Research & Development Design Brief Develop a whole body, health enhancing electronic play product designed to attract and engage a user group which is more accustomed to playing computer games than participating in physical activity. The product must be suitable for outdoor playgrounds, vandal resistant, DDA compliant and environmentally friendly. Research & Development Team Playdale Playgrounds Ltd, Progressive Sports Technologies, key customers and buyers from the outdoor play market and, most importantly, children. Research & Development Techniques • Market research and questionnaires • Mind mapping sessions • Statistical analysis • Prototype testing Idea Selection After reviewing several designs and concepts, the development team chose to progress the i.play concept into prototype stage. At this point the i.play concept won the Academic Challenge Award 2006 - Winner of the Best in Health Category. Run by the Technical University of Munich, the awards recognise innovative design concepts with real world applications. Designing The Unit Ergonomic analysis has been conducted to ensure that activity switches are positioned to target specific muscle groups of a wide range of children including wheelchair users. Prototype Testing This was an essential stage in the process to enable us to assess the validity of the initial concept. The following techniques were used to collect children’s perceptions and performance data. • Heart rate • Game data • User questionnaires Results of the prototyping stages were extremely encouraging enabling i.play to progress into full production Dr. Phil Hodgkins, Research and Design Engineer of Progressive Sports Technologies Ltd conducts portable gas analysis testing on a participant allowing energy expenditure to be calculated. 11 i.play6
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