IOTA
Hello, welcome to IOTA. Windows IOTA is a smart TV with an AI enabled voice assistant. Onboard hardware means installation and setup is as easy as plugging it in. We think of IOTA as your smart home control panel, with full support for all your favorite apps and devices. A dynamic dashboard keeps you up to date throughout the day, and Cortana is always there if you need her.
Project Duration - 6w
Roles
— Product Designer
— Motion Designer
Tools
— Adobe XD
— Adobe After Effects
— Cinema4D
Skills
— R&D
— Feature Development
— Prototyping
— Voiceover
But, why a smart TV?
Most new TV’s on the market include some host of features that qualifies them as “smart”. Microsoft is uniquely positioned to deliver a product that could disrupt the TV market, and capture market segments outside of desktop computers and gaming. Integrating existing products, like the Cortana Voice API and Windows Applets, allows Microsoft to provide dynamic content and stable voice integration easily.
With the rise in smart home devices, the need for a device manager is becoming increasingly apparent. IOTA provides a centralized home hub that integrates with IFTTT to provide easy routine setup. This allows IOTA to interface with video intercoms, security systems, lights, smart switches, and other Wi-Fi enabled devices.
Controlling these devices at the OS level offers a greater degree of control, and the opportunity to develop multi device routines. Since IOTA is somewhere between a TV and a desktop computer, media server functionality, integration with Xbox and app casting are all within the capabilities of the system.
Data
As of 2016, smart TV’s represent 47% of US market share, and this was reflected in our survey results. Many respondents also utilize smart speakers, and voice assistants on mobile devices.
Basic smart TV’s often include a web browser and a few apps for streaming content. IOTA hopes to go a step further by offering a robust feature set more akin to a desktop computer than a TV. Connecting to mobile devices and curated content were two features that emerged as “must-haves”
Typography and Color
Designing for Voice
Since IOTA is controlled primarily with voice, it was important to simulate how a user might interact with an AI assistant for visual content. Developing clear pathways for error handling and search term confirmation help the user feel in control of the system, and build trust over time. Generating these flows also helps to indicate when the microphone should be activated and when computational functions should be executed.
Morning Routine
Smart home integration is all about finding ways the system can support and enhance your daily routine. This flow demonstrates a user navigating the system in order to dismiss an alarm, activate a smart switch, and launch Spotify.
Coffee Please
This user flow showcases a pre-recorded routine that connects a specific phrase with a set of actions on the network. In this case, a command of “start the coffee pot” triggers a smart switch or network enabled coffee pot.
Establishing Routines
Actions like this can be very powerful, and as complexity of network-enabled hardware increases more complex routines become possible. IOTA offers support for IFThisThenThat, allowing users to build complex actions across multiple devices.
Away Mode
It’s almost like having eyes in the back of your head. Utilizing onboard cameras IOTA can send you notifications when it detects movement in your home. When introducing web connected cameras into a home space, privacy can be an immense purchasing factor. On screen visual indicators and LED’s tell users when cameras and microphones are active.
Just Looking In
IOTA’s camera system allows users to look in on their home from any mobile device connected with their Windows Account. Video streams are encrypted, so users can be sure no unwanted eyes are viewing their feed.
Secured
Expanding your smart home system with Wi-Fi enabled locks allows IOTA to lock and unlock your doors at your command. Users can also choose to be notified whenever the status of a lock changes, and use IOTA to check what’s going on inside.
Welcome Home
This user flow showcases a routine activated when a verified device connects to the same network as IOTA. When the mobile phone connects, IOTA runs a pre-recorded routine that turns on the lights and starts music
Routines With Devices
Routines based on other devices give IOTA even more potential. Room-specific routines, routines for specific individuals, and proximity based routines are just a few of the way IOTA can interact with the rest of your digital ecosystem.
Prompted Interactions
Part of this flow is a prompted interaction from Cortana. Actions like this encourage the user to engage with the system without feeling overbearing. A clear path out of the interaction let’s users who’d like to exit the flow do so easily.
Set a Delayed Order
Search and Watch Video Content
View Messages and News
Next Steps…
This is the first iteration of IOTA, and in the process of designing several opportunities for further investigation. Many of the features can be controlled with voice, but for long text entry other input methods may be preferable. This could involve the development of a simple tactile control for use with an onboard keyboard, a mobile app for text input and custom app-specific UI, or gesture control.