Module 3 Activity Research

Weekly Activity Template

Project 3 - Prototyping & Testing - Smart Resistance Band - Brianna Wright

Project 3

Module 3

For this Project, I was working in a group to create a Smart Resistance Band. This module shows my research and activities that I completed to help with the development of the project.

Activity 1: My Research

This is a layout of all of my materials I had gathered for my prototype testing phases. I focus on the outer band materials, and gathered here are some buttons, a sewing kit, some velcro, and some stockings to use as the base of my resistance band.

For the first test, I tried to sew in a button on the stocking, and cut out a slit for the button to slip into. This was not very effective, as the button kept slipping out of the slit when tension was applied to the band.

Moving forward through to the next test, I tried using velcro to create a more secure fastening method for the resistance band. I stuck one side of the velcro to the stocking, and left the other side free to wrap around my legs. This method was much more effective, as it held up well under tension and was easy to put on and take off.

With these tests completed, I was able to determine that the velcro method was the most effective for creating a secure and adjustable resistance band. Here I have documented the next set of materials I gathered, which were a children's set of leggings made of cotton, some hot glue that I didn't end up using, and the velcro again.

I cut the leggings in half, sewed one end together to create a long band, and then stuck on 3 pieces of velcro to one end of the band. This allowed for a more comfortable and stretchy resistance band that could be easily adjusted to fit different leg sizes. Overall, this activity helped me to explore different materials and fastening methods for my resistance band prototype, and I was able to find a solution that worked well for what I had envisioned.

Activity 2: My Research

For activity 2, I had done some research on UX/UI of some fitness and health apps. I looked at the Samsung Health app on my phone, as well as the MyFitnessPal app. I noted some features that I liked, and were potentially useful for my own project.

Following that research, I had also done some more research on apps that were specifically designed for physiotherapy and stretching exercises. I looked at an app called 'Bend: Stretching & Flexibility' and noted some features that I liked as well, such as the initial onboarding quiz prompting users to tailor the content to their specific needs (good time to stretch, health concerns, user’s goals, etc.), the search bar for the user to find a specific routine, and the subtitles for easy navigation (“quick & easy”, “beginner”, “tech neck”, etc.). With the other app, it's called 'PhysiApp' and it is designed to help patients follow their physiotherapy exercises at home. I liked the feature that allows users to view videos of the exercises, as well as the daily streak section, pushing & motivating the user to continue practicing, the graphing/Charting & progress bar usage to visualize the user’s metrics as they exercise, and the 'results' page that prompts the user to fill in their average adherence % out of 100 & discomfort from 1-10.

Based on my research, I created my wireframes, here I implemented the onboarding quiz idea, and I tried to prompt the user in a similar fashion to tailor the content towards their needs dependent on what goals they planned to achieve.

This is the homepage of my app, where I included a search bar for the user to find specific routines, as well as categories for different types of exercises (stretching exercises, strength training, etc.). I also included a 'smart resistance band'feature at the top, as it was the main focus of our project to use the air pressure detector my groupmates Gabriela and Julie worked on, and I also added a blurb about the discomfort decreasing and strength increasing, because it was a feature I noticed in the PhysiApp, and I think it'd make the user feel more motivated to see their growth as time goes by, in a sort of visualized data component through icons, statistics, etc..

Here is a quick gif of my full prototype, showing the different screens and interactions, and I connected my UI to the orange screen my groupmate Julie had made, which changed the air pressure settings. Overall, this activity helped me to explore different UX/UI design elements for fitness and health apps, and I was able to create a prototype that incorporated some of the features that I found useful in my research.

Additional Research or Workshops

For my additional research, I looked into the different attachment methods that could be applied to the physical components of our project, the outer fabric of the band and the inner airbag. Here, I did some research on the different types of glues, like Vinyl Glue and Boat Resin Glues. I found that they were stronger adhesives, though they had a strong odor and were a bit toxic. Though, they were moisture, UV and chemical resistant, which would be good for our project as it would likely be exposed to sweat and movement.

I also looked into the hot glue gun. I found that it is a cheap, easy & accessible alternative to stronger adhesives, and it bonds quickly. However, it is not as strong as other adhesives, and it may not hold up well under tension or movement, which is a concern for our project as the band will be stretched and moved frequently. Though, it can be useful for early testing and prototyping, it was also a more frustrating alternative to use because it can get messy & stringy, potentially melt some materials, and it's hot to the touch so you need to be careful when using it .

Here I did some research on the PVC glue, which is a strong adhesive that is specifically designed for bonding PVC materials. It creates a strong, permanent bond that is resistant to moisture and chemicals, which would be beneficial for our project. However, it can be difficult to work with, as it requires precise application and can be messy. It also has a strong odor and is toxic, so proper ventilation and safety precautions are necessary when using it. We ended up sticking with this method of attachment for our final prototype.

Also, I did some research on buttons for an attachment type for the outer fabric layer of the resistance band. I sewed it in for my earlier work, but as I mentioned before, it wasn't the greatest attachment method because it slipped out easily. I may have had better luck if I was more skilled at sewing, but I decided to move on to velcro as it was a more secure and adjustable option. Buttons can be a good option for some projects, but for our resistance band, we needed something that could hold up well under tension and movement, which velcro provided.

And finally I did some research on sewing, which is a common method for attaching fabric materials together. Sewing creates a strong, durable bond that can hold up well under tension and movement, which is important for our resistance band project. However, sewing can be time-consuming and requires some skill and equipment, such as a sewing machine or needle and thread. For our project, I decided to sew the outer fabric layer of the band together to create a long band, and then used velcro as the attachment method. Overall, sewing was a useful technique for creating the outer fabric layer of our resistance band prototype.

Project 2

Project 3 Final Prototype

Our finalized prototype for the Smart Resistance Band

This image shows the finalized physical prototype of our Smart Resistance Band that Olivia had created. The outer fabric tests & prototype I had done helped her with creating a final version of the band that used leggings as the base material, which she had also sewed together. There was a lot of trial and error as Julie and Olivia had been tasked to create the inner airbag component, though they had finally gotten it to work by using the suggestion made by my professor to use the bike tubing to help with the air pressure detection. And my finalized portion of the project was the app onboarding UI design that I had attached above in the activity 2 section. Overall, our group worked well together to create a functional and user-friendly prototype of the Smart Resistance Band, and I am proud of the work that we accomplished.

Powered by w3.css