VRehab
Full-body tracking
VR app for physical therapy
Autumn 2022
10 weeks
Team
1 PM
1 UX Researcher
2 UI/UX Designer
1 VR Developer
UI/UX Design Lead
SW/HW Developer
Our Solution
Structured and customized PT programs.
Personalized counseling session with a virtual coach.
Intuitive diagnosis to measure your body condition.
Exercise routine recommendation and video guidance.
Get real-time feedback on your exercise
Check your body condition through a mirror reflection.
Real-time exercise measurement with voice feedback.
Automatic sets and reps counting.
Gamified features to motivate the next exercise.
Providing an exercise score and statistics.
Taking a self-enhancement photograph.
Decorating your virtual gym with gifts.
UX Research
During the pandemic, many opted for an-home physical therapy due to limited access to professionals. While it saved on costs and travel, it posed motivational challenges. To bridge this gap, we researched with therapy experts and potential users.
Setting up proper rehab goals is important.
Conduct condition assessments and regular check-ins.
Provide supervision and movement correction.
VR's motion tracking is useful for measuring movement.
VR can provide motivation for individuals to exercise.
However, many VR apps only focused on workouts for calorie burn.
Triangulation through the affinity diagram
Professional PT user journey analysis
After conducting research, we triangulated data from multiple methods to gain insights from all stakeholders' perspectives. As a result, we gained 1) an understanding of the professional PT exercise process, 2) identified the gap between home and professional PT, and 3) explored the potential of VR technology to bridge this gap.
Ideate a Solution
Overview
We proposed a VR application for at-home PTs that provides users with feedback from professional PTs. Our mission is to motivate people and promote successful rehabilitation exercises, closing the gap between home and PT center in the process.
What differentiates our solution from traditional PT:
To track the user's movements within VR, we developed 11 body-mounted hardware trackers that cover the entire body.
We provide audio and visual feedback during PT to help users maintain correct posture.
We offer many motivational features, such as a virtual PT center where users can take pictures and decorate it as they want.
Hardware Development
Since VR devices track only the hands and head, a full body tracking system using a tracker must be implemented to track the entire body. FBTs on the market cost over $1000, but we were only given a budget of $300 for this project. So we decided to build our own FBT system in 3 weeks
Custom Circuit Design
Circuit Printing
Component Assembly
UI/UX Design
Designing for VR differs from 2D, with no established guidelines in place. To design an optimal user experience in the VR environment, we conducted user testing and iteratively refined our design based on feedback.
First Iteration
Realistic Design
The first design was modeled after a real PT center.
There were unnecessary design elements, causing user confusion.
The UI was unpolished and had low visibility.
Second Iteration
Simple design, 3D UI
We simplified the virtual gym for user workout focus.
However, the UI was text-heavy, and the 3D buttons and objects were fun but inefficient.
Final Iteration
Simple design, 2D UI
Added a 360-degree panoramic image of a skyscraper to increase user interest
UI design was changed to 2D, enhancing usability with large buttons and high contrast colors
Used voice guidance instead of text to allow users to focus on movements.
Release
The Final Product.
Reflection
Learning through experience.
In just 10 weeks, we turned a simple idea to viable product using edge technology, overcoming numerous technical and design challenges along the way. In reflecting on the project, we identified several key lessons learned and areas for improvement.
Set an appropriate project scope.
Our experience creating a novel product taught us the importance of proper planning. The project's scope exceeded our expectations, requiring multiple app redesigns and numerous test prints. Although we successfully finished the project, we realized that the timeline was too tight. Moving forward, we will ensure to plan our next project with ample time and careful consideration to set achievable goals and anticipate potential challenges.
VR is different from 2D design, but sometimes similar.
Designing for VR provides a larger canvas for UI/UX design compared to 2D, but we learned that less can be more. Initially, we thought we needed to fill the space with more content, but in reality, users focus on a limited area, and 2D UI was more efficient than 3D. These lessons are unique to designing for VR and are valuable skills for us.
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