RepAiR

Invention Design

In today's consumer society, it is common to throw away technical devices that no longer function perfectly, because few people want to spend the energy to deal with an independent repair. Time expenditure, research, material costs and the most important question: How at all? are arguments against it. We wanted to counteract these obstacles with RepAiR and make the repair of electronic devices as easy as possible for the end consumer.

My Role/Services

Concept & Animations

Team

Jun Wang

Nicole Krein

Project & Year

University Project, Winter 2022

Why Augmented Reality?

We recognized the advantage of using AR glasses, especially in the fact that repair instructions can be projected directly into the user's field of vision. This allows users to follow the repair process step-by-step without needing to pause, stop, or rewind as in a YouTube tutorial, for example. The AR glasses also automatically detect when a step has been completed through the integrated camera, adapting seamlessly to the user's pace

User Testing - We proved it

However, since these were just predictions, we wanted to directly determine the advantages through user testing. We divided our test subjects into two equal-sized groups and assigned them the same motoric task. Group A had to perform the task while watching a YouTube video, while group B received instructions projected directly into their field of view with perfectly timed instructions. As expected, our results showed that group B was able to complete the task slightly faster. We based our concept on this finding.

Concept - the source of error

According to our concept, the AR glasses should be connected to the internet and therefore to an AI that can access an extensive dataset where all electronic devices and their components are stored.

With object recognition, the integrated camera of the AR glasses can determine the model by analyzing the shape and color of an object and highlight possible sources of error. Subsequently, the corresponding source of error can be selected, and the AI-based repair process begins.

If difficulties arise during the process, there is still an option to call a live expert, who can explain the steps in greater detail with the help of a 3D model.

Onboarding - your initial situation?

Since the user should not simply be thrown into the repair assistance and we wanted to build a community-based system, we designed the RepAiR Application with integrated onboarding.

There, the user should indicate whether he or she is familiar with the repair of certain devices in order to be able to help out later as an expert in a certain field.

As well as estimate their own motoric skill level, and possible visual difficulties, so that the repair assistance can be adapted to their own conditions.

Finally, the user is informed about the repair assistance procedure and the community system.

Prototyping - What is possible?

We programmed the initial model recognition process in a low-fidelity version. This helped us gain a better understanding of the technical feasibility of our concept. Not everything that you conceive of is feasible, even with regards to future technologies.

code demonstration in webbrowser

Result - give and take

In the end, we developed a concept that guides the user smoothly through the repair process without requiring a lot of prior knowledge. The concept is community-based, meaning that individuals who have previously completed a repair can act as live experts in case of difficulties during the repair process and receive a small compensation from the repairer. This creates motivation on both sides to use RepAiR. As an expert and as a person in need.

RepAiR- Final concept video

Learnings

In the process, we realized that the distribution of tasks in a team can bring a huge advantage if everyone supports at their strengths to deliver the best possible result.