Interactive Product Ecosystem
Reimagining the Magic Band
During my time at WDI R&D, my supervisor assigned me the task of developing new and interactive ways to incorporate the magic band. There was a big emphasis on developing an ecosystem of collectables, which allowed park guests to interact with the physical environment around the park, all centered around the magic band.
After a ton of research on different companies including Dave and Busters, Universal, and even Princess Cruise Lines. The idea which I landed on was to create a system of different physical forms to wear the magic band, other than then the regular wrist band. These physical forms would not only react to the environment around you, but also had the potential to influence your surroundings and activate different cues.
Brainstorming
Collaborative Sketch/Brainstorm with Sam Ho (Imagineer)
Marvel Hero Chest Plates
After a lot of research and brainstorming the idea I landed on was creating a line of super hero chest plates, to allow the guests to carry their magic band around. These chest plates would attach to the guests shirt using magnets, which allowed for easy access the magic band in order to get into the different parks, redeem fast lane reservations, and pay all with a tap.
The chest plates would also react to the different environments around them, changing colors (LED) and playing sounds depending on your geolocation. This product would also allow guests a new way to interact with the park, with proposed designated experiences throughout the park, where using your chest plate you could unlock in world “content“. The idea is similar to the Harry Potter Wands at Universal.
User Journey
The user journey pictured above shows the process of receiving the chest plate and then subsequently how to use it. I also included some small animations showing how the device could be used in the park!
Prototyping
The first step in creating the prototype was figuring out the magic band component, more specifically how it would interact with the magic band. Using fusion 360, I made many iterations of integrated button design. I took into consideration many different methods of implementing the magic band like RFID or a Cartridge System. However, using an integrated button design gave a satisfying physical component, which added overall to the product.
For the actual body of the chest plate I also used Fusion 360 to create the model, I decided on a Spiderman design for my first model, inspired by the Tom Holland movies. For the main body I played around a lot with different materials and sizing to accommodate all the electronics, I even played around with different infill patterns with the 3D printer in order to achieve a variety of light diffusion patterns. The tricker part was creating the back plate of the spider body, I had to integrate my magic band switch design, which sat flush to the back of the spider. Moving onto the electronics I used an Adafruit feather board and LED Matrix in order to get my desired light animation effects. This part of the project was straight forward, and I was able to make a lot of different themed light animations for different parts of the park. While making the Spiderman chest plate I was also working on an iron man arc reactor version, which is pictured below.
Unfortunately, this was as far as the project went in terms of my internship, however I have a strong desire to keep developing this product and have gained a huge interest in wearable tech and interactive spaces. If you would like to know more about this project I would love to chat, I have more documentation with detailed information that goes more into detail about the collectables ecosystem.
