Benben robot App - assembly tutorials, remote control and AR experiences
Role
UX Design
UI Design
Product Design
Timeline
2022.12 - 2023.1
Benben is a robotic dog that consists of over 1800 pieces block, supporting assembly tutorial, remote control and AR experiences through an App based on mobile and tablet.
Overview
Benben robot is a character from movie "The Wandering Earth 2". Coming with 1800+ blocks, assembly is user-friendly through the App called "Beyond Gravity" in Benben section. Users can check the assembly tutorial to start to build. When finishing the assembly, the app is also offering bluetooth remote control and AR experiences (moon and ocean scenes).
This is an urgent project for the team, as we aim to release the app with all features before the movie launch date, totally 30 days to design and deliver the final product.
Despite the tight timeline, we achieved excellent results. By the fifth day after the "The Wandering Earth 2" movie launch, Benben all units (Tmall and JD.com) were sold out, generating 1,000,000 RMB in revenue. Additionally, the app received a substantial number of positive reviews.
Thousands of positive reviews by genuine users.
One of our customers comments on JD.com
"The entire assembly is guided by 3D blueprints, accessible through a dedicated app. The app itself has various features and is user-friendly, making each step clear for beginners. The Bluetooth connection is fast and stable; I controlled it using an Android phone without experiencing any disconnections. Even at a distance of over 10 meters, there was no noticeable delay, which is quite impressive."
Download the app for both iOS and Android.
From the app website https://mobile.beyondgravity.cn/download
My Impacts
📌 Designed and shipped end-to-end flow for assembly tutorial, Bluetooth remote control, and AR experience features.
📌 Conducted in-person interviews to get to know about user behaviours and preferences .
📌 Lead a designer team and mentor interns to collaborate and complete the product delivery.
Official Product Teaser
Design Process
Research
Target audiences
Age: 10 - 45
“The Wandering Earth 2” filmfan
Users who are loyal to watch “The Wandering Earth 2” and love the character, Benben, also who(whose parent) have a certain purchasing ability, and love the trendy and cool-tech toy.
Research
The learning goals
Assembly behaviors
Have you been playing with the LEGO or block toy? How often?
Can you describe the process of assembly?
Paper assembly instruction and digital assembly instruction, which one do you prefer and why?
What is the best experience you’ve had with assembling the blocks?
What is the worst experience you’ve had with assembling the blocks?
Remote control behaviors
Have you been playing with a remotely controllable toy?
How do you control it remotely, and can you describe what the controller looks like?
What kind of movement does the toy have?
Can you describe how you interact with it?
What is the best remote controlling experience you’ve had?
What is the worst remote controlling experience you’ve had?
AR gameplay preferences
Have you ever experienced augmented reality (AR) ?
What scene and plot about Benben is the most impressed for you in the movie?
If you can interact with Benben in the reality, what you expect?
What is the best AR experience you’ve had?
What is the worst AR experience you’ve had?
Research
Interviews
8
Interviews
33
Survey Responses
87.8%
63.6%
78.7%
of users look through the instruction step-by-step to assemble the blocks.
of users
like to control the robot remotely in outdoor to travel and carry stuff.
of users
looking for the AR experiences related to the movie, especially for moon and ocean scenes.
"I'm new to the block toy, the assembly instructions are necessary for me. I need to check them step by step to complete the assembly."
"I always encounter problems when I look at the images in the instructions; some of them are confusing. As a result, I cannot assemble the blocks to the toy and operate smoothly."
"I'd like to bring my controllable toy outdoors and play with it using the controller. I enjoy controlling it from a distance and then calling it back. It's an experience I enjoy."
"I often play with my controllable toy at home and make it carry some heavy stuff as a delivery guy haha... And one of my favourite toys can move multi-directions, super flexible "
"The most impressive scene for me about Benben in the Movie was the it explores treasures on the moon, I really desire to experience with Benben."
"As the movie fan, I really want to know more about Benben and interact with it in multiple scenarios to explore the world together, if AR experience can do that, it will be great!"
User Analysis
10+
👦🏻 👧🏼
years old
Teens
👨🏾 👩🏼
Adults
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Users love the Benben character from "The Wandering Earth 2".
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Users like to play and assemble building blocks and have experiences.
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Users usually play with their family and friends.
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Users are sensitive to sounds and music.
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Users like dynamic design.
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Users recognize 3D models more than simple 2D graphics.
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Users enjoy high-tech and intelligent products.
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Users would like to try the new techs and experiences.
Personas
Jason
Male
33 years old
In a relationship
Accountant
NEEDS & GOALS
He is busy at his work and he needs time to relax on weekends
He is a sci-fi fan and has a lot of collectible figures and LEGOs
He wants a professional tool to help him assemble the blocks
He likes to play LEGO with his girlfriend
He wants some products that can smoothly control the toy
He is interested in any cutting-edge technology and experience
Lily
Girl
11 years old
Has a 3-year older brother
primary school student
NEEDS & GOALS
She has a great impression on Benben from the movie
She wants to create things
She likes to play with her brother and friends
She needs to improve her hand-on skills
She enjoys AR and VR games a lot.
