Göbie is a healthcare wearable focused on improving social wellness through play.
ROLE: User Research, Social Media, App Design, Presentation Design—Assisted with Hardware and game Development
Team
Created in collaboration with Panasonic and Courtney Snavely, Jane Mitchell, Qinzi Tan, and Tim Ronco.
EXIBITIONS
Panasonic House @ SXSW 2017 & Panasonic Gamechanger Catapult
PRESS
Social wellness is a crucial aspect of overall well-being that emphasizes the importance of being fully engaged and connected with the people and environment surrounding us. Göbie takes this concept to the next level by fostering spontaneous and connected play experiences, enabling users to forge enduring bonds and establish a profound sense of community in any given context. By leveraging the power of play, Göbie effortlessly facilitates social interaction, creating an enjoyable and shared objective that transcends the boundaries of commitment, allowing individuals to organically connect with others and enhance their social well-being.
How Göbie Works
1. Wear Göbie device on your wrist and go out on the town!
2. Haptic notification indicates when another Göbie user is nearby.
3. Göbie coordinates a pop-up play opportunity
4. Brief moments of voluntary social interaction provide low-pressure playful experiences.
5. Positive Feedback through App.
1. THE APPLICATION
A connected app recognizes when other Göbie users are near and prompts a spontaneous play experience.
2. THE WEARABLE
The Göbie band coordinates pop-up play opportunities and brief moments of voluntary social interaction.
Why Göbie?
Healthcare wearables passively track data and are often focused on physical health. In many cases, users lose interest in their wearable. Panasonic wants to rethink the healthcare wearable by providing products that emphasize comprehensive wellness - physical, mental, and social wellness.
Social Wellness is about being present in your surroundings and making connections with the people around you. Healthcare should not only be about physical condition, but also about mental and social health.
Face-to-face connections are essential for all aspects of wellness. Unfortunately, current products that are geared towards promoting social interaction are dependent on phone screens. Göbie's hardware design allows users to interact without the mediation of a screen, encouraging them to be more present and aware of their surroundings.
Göbie uses play as a catalyst for face-to-face interaction. Play is an easy and low-pressure way to initiate face-to-face connection. The short play experiences encourage users to be mindful of their social wellness.
The Design Process
THE Wearable
[The Hardware: LightBlue Bean Microcontroller][Software: OpenFrameworks, Arduino IDE]
Göbie was created using the blueBean micro-controller. Modifications included a custom LED matrix and haptic motors.
The team decided on the blueBean due to it's blueTooth capabilities and built in accelerometer. Future iterations will consider a rechargeable battery and a custom micro-board that will accommodate for a smaller wearable.
Software was programmed using the Arduino IDE.
GÖBIE AT SXSW 2017
On March 11-14, the Panasonic House was open to SXSW attendants, attracting more than 8,000 visitors.
