iRobot
Mix & Match: A digital tool for remote CMF research and user feedback.
company
iRobot
role
Industrial Designer
Timeline
5 months (full CMF research)
COllaborators
Industrial Designers, UXR
About iRobot
iRobot is a consumer robotics company known for developing robotic vacuum cleaners (Roomba), which autonomously navigate and clean floors using smart sensors and mapping technology. The brand has become synonymous with home automation and practical robotics.
The project & the impact
As a personal initiative that was enthusiastically welcomed by both the team and leadership at iRobot, I developed Mix & Match website that enabled remote CMF research when COVID-19 disrupted in-person studies. By sending participants material swatches to evaluate alongside the digital platform, we ensured accurate feedback while eliminating the need for global travel and physical mock-ups. This innovation saved iRobot tens of thousands of dollars while maintaining high-quality user insights.
Project Scope
Develop quickly a simple platform that won't affect the tight timeline and with minimum distractions to users while interacting with study materials. All to bridge the gap between the urgent need for user studies and the benefits of in-person interaction, enabling remote CMF research with hands-on material experiences for accurate, actionable insights.
Teaming Up to Build a New Research Experience
I worked closely my Industrial Design team and UX Researcher to built the user study and prepare all the relevant materials and swatches. The launch of the Mix & Match website was primarily a tool I developed to facilitate this study. Our main focus was to quickly nail down an effective UX with minimal distractions for users as they interacted with the platform.
Challenges We Faced and How We Overcame Them
This annual research, which typically involved international travel and physical mock-ups by a cross-functional team including translators, was disrupted in 2020 by COVID-19. To keep the product roadmap on track, we had to quickly adapt our process and find creative remote solutions that would deliver the same quality of insights.
Challenge: Due to COVID-19 we couldn't travel to conduct in-person interviews.
Solution: Built a mix & match website to review possible designs and materials combinations. Website allowed to monitor research data and insights accurately through every interview and supported multiple languages.
Challenge: We lacked the ability to test full-scale mock-ups and materials in users' home environments for reliable feedback.
Solution: Sent small swatches that will match the rendered designs on the website to review in real life.
User Feedback & Key Insights
Users interviews were successful as users were able to easily navigate and use the website, creating their own mix and match robots and sharing their favorite versions with us. Here are the main takeaways we learned from this research:
01 Blend In
Participants valued a visual aesthetic that matched their home. One that would allow the robot to blend in the environment without having to showcase it.
02 Neutral colors
For color, participants saw black as familiar, and traditional. However, all appreciated having options that could better match their home, particularly brown tones that they felt might match their floor.
03 Durable Materials
Participants prioritized materials that could withstand wear and tear (e.g. scratches, dents). Perception of durability changed upon seeing the name of certain materials.
04 Sustainable Materials
While desired by some for their environmental benefits, Sustainable materials were met with almost unanimous disapproval from a visual perspective (perceived as dirty, used and scratched).
In addition, as this study was remote and via website, we learned another important insight about how materials perceived via screens and how their appearance and names impact user's purchase decisions.
More Projects for iRobot
As an Industrial Designer, I was mainly designing hardware, but also got some opportunities to explore UX & UI from the software side. The short GIFs below were designed by me to be presented on a screen located on a robot's dock. This exploration assisted the Industrial Design team learning capabilities of different screens types and appearance & visibility of the icons from certain distance by users.
