THE GLOBULAR APP

OVERVIEW

Globular is a project based on the world of “storm chasers” and “the scientist corpse” all linked by the open science concept. The goal consists in collecting data by the storm chasers during their observations of storm, lightning, tornadoes.. and the sending of these data to scientists thanks to the app. Then the scientific community will analyse those data to improve their learning of the meteorological science, in the long term the objective is to be capable to anticipate storm and avoid the potential dangers generated by storms as well as reinforce the cooperation between the different actors.

CONTEXT

this project is the result of my ESP project realised during my last year of school, it has for purpose to allow me to have considerable work around a chosen subject with the opportunity to use the design thinking methodology. It also was the opportunity to work on a very realistic subject with concrete needs, people to interview and some experiments to give them.

PROBLEM

then, I began by the question “how can I improve the activity of chasing storms ?” and “what do these people need ?” after some researches and interviews I founded that the efficiency and the coop were better in the U.S. than in Europe. But why ? → the main reason was: because storm chasers and scientists work together and they succeed to have a strong community which means a lot of coop.

PROCESS

1- I started with research and exploration to master my subject and understand how it works.

2- Then I formed a network of experts to help me in my task, to have some specialists around me and to give credibility to my project. my work with them took place in the form of an interview where I was able to collect their feelings and experience in the field.

3- With these interview and surveys I created a database of all the collected information and experiences with the general ideas and tried to isolate common opinions.

4- During my research and exchanges with my network, certain obstacles appeared, so I adapted the rest of my work to remedy them. Often, it is sociological obstacles or identified weaknesses that could cause the service to deviate from its initial goal.

5- After I began to think about my solution, I made prototypes of my idea and the potential userflow of my service with all the steps to accomplish to collect datas and suceed in our task.

6- I tested my concept on my principal users and I collected their feedbacks to approach something for a user-friendly product.

7- then I created some wireframes, I re-tested the concept with improvements and I realised the UI part.

8- Finally I created the final product with the UX & UI part & the prototype and here it is !

THE APP

The app is divided into different steps of use:

Before:
- you have to select and to plan your chase among the list of possibilities in function of your localisation, the time when it has to come and the strengh of the storm.

During:
- according to the chase that you choose to hunt, you have to fill a list in the app and to take some data like photos, videos or measures. Once it’s done your observation is sent to the host of the event.

After:
- Finally, after the chase ended, you receive a report of the passed hunt with the conclusions and advancements which have been observed thanks to the data collected by the community.

Others:
- You can also consult the previous chase whether you participated or not
- You have access to a data base and informations collected over time.
- you have some news notifications about the upcoming events
- You can occupy a much bigger part of the project by subscribing to a status with more responsibilities and formations about the collect of datas.
- And many more !

3 TYPES OF PEOPLES

To process the data collected efficiently and according to each person's skills/devices, I have set up 3 categories of users who act according to their aptitudes and skills.
-The first category is for beginners without experience or equipment.
-The second to those who are more seasoned amateurs with their personal devices.
-Thirdly those who wish to devote time to chasing storms and to whom we will provide the necessary equipment and training.

GRAPHIC CHART

The name “Globular” is a reference to the globular light which is an unexplained phenomenon that can appear during storms and lightnings. It has the shape of an energy ball and the size of a basketball which moves in the space.

For the logo I chose to not to take an obvious symbol, I prefer to explore something more abstract. So the logo illustrates the idea of movement and speed.

FOR THE REST..

This is only a concept, but we can think of many others functionalities and specifications to improve the service and dedicate it to other purposes like storms, sea, mountain, etc..

My areas for improvement are:
1-Diversify the feedback system
2-Visualize the contribution of others without it becoming a social media
3-Define a geographical scope of action for users
4-Include a data collection mode for other phenomena (tornadoes, floods, etc..)
5-Diversify the ways of collecting data according to the exact needs (edit your own pattern)

CONCLUSION

This experience allowed me to carry out a project in its continuity and starting from scratch, it allowed me to reinforce and confirm certain notions and learning while challenging me on other aspects of the process of a designer.

Moreover, the chosen subject being little used, it was possible for me to open the field of possibilities and to have a rather broad vision in terms of innovations / improvements.

I also had the opportunity to get in touch with experts and enthusiasts who guided me throughout the project. It is with their advice, their opinions that I was able to give meaning to my work and relevance to my concept.

I would therefore like to thank them for their help in this project.

THANKS TO..

-Kevin Paris

Storm chaser & project tutor

Storm chaser

Director of the lightning research laboratory

Storm chaser

Storm chaser

U.S. Weather program

Territorial referent weather forecast france

Storm chaser

Storm chaser

Storm chaser