CMU MHCI - GM Network Project1 April 2004 ROADCASTING GM Car Network Project Jim Garretson Whitney Hess Jordan Kanarek Mathilde Pignol Megan Shia

CMU MHCI - GM Network Project1 April 2004 ROADCASTING The state of radio What is Roadcasting? Where we are How we got here 1.Project focus selection 2.Design brainstorming 3.Contextual inquiries 4.Design issues 5.Participatory design session 6.Paper prototype 7.Prototype testing 8.Working prototype What’s next Agenda

CMU MHCI - GM Network Project1 April 2004 ROADCASTING The state of radio What is Roadcasting? Where we are How we got here 1.Project focus selection 2.Design brainstorming 3.Contextual inquiries 4.Design issues 5.Participatory design session 6.Paper prototype 7.Prototype testing 8.Working prototype What’s next Agenda

CMU MHCI - GM Network Project1 April 2004 ROADCASTING More niches to support than even 150 radio stations can handle Even internet radio not interactive Untapped opportunity to make radio more entertaining, reach a broader, captive, audience The State of Radio

CMU MHCI - GM Network Project1 April 2004 ROADCASTING The state of radio What is Roadcasting? Where we are How we got here 1.Project focus selection 2.Design brainstorming 3.Contextual inquiries 4.Design issues 5.Participatory design session 6.Paper prototype 7.Prototype testing 8.Working prototype What’s next Agenda

CMU MHCI - GM Network Project1 April 2004 ROADCASTING ? New approach to community and communication Service model that allows people to express themselves by offering their own radio stations Allows communities to meet and share common interests Provides methods for quickly finding the best stations for any individual listener What Is Roadcasting?

CMU MHCI - GM Network Project1 April 2004 ROADCASTING Where we are, as of today: 21 group meetings 2 prototypes 14 users interviewed 92 pieces of content on project site Where We Are

CMU MHCI - GM Network Project1 April 2004 ROADCASTING Prototypes One on paper, looking at how users find stations. Where We Are

CMU MHCI - GM Network Project1 April 2004 ROADCASTING Prototypes One written in Java, looking at how users browse among stations. Where We Are

CMU MHCI - GM Network Project1 April 2004 ROADCASTING User research 3 contextual inquiries with college radio DJs 7-person participatory design session 4 user tests of the paper prototype Where We Are

CMU MHCI - GM Network Project1 April 2004 ROADCASTING Background research 57 articles 14 files 21 images of current automobile interfaces Where We Are

CMU MHCI - GM Network Project1 April 2004 ROADCASTING Innovative services research Matrix summary of innovative services that are relevant to our project Where We Are

CMU MHCI - GM Network Project1 April 2004 ROADCASTING The state of radio What is Roadcasting? Where we are How we got here 1.Project focus selection 2.Design brainstorming 3.Contextual inquiries 4.Design issues 5.Participatory design session 6.Paper prototype 7.Prototype testing 8.Working prototype What’s next Agenda

CMU MHCI - GM Network Project1 April 2004 ROADCASTING 1.Project Focus Selection Narrowed down ideas from an initial 45+ to five finalists. Sketched and developed concept documents for each of the five. Ranked the surviving three by all relevant criteria and chose the best. How We Got Here

CMU MHCI - GM Network Project1 April 2004 ROADCASTING 2. Design brainstorming Found two main areas to consider: How We Got Here Broadcasting Definition and maintenance of live playlist Opportunities for commercials Deciding when and where to broadcast Differentiation from “real” radio Feedback regarding audience On-air light Signal quality Location of source music What happens when DJ reaches destination Receiving Definition of a station Locating a desirable or desired station Notification of new stations Dealing with non-persistent stations Identifying stations uniquely Definition of types of searching and browsing Avoiding undesirable or “bad” stations Agent guidance Definition of desirable filtering criteria

CMU MHCI - GM Network Project1 April 2004 ROADCASTING 3. Contextual Inquiries User research with contextual inquiries at college radio station WRCT Watched on-air activities performed by each of three DJs Concluded that in-car broadcasting can be much simpler, and feasibility is not as bad as we thought How We Got Here

CMU MHCI - GM Network Project1 April 2004 ROADCASTING 4. Design Issues How We Got Here Issues for Participatory Design Community-building vs. personal aspects of radio Types of use (music, talk, etc.) Level of control desired Interaction desired with station Questions for ourselves Does the concept of a “station” still make sense? Do users need to know which station they’re listening to? Issues of station ownership & community role

CMU MHCI - GM Network Project1 April 2004 ROADCASTING 5. Participatory Design Session To determine target audience’s in-car activities and music-related activities Seven participants Average age 31 5 males, 2 females Averaged 48-minute round-trip commute How We Got Here

CMU MHCI - GM Network Project1 April 2004 ROADCASTING 5. Participatory Design Session Three activities Questionnaire In My Car collage How We Got Here Dream Radio collage

CMU MHCI - GM Network Project1 April 2004 ROADCASTING 5. Participatory Design - Results Questionnaire: More participants listen to the radio than their own music Vast majority of participants listen to FM stations Participants listen to the radio primarily for entertainment, then for news Most participants change stations after each song, or when commercials come on Audience prefers music and comedy to political commentary How We Got Here

CMU MHCI - GM Network Project1 April 2004 ROADCASTING 5. Participatory Design - Results In-car activities collage Participants’ Activities / Concerns: 1.Safety 2.Isolation 3.Radio 4.Personal music 5.Aggravation due to other drivers 6.Delays How We Got Here

CMU MHCI - GM Network Project1 April 2004 ROADCASTING 5. Participatory Design - Results Make-your-own-radio collage How We Got Here Number of times each button was selected. (Includes write-ins)

CMU MHCI - GM Network Project1 April 2004 ROADCASTING 5. Participatory Design – Discussion How We Got Here Radio as Controlled Chaos Current radio is marketing songs Satellite radio is an improvement but still does not offer sufficient breadth of programming Participants appreciate “good” DJs

Seeking CMU MHCI - GM Network Project1 April 2004 ROADCASTING 6. Paper prototype How We Got Here Seeking information regarding: Sending votes to a station Blocking a station from one’s radio Searching for stations

CMU MHCI - GM Network Project1 April 2004 ROADCASTING 7. Prototype testing Ongoing So far: Difficulty with testing: Metadata and classifications of internet radio aren’t perfect Users disinclined to “block” a station Some participants had trouble thinking of genres on their own (and would prefer browsing) How We Got Here

CMU MHCI - GM Network Project1 April 2004 ROADCASTING 8. Working prototype How We Got Here Seeking information regarding: How users browse through large numbers of stations How the browsing problem can be narrowed Ways to introduce collaborative filtering

CMU MHCI - GM Network Project1 April 2004 ROADCASTING The state of radio What is Roadcasting? Where we are How we got here 1.Project focus selection 2.Design brainstorming 3.Contextual inquiries 4.Design issues 5.Participatory design session 6.Paper prototype 7.Prototype testing 8.Working prototype What’s next Agenda

CMU MHCI - GM Network Project1 April 2004 ROADCASTING What’s Next Continue prototype testing of receiving Iterate paper prototype Implement collaborative filtering for Java prototype Explore broadcasting Has been delayed because audience needs and desired weren’t established Create prototypes to test with real users Continue to define larger-scale service and technical details What’s Next

CMU MHCI - GM Network Project1 April 2004 ROADCASTING Much progress has been made Timeline has proven to be fairly realistic but still need adjustments Conclusion

CMU MHCI - GM Network Project1 April 2004 ROADCASTING Comments, questions? Questions?