1. "Design us a playground that utilizes ‘green power’. Maybe add some solar panels, a flat screen and a Rockband, I hear kids go nuts for Rockband."

    PlayPower representative
  2. Our design team (Kyle Lawson, Andrew Reeves, Adam Brodowski) wanted to understand how kids use playgrounds, both as individuals and in groups. Also, we wanted to get inside a kid’s mind to determine their interests and motivations. So, we teamed up with some 4th and 5th graders from Windsor Forrest Elementary in Savannah, Georgia.

    Our design team (Kyle Lawson, Andrew Reeves, Adam Brodowski) wanted to understand how kids use playgrounds, both as individuals and in groups. Also, we wanted to get inside a kid’s mind to determine their interests and motivations. So, we teamed up with some 4th and 5th graders from Windsor Forrest Elementary in Savannah, Georgia.

  3. We gave the kids disposable cameras with the instructions to “take pictures of anything you think is fun & cool, or boring & not fun”. Additionally, we gave them journals, markers, and stickers; asked them to answer a few questions; and then fill the pages with anything and everything. We really wanted to include the kids in the design process. Because the subject of the kids’ photos were not always evident, we had to listen closely to their explanations. Their journals, photographs, and conversations generated an incredible amount of information that we had to organize and synthesize.

    We gave the kids disposable cameras with the instructions to “take pictures of anything you think is fun & cool, or boring & not fun”. Additionally, we gave them journals, markers, and stickers; asked them to answer a few questions; and then fill the pages with anything and everything. We really wanted to include the kids in the design process. Because the subject of the kids’ photos were not always evident, we had to listen closely to their explanations. Their journals, photographs, and conversations generated an incredible amount of information that we had to organize and synthesize.

  4. The kids organized the photographs into two columns: one for things that are fun, and the other for things that aren’t (there were many more fun things). Photos with dual qualities were put near the center. Owen, one of the 4th graders, didn’t like that I was asking him so many questions, so he put my name in the center, which prompted me to try and turn question asking into a game.

    The kids organized the photographs into two columns: one for things that are fun, and the other for things that aren’t (there were many more fun things). Photos with dual qualities were put near the center. Owen, one of the 4th graders, didn’t like that I was asking him so many questions, so he put my name in the center, which prompted me to try and turn question asking into a game.

  5. After analyzing, mind mapping, and brainstorming, I condensed our findings into 7 metrics. Based on the 7 metrics, we went back and rated different activities the kids talked about: going to the movies, birthdays at Chuck E Cheese, playing basketball with older siblings, making games using dead patches of grass. Ultimately, the kids’ “desire to improve” was really what motivated them. With that understanding in mind, we wanted to see if, and how, current consumer products incorporated the “desire to improve”.

    After analyzing, mind mapping, and brainstorming, I condensed our findings into 7 metrics. Based on the 7 metrics, we went back and rated different activities the kids talked about: going to the movies, birthdays at Chuck E Cheese, playing basketball with older siblings, making games using dead patches of grass. Ultimately, the kids’ “desire to improve” was really what motivated them. With that understanding in mind, we wanted to see if, and how, current consumer products incorporated the “desire to improve”.

  6. Next, we brought the kids back into our studio, where we asked them to design the playgrounds they wanted to use.

    Next, we brought the kids back into our studio, where we asked them to design the playgrounds they wanted to use.

  7. Owen created an Indiana Jones themed obstacle course, complete with a giant foam boulder. He was concerned about safety, and included cameras in his maze to make sure that a kid would be able to get help if he needed it. This reinforced our “exploratory” metric, by backing up the “safe simulation of danger” idea. Owen wanted there to be various levels of difficulty, so that if “you beat the course once, you could go back and try it again, and it wouldn’t get boring”.

    Owen created an Indiana Jones themed obstacle course, complete with a giant foam boulder. He was concerned about safety, and included cameras in his maze to make sure that a kid would be able to get help if he needed it. This reinforced our “exploratory” metric, by backing up the “safe simulation of danger” idea. Owen wanted there to be various levels of difficulty, so that if “you beat the course once, you could go back and try it again, and it wouldn’t get boring”.

  8. "Let’s bridge the gap between video games, social networking, and good old fashioned playing outside."

    Our new mission statement. Based on all of the information we were gathering about what these kids did for fun, what their internet usage looked like, and how much access and play time they got with video games, along side the initial “slap a Rockband on it” comment, we confirmed our goal in designing our playground system.
  9. After our iteration process, we brought the kids back in to test a few of our concepts. We built full scale physical prototypes, and set up a small obstacle/checkpoint course for the kids to navigate.

    After our iteration process, we brought the kids back in to test a few of our concepts. We built full scale physical prototypes, and set up a small obstacle/checkpoint course for the kids to navigate.

  10. Utilizing TouchATags, radio frequency identification (RFID) tags with adhesive backing, and the tag reader unit, we were able to have the kids trigger a mock personal course statistics page on the projector when they completed the course. We observed their reaction to having instant access to how well they did. We randomized their results, so that each time they completed the course their stats changed. This generated quite a bit of excitement within their social groups.

    Utilizing TouchATags, radio frequency identification (RFID) tags with adhesive backing, and the tag reader unit, we were able to have the kids trigger a mock personal course statistics page on the projector when they completed the course. We observed their reaction to having instant access to how well they did. We randomized their results, so that each time they completed the course their stats changed. This generated quite a bit of excitement within their social groups.

  11. “EYo: The teammate that inspires active play.” Based on the data we gathered from testing our physical prototypes, in addition to our new mission statement and previous concepts (not shown), we solidified the design and touch-points. We dubbed our playground concept EYo, based on the phonetic sounding Spanish words “y yo” meaning “and me”. The EYo playground includes a grid of RFiD & pressure sensors embedded within, and underneath, the play structure. This grid allows EYo to collect information and understand kids’ movement throughout the playground. Green pylons enable kids to interact with EYo. They can select games, choose teams, and view team/personal statistics.

    “EYo: The teammate that inspires active play.”

    Based on the data we gathered from testing our physical prototypes, in addition to our new mission statement and previous concepts (not shown), we solidified the design and touch-points. We dubbed our playground concept EYo, based on the phonetic sounding Spanish words “y yo” meaning “and me”. The EYo playground includes a grid of RFiD & pressure sensors embedded within, and underneath, the play structure. This grid allows EYo to collect information and understand kids’ movement throughout the playground. Green pylons enable kids to interact with EYo. They can select games, choose teams, and view team/personal statistics.

  12. EYo’s pylons are its main physical interaction point on the playground. The pylons are wrapped in a touch sensitive durable e-ink display that is seen easily even in bright sunlight. A pylon houses an audio speaker, and an RFiD sensor.

    EYo’s pylons are its main physical interaction point on the playground. The pylons are wrapped in a touch sensitive durable e-ink display that is seen easily even in bright sunlight. A pylon houses an audio speaker, and an RFiD sensor.

  13. This video displays EYo’s RFiD sensors tracking Owen’s path through the playground. This information is important to Owen because today was his fastest lap.

  14. Owen can go back home and look up his path, and his latest times, on his dad’s laptop computer or in his school’s computer lab. Through the web interface, he can create games and upload them to the pylons on his playground.  That way, he can enjoy them both virtually and in real-time with his friends. Owen can look at his past times and see how much faster he is this month following a growth spurt.

    Owen can go back home and look up his path, and his latest times, on his dad’s laptop computer or in his school’s computer lab. Through the web interface, he can create games and upload them to the pylons on his playground.  That way, he can enjoy them both virtually and in real-time with his friends. Owen can look at his past times and see how much faster he is this month following a growth spurt.