Interaction - Bachelor

Bug Lab

Bug Lab is a gamified app that utilises technology to encourage kids to explore outdoors, sparking their interest in the world around them through experiential learning. By searching for, finding, scanning, and learning about bugs, the app promotes engagement with everyday environments while building natural literacy and curiosity about the world.

Levi Smith

area of opportunity

This project stems from growing concerns around the amount of time children are spending indoors. While several factors have contributed to this, my solution will focus on how electronic devices, considered to be a part of the problem, could actually be used positively to reduce their own impact on environmental exploration. For this project, I aim to develop a gamified app that uses technology to encourage kids to go outdoors, getting them interested in the world around.

Five key areas

The app has five key areas: Scan, Home, Garden, Achievements, and Science.

Learning Content for the Common Crow Butterfly, discussing the bugs' body parts.

Scan

Users can scan bugs in the real world, using the technology to identify the insect. They are then taken through a quick identification process, encouraging a close examination of the bug. Multimedia lessons then teach learning content, followed by quizzes for reinforcement.
The Common Crow butterfly.

Home

Upon completion, users earn a badge. This provides a catalogue of all the bugs they have spotted thus far. Here, users can read basic information about the animal, revisit content, and view the insect’s rarity and global sighting count.
A virtual garden, inhabited by a spider, butterfly, and ladybug.

Virtual Garden

Users can view and interact with their bugs in the virtual garden, a space aiming to display the users’ progress in an engaging way. The coins they earn from scanning bugs can be spent here to purchase new items and customise the space.
A user of Junior Scientist rank, with 3 complete quests and 3 in progress.

Achievements

The number of bugs identified contributes to the users achievement level, helping to visualise their progress. Users can unlock achievements by scanning certain bugs, providing short-term goals to work towards. Additionally, friend quests provide collaborative challenges, encouraging groups to work together.
A citizen science page, listing the users' contributions.

Science

A citizen science page was added to show users the real-world impacts of their data collection. This includes a short overview and a list of research journals their data has contributed to.

Levi Smith

Levi Smith is an Interaction Design and Computer Science student from Brisbane. His main passion is user interface design, focusing on creating intuitive and visually engaging digital experiences.