Project
As my master's thesis, I decided to look into what opportunities different smart glasses could bring to bicycling, whether cyclists are open to this type of technology, and what a smart glass UX for bicyclists could look like.
Background
I chose this topic to combine my job at the time (product design at Europe's largest online bike retailer) with my passion: wearable computing and AR/MR. I have been wearing smart glasses pretty much daily since 2017, trying everything from camera and audio glasses to fully featured headworn computers like Google Glass or Microsoft HoloLens. Therefore I was already intimately familiar with their strengths and weaknesses, as well as the industry as a whole, when I started work on this thesis.
Involvement
This project began with a survey of over a hundred cyclists about their habits regarding technology and their current pain points. I also employed techniques like card sorting to get a first idea of what the prototype should eventually look and feel like. After that, I did some research into measuring and reducing distractions while driving, since this was an important safety factor. With that research, as well as various best practice guidelines for smart glass UX design, I built a working prototype (using the Tooz DevKit as a testbed). Finally, this prototype was validated in in-depth user tests, where it got overwhelmingly positive feedback both qualitative and quantitative.
