Interactive Technology Innovation:
Holographic Habit Tracker
Utrecht University
2024
Role
Researcher & Writer
Background
Holographic Habit Assistant (HHA)
The ITI course provided an opportunity to dive into iterative design, design thinking, and prototyping strategies with a challenge in mind: Enchanted Habits. With this theme in mind, my team worked together from A-Z to design and create a physical holographic habit tracker, from customer journey maps, mood boards, low and high fidelity prototypes, to Arduino and 3D printing.
Challenge
Most habit formation tools rely on conventional interfaces that are limited in immersion and motivation. We aimed to explore whether a holographic interface could overcome these limitations, providing not only visual feedback but also emotional attachment through the use of virtual pets.
Opportunity
This project introduced the Holographic Habit Assistant (HHA)—a physical device that is comprised of tangible controls, ambient sensors, and holographic pets to motivate users. By combining insights from behavioral psychology, gamification, and user-centered design, we created a system that goes beyond screen-based tracking and into a physical experience.
Research Questions
RQ1: Does the use of holographic displays influence users’ self-reported habit formation abilities?
RQ2: How does integrating holographic technology with virtual pets enhance emotional attachment and engagement?
Results
Through a heuristic evaluation, Think-Aloud protocol, and Likert-scale questionnaires with 9 participants, we found that:
Key Findings
✅ Emotional engagement was significantly higher with HHA. Users connected with the holographic pets, describing the experience as “caring” and “magical.”
✅ Participants perceived HHA as novel, however, noted there may be a steep learning curve in the tangible controls.
✅ Average scores were high for enjoyment (4.2/5) and perceived feedback quality (4.5/5), but lower for intuitiveness (3.5/5).
Designed by Alan Castillo
