Nova
Team
Company | Institution
Category
Type
Project description
Nova is a personal climbing wall that redefines bouldering training at home, making it a celebrated activity through a new take on design expression and a compelling interactive interface. Instead of colored holds usually found on regular training walls, Nova uses light to flexibly indicate a variety of climbing routes and difficulty levels. Users can select a route using their iPhone. Information about the training performance is used to offer personalized training. Nova is practical smart gear for climbing and offers various routes for training. When not in use the climbing wall makes use of lighting to create a modern ambience. Thus the design took into consideration two possible scenarios: training and ambient lighting while not in use. The wall consists of panels with pattern-cut-outs that can be scaled to fit different sizes of rooms and dedicated walls. The new experience proudly reflects the user's passion for their sport and lifestyle.
Context
We carefully furnish and decorate the limited space of our homes, because it also expresses who we are. Sports and training at home are also part of our lifestyle but climbing enthusiasts face the challenge of ill-adapted in-home training gear. These rugged panels with colored holds do not match the level of aesthetics of interiors. So far usage of screws and tape are the only way to modify these panels to the users’ changing needs for training.
We picked up the challenge to transform the bouldering experience at home by adding flexible route selection options with a beautiful smartphone interface and by shifting the wall’s design expression.
The new experience would make climbing at home a celebrated activity that also proudly reflects the user’s passion for their sport and lifestyle.
Impact
We believe that Nova would make a real difference to the way people exercise at home. Faced with the challenge of ill-adapted in-home training gear, we identified two relevant approaches: 1- training gear that takes advantage of state of the art technology to offer more training options; 2- training gear that matches the level of aesthetics of interiors. Research of the existing market proved that these niches had been previously largely unexplored.
Nova redefines the overall experience of training at home: it transforms a boring routine with equipment that wouldn’t be caught dead in a living room to become a compelling experience based around beautifully designed, behavior-changing tools for a healthy lifestyle.
Craft
Alongside the process of form development, we considered how the UI of the future could enhance the product concept. To create a wall that has the flexibility to grow with the users’ abilities and changing needs for training, routes are indicated through light instead of colored holds. To select a route or download new routes, we tapped into the possibilities that smartphones provide and created a beautiful interface for route selection. To take full advantage of the wall-smartphone interaction, Nova can send back feedback about the user performance through integrated sensors in the wall. For the first time, this allows digital tracking of climbing performance and creates a new means of personalized training.
The wall’s design expression was seen as key to transform perceptions of the scenario. A climbing wall can be seen as part of the architecture. We took inspiration from bold architecture, decorative interior and sturdy building materials to create Nova. Through an iterative process of team discussions, sketching, generative 3D CAD modeling, prototyping and model making, we were able to conceive an aesthetic unlike anything existing today. The architectural beauty of the wall makes Nova appealing even when it is not in use.
Context
We carefully furnish and decorate the limited space of our homes, because it also expresses who we are. Sports and training at home are also part of our lifestyle but climbing enthusiasts face the challenge of ill-adapted in-home training gear. These rugged panels with colored holds do not match the level of aesthetics of interiors. So far usage of screws and tape are the only way to modify these panels to the users’ changing needs for training.
We picked up the challenge to transform the bouldering experience at home by adding flexible route selection options with a beautiful smartphone interface and by shifting the wall’s design expression.
The new experience would make climbing at home a celebrated activity that also proudly reflects the user’s passion for their sport and lifestyle.
Impact
We believe that Nova would make a real difference to the way people exercise at home. Faced with the challenge of ill-adapted in-home training gear, we identified two relevant approaches: 1- training gear that takes advantage of state of the art technology to offer more training options; 2- training gear that matches the level of aesthetics of interiors. Research of the existing market proved that these niches had been previously largely unexplored.
Nova redefines the overall experience of training at home: it transforms a boring routine with equipment that wouldn’t be caught dead in a living room to become a compelling experience based around beautifully designed, behavior-changing tools for a healthy lifestyle.
Craft
Alongside the process of form development, we considered how the UI of the future could enhance the product concept. To create a wall that has the flexibility to grow with the users’ abilities and changing needs for training, routes are indicated through light instead of colored holds. To select a route or download new routes, we tapped into the possibilities that smartphones provide and created a beautiful interface for route selection. To take full advantage of the wall-smartphone interaction, Nova can send back feedback about the user performance through integrated sensors in the wall. For the first time, this allows digital tracking of climbing performance and creates a new means of personalized training.
The wall’s design expression was seen as key to transform perceptions of the scenario. A climbing wall can be seen as part of the architecture. We took inspiration from bold architecture, decorative interior and sturdy building materials to create Nova. Through an iterative process of team discussions, sketching, generative 3D CAD modeling, prototyping and model making, we were able to conceive an aesthetic unlike anything existing today. The architectural beauty of the wall makes Nova appealing even when it is not in use.
