Tramici

About

Tramici is an augmented reality (AR) travel tracking and journal app helps people to remember previous trips in a small scale with the AR map and the user's character. It saves the user's travel path in real-time and with the memory function, the user can save their trips and look back at them.

My Role

Market Research
Conducting 15 user testing
3D model rigging using Blender
Developing 3D model animation using Blender
User Interaction implement
Developing 3D AR map using Mapbox and Unity
Designing travel map tracking, travel diary pages UI

Duration

4 Months | Mar 2020 - Jun 2020

Team

Ga-Young Paik
Heeji Kim
Sunwoo Park
Eun-Ah Choi

Tools

Unity
Vuforia
Blender
Figma
Xcode

Guide

Sanghyun Yoo
KT Super VR

Background

“I want to remember every paths that I have traveled before the pandemic, but my memory started to fade"

In 2020, the global tourism rate massively dropped by 74% compared to the previous year, and this was more loss than the 2009 global economic crisis. Due to the pandemic, cities got into lockdown, and people had to stay at their homes. In collaboration with KT Super VR team, my fellow team member and I at Sogang University created an AR app reviving people's memory from their travels during the lockdown to help them get through it.

Solution

A real-time travel path recording journal app with AR map and personal character

We focus on a smaller level, a path tracker that can record the small random alley that travelers pass and allow them to recall the memories with their customized AR character.
The app integrates a journaling app and a place-saving function on a mobile map. The 3d AR character and 3d map design differ based on regional characteristics. The character can interact with the user and its animation changes when the user touches or swipes the character on the map.

Research

Understanding the market trends and users need

My team conducted a secondary research on travel app market for better understand of the user's core goals and needs. We focused on the competitors' function and reviews of people how they use the app.

AR Development

Visualizing map and personalized avatar into 3D AR model with unity

I led the AR map and character development. I created the 3D Map with actual topography features of the place and rigged the 3D model. My two main goals were to visualize the user's travel path and visited sites and make the character follow the user's path. I used Mapbox asset and blender to edit the color, and the For the AR character, I used blender to give a movement and make interaction with the user.

Production Challenges

User Persona

Based on research and interviews, our team chose the target user; Travelers who like to keep a travel journal, like to go to random places but forget where they have been, and want to look back on their trip in detail after coming back.

Lo-fi Prototype Testing

For user testing, we made a lo-fi prototype using Vuforia engine so that the user can actually interact with the AR map while they are doing the testing. We tested the diary mode, where the user can look back their past travel route passing the random and narrow alleys with an AR map.

Final Prototype

Location Based travel Diary

I learned that our users sometimes have difficulty remembering the places that they have been. Tramici offers a diary based on the locations so the user can see the places they have traveled at a glance.

aR Map Travel Path Log

With a personalized avatar that the user had chosen, Tramici helps people to recall their memory more in a fun and unique way.

Real-Time Auto-Saving travel tracker

Through research, we found that people easily forget where they had traveled unless they keep updating the path while traveling. It is time-consuming, so we simplified the process with an auto-travel path tracker.

User Testing and Feedback

User testing was conducted on 15 students who haven't been able to travel more than a year. I also specifically divided the people who don't keep journal while traveling and people who regularly write a travel journal during or after the trip. The usability was acceptable, but there were notable feedbacks.

Takeaways & Next Steps

This project helped me step out of my comfort zone and take on a variety of roles. Developing AR using Unity and conducting the prototype testing helped me to understand the app building process beyond the designing the user’s experience. During the production phase, there were many frustrating points where my team had to spent weeks for finding the solutions. However, we ended up delivering full AR map using Vuforia engine that user can actually modify the map size or expand the map. Personally I worked remotely for 80% of the project, due to the pandemic, and this was a great opportunity to learn how to effectively collaborate with the team.

Next Steps

Based on the feedbacks we received, our team set future updates for the app.The basic animation and the interaction will be updated with more types of motions that will enhance the intimacy with the user.We will also support the tutorial guide on how to use the app for users who are using it for the first time.The sharing function will be updated so the user can share the travel map and path and plan their journey with friends.

Tramici

Recent work

Valance SVA x Goldman Sachs