google Keep or Trello and sets reminders for when the tasks are due

10. Social media voice commands - use voice commands to post status updates on your facebook, twitter, google plus, etc

11. Sky Watch: an application for amateur stargazers that let’s them point their watch at the sky to identify stars, moon phase, constellations, and satellites. Similar to the SkyView app.

12. Social Media - an application that allows you to post short voice messages, like Twitter or Snapchat but in audio format.

Music

1. Timbre - an application for musicians that records a melody as the user is creating it and can output the same melody played by a different instrument afterwards

2. Tuner app - an application that allows musicians to tune an instrument based on the vibrations of the watch, allowing them to not have to look at a screen.

3. Shazam into your earbuds - an application that takes in audio from the environment and finds the matching song that is playing. It replays the song into the ear buds.

   What song is that? Oh look, my smart watch knows and now I can play it over and over again.

4. Lazy Gymmate - an application for multitasking gymmers that can easily control media from the watch so, for example, they do not have to pause their workout to fast-forward their videos

Notifications

1. Sports Notifications - get notifications for all your favorite sports teams (and/or all sports news in general) in real time.

2. IM/Chat Notifications - get notifications from IM/Chat services like Gmail, Facebook Messenger, WhatsApp, Skype, etc

3. News Notifications - get news of current events right when they happen. This can be extended to flash flood or other emergency warnings like Amber Alert.

4. Set My Alarm - an application for forgetful morning people that reads your calendar and automatically sets your morning alarm and event notifications, so you never forget to set your alarm again

5. Customer Service management application - An application for food businesses owners that allows employees to check in/clock in (phone has special ID), send short voice messages to manager, broadcast messages to other employees present (useful for going on breaks, and also allows manager to broadcast messages to employees to notify them on shipments or other customer related necessities.

Games/Entertainment

1. Laser Tag - users can play laser tag with their friends by pointing their watches instead of laser guns (external laser pointer would have to be implemented as well)

2. Idea Generation - generate any comical app idea for entrepreneurs, programmers, and designers

3. Tightwire - game where the user has to tilt their watch back and forth to maintain their balance while walking on a rope

4. Vocab Flashcards - users can input any vocab words, facts, or trivia and review them as flashcards on the smartwatch

5. Helicopter game - tap one button to move the helicopter up/down through the obstacles

6. DrawToText - Draw pictures on the watch and use voice commands to send images with text to your friends

7. Pet Game - an application that allows you to take care of a virtual pet. The smartwatch allows the user to play the game more easily and more frequently.

8. Charade app! - an application for team builders that generates word or phrases to act out on the actor’s watch (can skip words etc), the other team can use a phone to see what the word is and to see the current scores.

   No more wasted time drawing words/phrases out of a hat. no more score disputes. All that's left is more time for fun.

Calendar

1. Synced Event Planner - notifies you on watch for when to go to next event and recommends other events to go to in the area.

2. Event Adder - uses speech to text to directly add events to Google Calendar and/or other calendars.

3. Schedule Coordinator - finds the times everyone in the group is available to meet by finding common gaps in every person's calendars. 

   Coordinating schedules has never been so easy.

GPS/Geolocation

1. EZ Client Pickup: an application for event planners that can easily track the location of their clients during group events which require pick up

2. Yelp 2.0: recommend tourists places to visit in the area based on their current location (ex: a famous local restaurant)

3. Speeding Warning - an application that vibrates and alerts a driver when he/she is speeding.

4. Geolocation Eventbrite - find events near the user and provide details on when/where it is. The user can enter their specific interests to narrow down the search

5. Cops/speed camera warning - an application that alerts a driver when a speed camera or cop is nearby.

6. Lost Things Finder - an application that tracks down a tagged item and points in the direction of it as you look for it, like a compass

7. Traffic Updates - Receive real time traffic updates based on the preset route. Gives immediate notification when there is an accident.

8. Maps - GPS integrated app that displays directions in real time

9. ArrivalCheck - Use the smartphone to select the buses/trains you are waiting for (location based on GPS). The smartwatch will have a countdown for each bus (updated if the bus runs late) and will notify user when the bus is arriving, so the user no longer has to constantly check the phone for updated times.

10. Spot finder - app that detects you are nearing your destination and automatically starts finding parking for you that is near your destination and then gives you the directions to that spot.

11. Landmine game - set a virtual landmine on a GPS location and “Bomb” people

Food/Shopping

1. Discount Finder: an application for the frugal that finds all items on sale in the store the user is in

2. RecipeMe! - turn the ingredients a user has (foods inputted using their android device) and find which foods they can make using them (recipe interface on watch)

3. Barcode/QR code app - scan a barcode or QR code using the watch to find what the item is and find cheaper prices for that exact same product.

4. Cheaper products - Set a couple common stores that the user frequently goes to. When at the store, the user can speak into the mic of the watch, and it will display the cheapest store that item can be found in and the price.

