Handheld Northern Light Tracker

Winter 2023 (project is still in progress)

In my Industrial Design Sketching class, our final project has an open prompt for any physical product we are interested in exploring. Inspired by my trip to Iceland this month, I started to design a handheld Northern Light tracker.

Inspiration

I created a moodboard to gain inspiration from Northern Light adventures and Icelandic shapes, textures, and colors that could jumpstart my creativity.

I also researched current navigation trackers and ergonomic handheld devices used for videogames.

Persona and Journey Map

I needed to understand the users and context of the design problem better. I created 2 personas and journey maps to dive deeper into the experience of the user.

Alex (24, avid hiker and backpacker)

Alex is in Iceland on a hiking vacation. He wants to find the Northern Lights on his last night there, so he decides to use his Northern Light tracker to find them.

The questions that rose from the journey maps allowed me to make a list of the following user needs:

portability (while walking and driving)
non-slip (needs to be stable in user's hand or vision)
durability and usability in freezing temperatures (and held with gloves!)
adjustability to different types of transportation
must provide navigation
must identify Northern Light location and predictability
must be able to clearly read screen at night (low illumination)
must have long lasting battery and connectivity in case of emergency

I decided to focus on the bolded (more physical) points because of the 2 week time limit.

Thumbnails

I explored the user's grip and how to keep the tracker in the center of gravity of the hand (ergonomics).

Working Drawings

I took a few of my thumbnails and explored them further below.

This ergonomic handle fits around the navigation display and has a thumb stick (similar to a videogame controller) for easy and quick navigation on the display. This design is inspired by videogame and Wii remotes.

This tracker has a flexible mesh hand pocket on the back of it that allows any size of glove to fit inside of it. The buttons on the side of it are large and glow in the dark. This allows the user to easily navigate with the large buttons and easily find the tracker in their belongings.

This tracker has buttons on the sides and front of it for easy navigation of the display. The bottom of the tracker is round and slimmer than the top to allow for a better grip.

Developing questions...

is a thumb stick glove-friendly?
how will the screen hold up unprotected in the Northern winter? (materials research)
how will the display/navigation affect the buttons needed?

Final Infographic

The final design includes an ergonomic wii-remote inspired handle for easy handling while hiking and exploring.

The glow-in-the dark toggle stick and buttons allow for easily finding the Aurorameter when quickly rummaging through your backpack.

The removable screen can be put into standard phone holders in cars so that it can be used as a navigation system for finding the northern lights while driving.