This a transparent mobile-sized device that is placed on a car windshield which is paired and synced to your smartphone through a companion app. The clear device will display GPS navigation to improve visibility so that your smartphone is not blocking your view on the road and taking up windshield real estate. The device and app has the option of either using it's touch screen interface or utilizing its voice command activation which connects and syncs to your smartphone microphone. This voice command activation can be used to set or edit the destination address, music, answer or ignore phone calls, and find gas prices around you. The touch screen interface is also compatible to perform these same tasks.
Proposed 12 Ideas:
**Ideas 1-2 are specifically catered towards the problems I am trying to solve from my Design Assignment 1.1 which I personally came up with. The other ideas are concepts that I came up with collectively with some CS160 students where we decided to set up a chat and discuss potential ideas. Their names are Jonathan Nakhla, Jonathan Lo, and Richa Sheth.**
1) Having a built-in car windshield navigation interface with voice command activation which connects and syncs to your smartphone. This voice command activation would be used to set the address of the gps navigation destination. If a driver needs to edit or re-enter an address to reroute the car, he can use the voice activation.
2) Transparent mobile-sized device placed on a car windshield which is paired and synced to your smartphone through a companion app. The clear device will display gps navigation to improve visibility so that your smartphone is not blocking your view on the road and taking up windshield real estate. Would have the same voice command activation as mentioned in idea 1).
3) A smartphone app that pairs with a arduino motion sensor which let you see the queues and waiting time for certain places. For example with restaurants or events you can see how busy a restaurant is or how packed an event is.
4) Companion app for household networked appliances. When you aren’t home, you can use the app to connect either to your coffee maker, microwave, etc. so food and beverages are ready once you arrive home. Acts like a futuristic smart home.
5) Companion app for parking lots and parking meters. A simple interface where you can enter your phone number and parking spot so that it texts you when your parking time is almost up. The app would also allow you to add more time by pairing your choice of payment into the app.
6) An app that connects to and syncs your security cameras, lights, and sound system in your home remotely so that if you see an intruder from the cameras breaking into your house, you can turn the lights on and off rapidly, and yell loudly remotely into your smartphone mic which is remotely connected to your sound system so that you can scare the intruder away.
7) App that is syncs to your refrigerator to alert you when your food is going to expire. On the app you can see what you have stocked from your own customized grocery list that is uploaded onto the app. There will be a barcode scanner in the app to make it very convenient and fast to inventory the food.
8) A companion app for your smartphone that connects to your computer, scans the computer to grab information about the hardware in your computer. It will then give you recommendations on new hardware and PC components in the market that you can purchase to update and improve the performance of your computer.
9) Smartphone app that connects to a built in device of your dog or cat’s collar to check vital signs and track their location. The app would show you a graph and constant updates on your pet’s health status. This may be seen as a better alternative to having a gps chip injected into your pet.
10) An app that connects to a bracelet that exchanges information when you shake hands with people so you can recall acquaintances without asking having to search for them if you forget their name and contact information. The data and information would be displayed on the app.
11) A companion app for restaurants to replace the buzzers that they give out for people who are waiting to be seated. The app would send your phone a notification instead of having to carry a bulky buzzer that has a limited notification range. In this case if the wait is long you could preoccupy yourself with a different activity.
12) Smartphone app that pairs with your TV as soon as you walk into your home. You would be able to pre-configure the settings on the app, to turn on the volume gradually on a certain channel, netflix show, etc. with a specified level of brightness. You would also be able to change the channel, movie, or whatever third party app you are playing on your TV.
Selected Idea:
I decided to go with idea 2) which is one of my original ideas correlating to the problems I am trying to solve from Design Assignment 1.1. The reason why I selected this is because this was the problem that I know a lot of drivers face whether driving is a large part of their occupation or they just are driving for their own personal use. Coming up with this prototype would help solve these issues, allow for more visibility on the road while driving, and utilizing less real estate on the car windshield. Description and how to use the device and app is below with the photos.
Insights from a user testing the prototype:
1) Not including an arrow for the back option would create less confusion so it isn't seen as a navigation arrow for directions.
2) The user would utilize the voice command option over the touch interface because of sheer convenience so that he can always keep two hands on the steering wheel.
3) The simple user interface allows for intuitive and smooth navigation through the app and device.
4) User stated that having a microphone icon on every interface slide would be better so that he is constantly reminded that voice command activation is always an option without forgetting.
5) User stated that the transparency of the device would make the road more visible without blocking a rectangular chunk of the windshield.
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