She wants to get rewards from her teacher and parents
Problem Statement
🤔️
How might we create a tool that enhances the assembly experience for customers who have purchased Benben robots, enabling smooth and flexible remote control after assembly, and ultimately providing them with an engaging and playful experience?
Analysis the robot hardware
As the designer for Benben's app, except knowing the users, my main focus is understanding the hardware as well. I need to know how it's built and the exact steps and flow for installation to create a user-friendly assembly guide.
Assembly process from 0 to 1
The whole product includes:
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6 numbered bags with over 1800 blocks
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4 uniquely molded omni-wheels for Benben's movement
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The power components in a white box, including a Bluetooth receiver and four monster motors.
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2 large stickers and the instruction manual for “The Wandering Earth 2” movie.
While assembling, I followed the 3D instruction guide step by step. I realized that certain points are crucial for users to grasp the overall picture and anticipate the results. For instance, providing information about the contents of each bag and showing the outcomes in advance at different stages can help users understand where they are in the process and make it easy to understand the purpose and next step. I documented all confusion or key points during assembly aiming to create an easy-to-use assembly tutorial and find out a simplified process that allows users to assemble quickly.
Drawing on my LEGO experience, I completed the entire assembly in approximately 4.5 hours, but I recognize that my proficiency cannot represent the average user and cover different ages of users. To cater to a broader audience, I am considering a more user-friendly tutorial.
Mecanum wheels are the highlight of the hardware
Benben's mecanum wheels are a highlight of the product hardware. By studying the principles of mecanum wheel motion, I have developed a design concept for Benben's Bluetooth remote control in the app. It is equipped with four mecanum wheels, including two left-rotating wheels and two right-rotating wheels, enabling omni-directional movements.The installation method is O-rectangle, with detailed instructions provided in the assembly tutorial. This installation method offers Benben 16 different motion trajectories.
Through discussions with experienced building block enthusiasts, we learned that controlling mecanum wheels with a regular joystick is challenging due to the need for careful consideration. Different motion trajectories involve varying forces and directions of the wheels. Therefore, we have decided to embed the control logic into the app using an integrated approach. Users can easily control Benben through joystick operations in the app's user interface, significantly reducing the time required for user decision-making and making remote control of Benben quick and user-friendly.
Based on Benben's product positioning, it is a versatile, all-terrain transport platform with a maximum load capacity of 2kg. After assembly, users can remotely control Benben to assist in transporting lightweight items or packages. We conducted a thorough analysis of 16 motion modes, considering user scenarios, and ultimately selected 8 commonly used modes that also align with Benben's movie, setting for the design of the remote control module in the app.
Which are：
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Move Forward
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Move Backward
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Move Left
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Move right
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Turning Left
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Turning Right
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Drift Left
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Drift Right
Combining the above 8 motion trajectories allows Benben to achieve omnidirectional rotation and movement.
Ideation
An app for assembling and remotely controlling Benben. Users easily access instructions and can quickly assemble. After assembly, they can effortlessly use it to control Benben, and explore moon and ocean scenes in augmented reality to continue the movie-inspired imagination. This product serves as an all-in-one tool for Benben robot.
App sitemap
Wireframes
The Benben section, found under the "Collection" tab, showcases a 3D rotating model of Benben at the center of the screen.
Tapping the centre
button "Assembly Tutorial" takes users to a step-by-step assembly instruction interfaces.
I created wireframes that highlights the key assembly points based on the app's sitemap design, and I've provided notes including interaction logics, corner cases and
Tapping the left
button "Remote Control" takes users to bluetooth remote controller pages after finishing the connection.
According to the research on Benben's hareware and mecanum wheels, I design two joysticks on remote controller. One is for 4 direction movements, forward, backward, left and right. The other is for Benben's rotation, turning left, turning right, drifting left and drifting right.
Tapping the third
button "Immersive experience" takes users to the AR section.
There are three different scenes for AR experience, which are moon scene, deep ocean scene and about Benben.
Final Delivery
1. Assembly tutorial
2. Remote controller
3. AR experience
Design based on guideline
Guiding interns to produce all user interfaces and edge cases based on app design specifications. Organizing all design elements into symbols and creating markers and cutouts that developers can use. Defining a design system for designers and developers to ensure consistency in design.
User Feedbacks and Iteration
After Benben officially launched. We received the first wave of user feedback. To enhance the user experience and facilitate tutorial viewing, we introduced a tablet version of the app. We efficiently organized user feedback and data to iterate on tablet version.
10000+ sale
96% Positive Reviews
1300+ Good Comments with pics
