Explanation of design

The idea of this device is to save time and hassle for the public who enter the pub from having to stand and que by the bar to order food and/or drinks. This will allow them to comfortable order from the seat of their table.

Image of storyboard design

So here is a rough storyboard of how the device would work in terms of processing an order from the customer. You would start with the home/display screen which would show the main menu, for either; the song list, or a food menu. Once clicked you will then have a comprehensive menu of the available choices, with a price and description (for food) and a list of artist, song and genre (for music). Once the choice of food is chosen, you will then have a detailed list of your cart, similar to the interface when you shop online, as it then allows familiarity to customers and ensures they don't feel puzzled when using the new technology. They will then be able to cancel anything which they initially ordered by clicking onto the product, to then click 'buy' to confirm the order and will be required to pay when a member of staff comes over to confirm the order and bring the starters/drinks.

Mockup design of system

Jamie created a quick design of how we intend the technology to work and look.

User Interface design

As you can see it should work effectively as a touch-screen interface, as the buttons are placed with enough spacing from each other, and are large. This means that even if you are semi-conscious then you should still be able to easily change song, order food and drink.

Here's an image created in photoshop to help understand how it will work;

Photoshop mockup of how the technology would look when installed

The device will be integrated into the surface for several reasons; the public will be eating on the surface and it would otherwise cause to be an obstruction, it will then be difficult to remove/take as it is closely fitted into the hole created into the surface. Having it fitted into the table can also have some cons, those of which we have already discussed and thought of some ways to overcome the problems. The main problem would be the risk of it getting damaged from general use, so it will need to be waterproof and scratch-proof, but also strong enough to withstand weight being hit onto it with force.

A list of requirements

After our research into the pub, it's surrounding area and the customers inside, we soon realised one big requirement that our installation had to do. That was simply get people away from the bar, to clear up that clustered space in the pub. So we decided to do create a multi functional touch screen application that allows customers to order the drinks from the table. We also thought that from this device the user could request to change the current song in the pub etc.

Firstly the obvious requirements that come with this are:

• It has to be waterproof (a pub constantly has drinks spilt on the table, on the floor, even on the walls) so this is the biggest thing we need to consider.

• It has to be theft proof. This is quite obvious, as no pub/bar wants there nice new equipment stolen by someone that after a few drinks thinks it would 'look lovely in there living room'

• Easy interface. Again very obvious, but with the constant effects of drink within the pub, using this must be simple – even after a few drinks!

• Will provide a simple lock system, so that it is not accidentally pressed when leaning on it. I.e System locks after 3 minutes of no use.

• Price must be below £100 for one of these LCD screens. As they have to be installed in tables. They won't be in all of the tables, as the use of the bar is still there, but they will be installed in a few. This is designed to simply reduce the cluster at the bar, as taking it away complete would remove the tradition of a pub.

These are just a few of the requirements for our system. They are only basic, but we need to begin the design process to help ensure these requirements are met.

Surveying the public location

Last week we visited our chosen location to construct a survey of it and to gain some information and data of it. As it's just a pub/restaurant there isn't a lot of data that you can take which you don't already know. By simply sitting inside the Roundabout and thinking about the area and problems within the pub, and the current technologies installed, you can easily gain a better insight as opposed to simply thinking "It's a place to drink and have fun, what more could be said about it?".

Initially we noticed that the table and chair spacing was spread throughout the bar levels, but the area near the bar was quite small. This would mean that there would be a large line up of people at busy times waiting to order. This then supports our change of direction with our idea for the technology that we were going to implement. Initially it was going to be a device that would let you text in to change the song, but after realising the cons of this establishment, we decided to change our idea to some sort of touch screen interface where people can order their food and drinks without having to walk up to the bar and order. This could be more difficult in terms of the upkeep, but it would make the process a lot smoother and there won't be a large que of people waiting to order at the bar. Due to the location also having three floors, walking all of the way down and back to make an order can become hassle to do, especially as the pathway from the second floor down is quite small, therefore there won't be a lot of room to navigate, hence the idea of including touch screens to order on each table would be a lot easier.

 

Audio clip taken from time within the Roundabout

Taking an audio clip of the location helps to gain an understanding of what happens within it, and how loud it gets in there, should we consider to implement a form of sound with our technology. If you listen to the file above, although it wasn't majorly busy when it was taken, it is still too noisy to implement any form of audio which the technology will be dependent on to work properly.

Birds-eye view blueprint of location's layout

By drawing the layout of the location it helped to give us a good idea of where we can install our technology, how many we can install and where. In the uncertainty of changing our mind on the technology for whatever reason, we can easily adapt due to having experienced the area and a drawn blueprint of the area being at arms reach to us should we need it.

Here's an image which we took of the location during our visit to the Roundabout during the day;

Image of the Roundabout pub during daytime

The idea of this was to get an understanding of the location which we are working with an how successful our device would be, given that it would be used here to replace the existing process of what it will replace. We quickly noticed how there was little room by the bar, and would easily become claustrophobic given a busy Friday night, so a new idea to resolve it would be considered greatly by them.

Jamie then visited the Roundabout during a busy night, to see whether our assumptions were true. And to our relief they were, people were crammed around the bar, and becoming annoyed with waiting to order for so long. Our device would then be ideal to help push this area further into becoming more populated, earn more money and become an overall efficient and more enjoyable place to socialise, due to the technologies installed for ordering being far quicker to process and easier to use.

For a brief overview of the study of the location, take your time to look at;

1. Contextual Study
2. Environmental Study

Or for another team member's overview look at;

1. Jamie Pates 
2. Nathan Gibbings