Rūma

OCAD Meta Design Project | Conceptual Product Design | 2024

OVERVIEW

Rūma is an interactive digital toy designed for child, aimed to be the answer for childhood development in the future. With boundary defining generative technology, it offers immersive experience in a boundless self-generated digital world, full of opportunities. Generative Flow System, Generative Flow Director, and Narrative Generation Model, allows stories to unfold continuously, enabling children to interact with and shape their virtual environment. Assisted by Rumate, an AI-powered digital peer, children engage with the virtual world primarily through voice and touch. Discovery, exploration, intermission, continuation, Rūma learns, adapts, grows, and protects side by side with the child, together with the parents to ensure the educational values within this journey.

Rūma is a project aims to prepare children for the future by re-evaluating the importance of soft skills and creativity in early development, providing educational values in a fun, safe, and engaging manner. This eight-month-long final thesis project, completed during my last year at OCAD University, was often referred as the 'Meta Design Project' due to its reflective nature, truly embodying who I am and how I think.

DELIVERABLES

Design Process Book

Design Presentation

Detailed Maps

UI Mock-ups

Pitch Video

Branding Design

TEAM

Yurun Ouyang

(Student)

Alexander Manu

(Professor)

Bernhard Dietz

(Professor)

TIMELINE

2023.09-2023.10

Project started.

Area of interest discovering, project proposal, focus, questions, themes.

2023.11

Big idea/concept.

Re-focus and revised themes.

2023.12-2024.03

Design brief, experience visualization, initial prototype, business model.

2024.04

Final UI prototype, final experience visualization, visual brand, pitch video.

2024.05

2024 OCAD University GradEx 109 Exhibition.

INFO

https://eportfolio.ocadu.ca/exhibitor/details/f3f9cf02-36fd-4fc8-b226-1f12a12a8852

https://admissions.ocadu.ca/program/industrial-design

PLAY TODAY, LEAD TOMORROW

“At Rūma, our mission is to revolutionize childhood development by providing an immersive, boundless digital world where children can freely explore, interact, and create. We believe that varied and unconstrained childhood experiences can more effectively prepare children for the future. Our goal is to equip the next generation with enduring skills and flexible thinking.”

HOW CAN WE FUTURE PROOF FUTURE GENERATIONS?

The pace of technological advancement is accelerating, fundamentally reshaping the abilities required for the future. The way we prepare our child for the future and the value of soft skill in childhood development must also be re-evaluated.