DESIGN STUDIO¶
MY DESIGN SPACE¶
(Updated version- 23.01.2023)
My design space has developed through many stages of ideation with constantly evolving thought processes. In term I, my design space focused on promoting physical activity and active lifestyles in rural environments, connecting local cultures, environments and sports through a diagnosis studio, a scientific analysis of the sports habits of the population and bringing them into a playful engagement for an active lifestyle.
I connected with the local running club in Barcelona to understand the current situation of their sport while also being in touch with professionals in the health and fitness regimen. I, along with two of my classmates, did an intervention with the locals of Barcelona to discuss healthy lifestyle and regenerative habits. My goal for sem I was to understand and identify the body requirements for a healthy lifestyle and the take of people’s perspective on sports participation in Spain through the discussions with locals and with the help of data collected by the government.
I realized that the method I have been working on where I was just collecting data rather than involving myself personally, left me behind and still lost, and realized that the idea was abstract and needed more clear direction.
With the start of trimester II, I have narrowed down my idea and mapped out a clear direction for my project while also leaving space to allow flexibility for iterations and growth.
The aim of this project is to develop a technology for sports that helps athletes in improving their performance through a personal training assistance. My goal for this term is to create more conscious solutions that lead my project towards reaching my desired aim.
With the growing popularity and the incredible properties and usability of technology, there are huge aspects of technology which have already been introduced into the sports world. In sports, there is today a great and growing need to be able to apply various technical aids from different monitoring support for training development to material development.
Different outcomes call for different methods. One of the profound methods to gain health or performance insights which is helpful for improving techniques and can also act as a tool for recording body functioning are smart devices/smart wear or smart textiles.
An upcoming approach towards sport training is also via AI and machine learning which makes it a more approachable medium to engage participants in sports through interactive aids. Smart sport training centers, Virtual Reality, Augmented Reality and Mixed Realities are also some of the new cutting edge technologies in sports.
With this, the new goal for me this trimester is to develop a deeper understanding and create a connection with the ideologies of sensors and machine learning into a playful and more personalized approach towards sports performance and engagement.
To complete the whole process of having an input, a process and outcome, I have to start with collecting data for my input which would be through understanding the body dynamics or the physical exertion required by the body to perform the sport in optimum capacity. To find the appropriate datasets which would help me get more meaningful outcomes alongside experimenting with sensors to collect personal data of the runners community and of myself.
The next phase for this aspect for my project development is to have the AI analyze the data through statistical analysis and machine learning leading to data visualization which would provide solutions or techniques to improve the performance.
Another aspect that I would like to dive in is smart textiles. Intelligent electronic textile systems that are able to sense physiological parameters close to the human body and respond to changes in the environment which can have many beneficial outcomes in the world of sports.
The first intervention for this term is to develop and track the body aspects that play an important role while performing the sport (running)by the local athletes such as heart rate, breathing, body temperature, distance and stride via sensors. This will help me develop my personal dataset which I can feed to AI along with finding the appropriate open source datasets available that would help develop better outcomes. Another direction I would like to explore for this term would be to dive into AI and Machine learning and developing interactive measures to have optimum sport performance, whilst also devoting my time in deepening my knowledge in smart objects/ wearable devices and smart textiles.
The aim for this term is to have a deep understanding and initial prototype developments for the final outcome.