Our group aimed at solving a prevalent and hazardous problem that plagues skateboarders across campus - the constant challenge of small bumps, rocks, cracks, and various other obstacles which appear while skateboarding in low-light or nighttime conditions. These unforeseen obstructions can lead to accidents, injuries, or even damage to the skateboard. To find this problem, we first conducted an extensive survey (Figure 2) among a diverse group of students, friends, and family, including over 100 Northwestern students specifically.
Figure 2: Initial Survey
After gathering results from this survey, we iteratively narrowed down our target needs to our need of identifying the user’s skateboarding path at night using methods outlined in **Appendix M - Need Finding Research Summary** and shown in Figure 3**.** We then further probed participants about their experiences skateboarding to further understand the issue. The results painted a clear picture, showcasing the frequency with which this issue arises and the pressing need for a viable solution. Nearly every student who owned a skateboard had experienced this problem multiple times, emphasizing the importance of finding a solution they could purchase with confidence. This product had to alleviate challenges in their skateboarding sessions.
Figure 3: Coding Criteria
The responses were insightful and unanimous in highlighting the urgency of finding a solution. Out of the vast pool of surveyed students, which exceeded 50 participants, the issue of hitting small bumps, rocks, and obstacles during low-light or nighttime skateboarding arose consistently.
The overwhelming response indicated a strong demand for a reliable and efficient product that could enhance their skateboarding experience while ensuring their safety. These findings validated the necessity of our mission to develop a solution that meets the needs and aspirations of skateboarders, enabling them to fully enjoy their sport without fear of encountering hazardous obstacles.
Initiating our design process involved market research of current lighting and sensing solutions that were either intended for, or repurposable for, skateboards. Our evaluation of these products involved their reviews, functionality, pricing, and more to determine what products worked best for our requirements.
Example products from our research are shown below. One lighting product (Figure 4) was determined to not have effective mounting for skateboards and weakly lit the user’s path, while another sensing product (Figure 5) did not meet the specifications of our project and did not have available reviews. [See Appendix C - Competitive Benchmarking Summary for more details about these and other products]. The impracticality of these individual products led us to pursue a competitive advantage with the OptiSkate by putting them together, creating a product that has no equal in the market.
Figure 4: LED Lights
Figure 5: LIDAR Sensors
Additional existing solutions can be found in Appendix D: Patent Research
Throughout our iteration process, we devised and conducted numerous testing processes. These included testing our LIDAR sensor and several other sensors with potential users and comparing their ideal reaction time and sensitivity of a sensor with their skateboarding specifics. We also tested several other specifics including size, connection types, and overall setup. These iterations can be found in Appendices G - User Testing Protocol & H - User Testing Summary.
Our product is very simple to use with one switch turning on both the light and the sensing function. Once turned on, the users can attach the box to the undercarriage of the skateboard and begin riding.
The simplicity of the product was one core aspect of our project we aimed to incorporate throughout. However, the actual technology behind the product is anything but simple. For example, our sensing mechanism which connects directly to a Raspberry Pi Pico allows us to send out beams at the speed of light to detect changing distances during operation. This idea and underlying technology allowed for the success of our design.