5. Cooking Timer - an application for home cooks where they select the different dishes they are currently cooking up and the watch automatically sets multiple timers

6. Grocery List - an application which lets shoppers easily enter in a grocery list on the phone and then check each item off on the watch as they shop

   Who would go back to that flimsy piece of paper that we call a grocery list when you can have one on a smart watch?

Money

1. Split Restaurant Bills - splits the bill between friends at restaurants. Instead of passing around a bill, simply have one person type in the cost of each person’s order, automatic tax & tip, and each person’s bill will be displayed on their watch.

2. Bump to Pay - an application that allows a simple bumping action of the watches or phones to send money from one party to another

3. Fingerprint Authenticator - an application that lets users pay by scanning the watch display (ie: secret barcode) and then confirm the transaction using their fingerprint

Idea Selection

Our group chose to work on pptClicker. pptClicker is an application that allows a presenter to go to previous slides, next slides, and click hyperlinks on their powerpoint presentation by simply pressing buttons on their watch. In addition, a laser pointer can be attached to the right side of the watch so that a laser will appear on the projected slides when the presenter points to it. However, presentations can also be a very interactive experience since presenters often want to take attendance or polls from the audience. That is why we want to create a separate Android and watch application for the audience; when prompted, the audience can vote on the presenter’s questions by pressing the Yes/No or A, B, C, D options on their watches or smartphones. The voting results will be available to the presenter so that he/she can get better feedback. We picked this idea because instead of having to carry a separate bulky clicker to perform these tasks, the presenter can simply press a button on their smartwatch to navigate through their slides and use a laser pointer. It also solves the problem of everybody in the audience having to raise their hand or have their own separate clicker to cast their vote. We felt that out of all the ideas on our list, this idea is extremely useful for our target market and solves a problem that a smartphone and other devices can’t.

Project Description

Target User Group

Our target user will be speakers who regularly give presentations. Our application is geared toward improving productivity and increasing interactivity in giving presentations. This will allow speakers to more easily navigate their presentation via controls on their watch. Speakers will also be able to use the built-in laser pointer to highlight key points while presenting and encourage audience interactivity by pushing polls to the audiences’ smart devices. Though many of the more advanced capabilities of this application is geared toward giving large, interactive presentations such as TED Talks and corporate all-hands meetings, the primary function of this application is to create a more seamless presentation experience, As such, while there are a range of capabilities that capture the needs and use cases for power users, the application is simple enough that those intending to use the application purely for basic presentation functions.

Problem Description & Context

Imagine you are a TED talk speaker; you are giving a presentation using slides and want to engage the audience with a few polls. This application aims to simplify the process of switching slides and streamline the experience of getting feedback from the audience. For example, you want to change your slide, but you also want to perform some sort of demonstration at the same time, this watch applications allows you to do so without the hassle of holding a clicker or returning to the computer to click “Next.” In addition, there is the issue of wanting to interact with the audience in an anonymous fashion. Presently, there exists the iClicker, however, this application will also exist for the members of the audience. Instead of having to purchase and bring an iClicker, the audience will be able to use the same application to anonymously vote on questions posed by the speaker.  

Why is a mobile application a good solution for the problem? 

There are products like iclicker which can provide part of the functions of the app, and nearly all of them are mobile app or at least on mobile device. Making this app a mobile app is a wise choice. At the presenter’s end, he does not need to run back to press the keyboard on the computer to go to the next slides, so he could be more engaging with the audience. At the audience part, they do not need to put a giant computer on their lap, browsing through the web page while all the distracting things pops out. In this way, they could easily participate in the presentation and express their opinion. A engaging interaction with the audience is crucial for the presenters to convey their idea, and an immediate and easy-to-do feedback from the crowd is also the needs for the audience. Deploying this app as a mobile app is based on the users’ needs. It will enable a better feedback loop between the two parties at the presentation.

Why is a smart watch a good solution for the problem? 

A smartwatch has many advantages over using a smartphone for this application. One of the main benefits of having this application on a smartwatch is that a smartwatch allows the user to switch slides without having to hold another object, giving the user much more freedom to gesture and point as he or she is presenting, giving way to a more expressive and natural presentation. Also, it eliminates the potential of dropping the device as he or she is presenting since the smartwatch is strapped to the user’s wrist. Another major benefit of a smartwatch is its accessibility. The smartwatch is not another gadget that the user needs to remember to bring, since it is multifunctional and designed in a way that the users will find much benefit in wearing it everyday whether or not they are expecting to present, which allows this application to always be on hand. This accessibility also allows it to become a useful application for not just for the presenter, but also for the audience. If the presenter has a part of the presentation where there is a poll, the audience can use the application as a iclicker and participate in the poll, allowing immediate feedback during presentation without using a separate one purpose gadget that is so easily lost and forgotten.