H.Y.K.E: Heighten Your Knowledge of Environments
Problem and Motivation:
When I visited Yosemite National Park in California over the summer, I was overly excited to go on all the famous hikes around the park to see the beautiful views I have seen on TV. Upon arrival, I started one of the shorter hikes (4 miles) but my friends and I had to depend on the trails itself and signs that showed the directions of where to go. Most times these signs were placed within a 0.5 - 1-mile radius between the previous one so we found ourselves walking a pretty far distance before coming across one. One of the main problems with hikes like these is that hikers oftentimes get lost trying to complete them (16%, according to Tree Hugger) or having to ask strangers for directions. Coupled with this, problems such as bad information regarding these hikes, activities and safety precautions ruin the experience of hikers globally and is a problem that I am motivated to solve and study this semester.
The Product & Idea:
I plan on creating a mobile application that allows individuals to learn more about the hikes, tours and camping trips that they will go on to improve their experiences away from home and out in the wild. Here are a few scenarios where I plan to bring a resolution to or improve what is currently available:
1. Hike Trails: I feel that hikers need a medium in which they can view trails offline on their mobile phones (because most hikes take people to places with no signal). Current solutions do not do a good job with this. They allow users to download maps but it reduces the experience that users would have with a wifi/data signal. I want to not only improve the trail/navigation experience in terms of design, but I also want to ensure that the experience that users get online is the same that they receive offline.
2. History and Information: Along with seeing a map of the trail, hikers may also want a bit of history behind where they’re hiking. I do not believe that any apps out there right now allows hikers to get a bit more information about the hikes they are about to go on. As users complete their hikes, the app will act as a virtual tour guide. Telling them information as they move along the hike; such as telling them to look left to see the famous view/monument.
3. Adventurous Map: I would like to add a feature that automatically suggests hikes that users can go on that are nearby. This will allow users to not have to search for trails based on what they know or heard of but give them detailed suggestions based on popular trails in their location.
4. Safety: Provide safety tips about the environments you will be in. Current safety methods are great but are sometimes not properly informed. I will ensure that through my app, this information will be shown to customers globally.
5. Downloadable Videos: These videos will accompany detailed step by step guides on how to do certain camping activities and setups such as lighting a campfire or setting up a tent. We will also include activities that hikers and campers can do as a group while they are out in the wild.
6. Work out!: We all love a good workout and this is one of the things that I believe current apps do a pretty good job with. I plan to bring this feature into our app and improve it in any way we can.
Similar Works:
Apps such as MapMyHike and Alltrails are examples of current apps that have hiking features. These apps provide great features that I plan to replicate and improve upon in terms of design and accuracy as well as adding new features that these apps do not provide.
Team Project:
Learning In Nature through hikAR: https://hci-sys.github.io/LearningInNature/
References:
How many people get lost in the woods?: https://www.treehugger.com/travel/how-people-get-lost-woods-what-do-if-it-happens-you.html
Image of current hiking app: https://www.tomsguide.com/us/pictures-story/746-best-hiking-apps.html