October | 2015 | IMPACTVR

ImpactVR: Design Spec

Posted on October 27, 2015 by spiderlili

Product Design Document

Affordable cross-platform VR gloves that are easy to take on and off, and able to be used with minimal calibration. These will be used for gesture detection in games/simulations/walkthroughs depending on the software. The gloves provide force feedback that gives users a good sense of when they grasp an object or bump into something.

Reason for your choice of product:

To create more realistic experiences and to enhance remote control technology for Virtual Reality enthusiasts.

List of Stakeholders

Managers – project delivery, budget, time, market standing

Designers – usability, requirements, aesthetics

Users – quality, value, ease of use, customer care, ethical products

Investors – return on investment, income

List of User Experience and Usability Goals

How experienced your users are likely to be?

–novice or first-time users

Casual gamers and potential non-gamers who wish to simulate a simple sparring environment by themselves in the comfort of their own homes in front of the television.

–knowledgeable intermittent users

Intermediate to hardcore users who wish to use the device for simulations outside of sparring sports, depending on the software and interface used.

–expert frequent users

Games developers, both Indie and Triple AAA, who come up with ideas and plans provide the software and interface for a wide range of a potential market. Only proprietary driver and softwares (with updates if necessary)

The bottom line that sells the product is that it is simple and easy to use, as well as cheap and readily available to purchase, which would also appeal to games developers as it would provide them with a large potential target market audience for them to work with themselves.

Age Range:

16+ to 50

Although the primary target market will be experienced gamers ranging from their teens up to those who have grown up with gaming; at the end of the day the success of this devices would be tied to the success of the Oculus RIft; a not yet released piece of technology.

To remedy this; research would need to be conducted into how this could be used with existing consoles already out in the market.

Tasks

What the user’s goal is when it comes to your product?

Put on the gloves
Calibrate the gloves with VR software
Use the gloves for gesture detection and haptic feedback

Product Requirements:

The final product must be instinctively identified as an electronic peripheral that is used as a sparring glove.

Upon meeting certain requirements dictated by the sensors located in the peripheral and conditions that are dictated by compatible software; feedback in the form of multiple vibrating motors are controlled and triggered to provide a low level of haptic feedback for the user.

The peripheral must also look aesthetic, marketable and must also be cheap in terms of production cost.

Secondary Requirements:

Compatible with multiple consoles / devices and not just the Oculus Rift.

Wireless transmission to remove any unnecessary wires. (This will increase latency in terms of data transmission significantly, but still remain under a few milliseconds)

Stylish – look and feel like a pair of sparring gloves

Stretching absorbant / quickdry material

Waterproof material

Accelerometers

Vibration disc

Infrared emitter

Voltage Controller / Analogue to Digital Converter – Arduino or other Microchip Controller

Battery

Scenarios

Competitive games such as Boxing / Fighting / Virtual Racquetball

Gesture Control

Fantasy Simulation

Visit science-fiction worlds, fantasy lands, previous times in history, etc.

Sports training

Provides a safer experience – playing against the computer instead of people to avoid injuries and complications.

Game and Software Development

Exposure Therapy

Can be used to help treating patients with phobias.e.g.haphephobia. The safe immersive environment enables phobia sufferers to accommodate themselves to frightening touch stimuli in preparation for similar experiences in the real world.

NOT FOR Virtual tourism – Device does not provide enough haptic feedback

Build engagement and make viewers feel as if they are physically there.

NOT FOR Immersive installations – Device does not provide enough haptic feedback

(Can be stolen from exhibitions)

New opportunities for artistic expression and public-space installations – adds realism to multimedia installations in galleries and museums to enhance experiences for visitors.

NOT FOR Collaborative virtual environments – Device does not provide enough haptic feedback

Allow two or more people at remote sites to work together, possibly designing an object while seeing and sensing the object of interest. Remote handshaking as part of a video conference.

How have you determined who your user group is?

Online Research – understanding the problems that we are trying to solve, working out who is most likely to be frustrated by these problems and who will gain from our product. Listing all the different types of target users.
Brianstorm – coming up with ideas for personas in a teamwork session. Prioritising and cull lesser personas to develop primary and supporting personas.
Face-to-face conversation with our target users – understanding who they are, what do they do, how old they are, their habits and prefered devices.