Multi-modal XR Prototypes for Stakeholder Interactions and Testing
The Challenge
During the ‘isotyping’ process preliminary versions of the design are produced and refined – known as isotypes – for development, testing, and user evaluation. To receive quality feedback from stakeholders, it’s best to present them with designs as close to the final version as possible. Unfortunately, such isotypes are extremely costly and typically can’t be produced until late in the process – even beyond the point where changes are viable to make.
Instead, designers have to rely on sharing partial representations or even just pictures. These hamper stakeholder understanding of the product and whether it will meet their needs, and limit their ability to provide clear feedback. Issues arising from poor stakeholder interactions can lead to significant delays and costs, sometimes even impacting the viability of a product when producing devices in low-volumes.
The Solution
To solve this problem, the project is leveraging XR (augmented, virtual, and mixed reality) technology to empower stakeholders to experience a detailed and accessible isotype at a much earlier stage than previously possible. Tangible physical interactables are paired with digital models in a 3D space, allowing for realistic product interactions overlaid with digital aesthetics. Packaged as just an XR headset, app, and minimal set of hardware, it’s integrating active and passive feedback capture systems to communicate detailed information back to developers and allow for remote evaluation and collaboration with global stakeholders at low cost.
The project was successful in responding to the pro2 network’s 2024 funding call ‘Infrastructure for Device Production‘, which seeks infrastructure solutions beyond traditional manufacturing that support the production of digital devices.
