I stumbled across the 'RadioBall' and its rich inventive user interface whilst doing research. I think this radio is great as it gives the user a hands on experience, rather than just tapping a touch screen or button. It helped me to take another look at the user interface for modern radios, and how they can be altered to make it a richer experience for the user. The radioball concept was developed and produced by Teague's Benoit Collette and Adam Kumpf, with the user interference at the forefront of their design.
I originally discovered the radio ball 1.0 (http://www.teague.com/2010/05/radioball-prototype/) , which was very good in theory but the prototype still had several issues which were holding it back. The spinning movement which was needed to change the volume was too exaggerated, it needed to be slowed down as the user may spin the ball to see it roll and change channels. I think the balance was slightly off, and may have caused it to change channels far too easily with a gust of wind. Another factor which could have been improved was the low sound quality produced by the speakers without an enclosure. The idea of placing a tile to tag your favourite stations is interesting as it allows the user to customise the radio with further hands on interaction.
Through more research I found the second prototype, the radioball 2.0 (http://www.behance.net/gallery/Radio-Ball-20-process/505776) had been produced and resolved these problems. The volume control was improved by adding a digital gyroscope so it only had to be twisted slowly to change the volume. An enclosure for the speakers was added to improve the sound quality. With more experimenting with materials the radioball 2.0 has definitely improved.
The radioball was designed for use with analogue radio where the number of stations is minimal compared to internet radio. This prototype could be updated with internet radio technology, but with the same design this would mean more faces are needed as there are more internet radio stations, therefore making the ball very unstable. To solve this there could possibly be a small hidden switch to change between the different genre's. Allowing all of the channels to be your favourite genre at one time, instead of searching through all genre's to find the station or song you like. Sorting it into genre may also reduce the faces (channels) needed, allowing for more stability so it can't be knocked around as easily.
Overall this concept of control and interaction is very intriguing and a good step forward. With more development this radio could help influence the next generation of radio interfaces.
Jarrod Burge
This is a really cool design. I love the idea of exploring the surface of the ball to find new radio stations, I think it would encourage people to listen to new things and would be really enjoyable. On the other hand, there are a few things that may push customers away from the design. For one thing, the tile approach is great, I love the concept of labelling the stations yourself, but I think some users might lose the tiles easily. if they could be stored in the ball or in an included container it would be fine.
ReplyDeleteAlso, what if your favourite station happens to be located over one of the hexagons that houses a speaker. you cant put a tile here because it will block the sound.
With a bit more work, this will be a really nice design. The more hands-on interface is great, and i think people will appreciate it more than turning a dial, and the ability to customize the ball a little is also a cool concept.
Scott Everitt
Yes, the exploration of new stations would definitely be a positive for this radio design, as most current radio's have presets for only your favourite stations.
ReplyDeleteIt is a good point that if your favourite station is located above a speaker, there would be one, or possibly several tiles in the area covering the top speaker. Also as the second speaker is on the opposite side, it would be facing directly towards the table causing low audio quality. This issue would need to be resolved, along with a few others before production.
Jarrod Burge