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flex.
/gamified fitness
duration
20 weeks
nature of the project
senior thesis
year
2021
category
Technology | Economical Manufacturing | Ergonomics | UX | UI design
/about.
Flex is a game console that bridges fitness with entertainment alongside strenght-based equipment and haptics. It allows user to build muscle with accesible equipment like resistance bands to build muscle through tension. Additionally, it intends to blend the aspect of immersive training by consisting of an UI that translates exercises into didactic routines.
It bridges both generations together to increase connection.
/background.
Fitness is not as engaging anymore. 😕
Before the pandemic, it was just a task, often times paid given that we relied on gym equipment. After gyms closed... it did not sound as engaging, because it depended on us to seek alternatives. And that is where fitness lost momentum the moment it reached home.
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/opportunity
Health is not bound to a place.🏠
Physical health should not rely on resources or heavy equipment, but on the basis of what we need, anywhere. How might we promote fitness outside of the gym in a engaging, didactic and accesible way?
/discovery
Fitness has no age limit. 🤸
Parents work out, 100%. However, their needs are not the same if we were to compare it with Gen Z. They (Gen X) simply rely on fitness to stay active, young and fresh, thus their goal is not necesarily to look good but to feel good and have better perfomance. The looks...are just a secondary effect,
Photo by Chris K. on Unsplash.
Doodling, and thinking.
Was a gym in a backpack a good idea? Too heavy.
What if I make a family? Too much to focus on.
I wanted to make equipment portable. But there was a lot going on. A lot of gaps to fill with every thought. I need to think simpler.
/one step at a time.
I breathed. And I started over.
Too many insights, but I needed to pick what I wanted to tackle.
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Resistance bands
Modular kettleball
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Vibration Motors ERM
Haptic Feedback
Battery Connector
Lithium battery - chargeable.
Circuit Board Loc.
Conductors
/cmf
Playful, energetic and reliable.
Insteated of black and grays, picture a saturated and energetic palette: co-injection molded aluminium for grip resistance, and injection molded with HDPE for economical manufacturing.
/the product
A game console and gym equipment.
Built to resist and withstand impact, while integrating components on the inside that makes it interactive, and wireless.
/solution
Guidance through vibrations. 💪
With both hands, and pure tension, these controller will provide you with an ergonomic grip to build muscles while providing the proper guidance with haptic feedback alongside and interactive and immersive experience.
/accessibility
Not bound to one routine, or angle.
Each end where the X cap extrudes is angled differently to alternate a different routine. (see below)
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/usage
Stretch, feel the tension and repeat.
Each resistance band is interchangeable, allowing variety in weight, and prompting progress.
/The AHA moment.
Tension has so many opportunities.
Resistance bands rely on tension to build muscle. These were the most owned equipment given its accesibility in terms of price and usage. They consist of an array of exercises...the grip? Not so good. Does it entertain? Not really.
/testing
First prototype. Early mistakes.
It did not go as planned initially. It did not look like a fitness product but there was potential in developing a much more realistic form that aligned with the concept of tension and resistance bands.
/improving.
Second attempt. Better results.
Tension requires a better grip, so increasing the thickness and overall diameter while incorporating a new design, was the key approach.
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