MOTI

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MOTI: A social robot for behavior change.

In 2014, I was invited as one of sixteen designers and engineers from around the world by the Google Creative Lab to join their experimental founders program, 30 Weeks The goal? Go from zero to startup in those thirty weeks. There, I built the first prototype of MOTI, a smart companion to help users build better habits, and grew it into a small startup. Over the course of three years, I built a small team of developers, marketers, and business experts to get from prototype to launch. My role as inventor and CEO was wide-ranging from the initial user and market research, to the first prototypes and firmware development, to pitching and fundraising process, to technical product management, mobile application designer, brand designer, and more.

A good starting off place is the video that we created for our Kickstarter campaign in 2016:

How MOTI works

Beyond the above video, the MOTI website and Kickstarter pages go into further details about the product:

Screen Shot 2018-11-30 at 12.27.42 PM.png — Legacy MOTI Website

A good starting place to learn more about MOTI.

Screen Shot 2018-11-30 at 12.25.46 PM.png — Kickstarter Page

A good overview of the launched product and feature sets.

Results

The development of MOTI included five rounds of user testing, over 2500 user touch points, and more than a hundred prototypes. The most significant along this process was our beta study, which featured 2000 applicants and 35 users across the US using the first fully-web-connected MOTI prototype with an accompanying MOTI app. Over 85% of surveyed users said that MOTI was “essential to their habit formation”. More in the below report:

Beta Research Report

A deeper dive into a 35-person beta study.

Overall, three key user takeaways held true across testing as to why MOTI worked:

Screen Shot 2018-12-01 at 5.04.44 PM.png

We also had a good amount of press coverage of our beta and product launch:
Fast Company - “This Cute Little Robot is Designed to Help You Build Any Habit”
Huffington Post - “You Can’t Wear It, But This ‘MOTI’ Device Could Change Your Life”
Engadget - “This adorable desk gadget motivates you like Pavlov's bell”
Tech Crunch - “MOTI wants to help build positive habits with a little glowing robot”
Inc. - “Need to Develop a Healthy Habit? Meet the Robot That Can Coach You”
Praise from Nir Eyal (author of Hooked) - “What's next after apps and wearables? @habitMOTI uses Hook model + social robotics to help you build better habits”

Product Development Process

Screen Shot 2018-11-30 at 12.16.28 PM.png — Product Development Process Deck

A comprehensive visual look at the development of MOTI from end-to-end. See below for highlights.

Featured

The prototype that started it all.

Testing variations of light interactions. User testing showed a strong preference for the near-ephemeral quality of a neopixel ring recessed below semi-opaque plastic.

The first “alpha” prototype of MOTI, bridging a new shell design with internal electronics. The was the first joining of lights, sounds, haptics, and connectivity.

In parallel, I was still building prototypes of wearables for behavior change. However, battery life and forgetfulness presented significant hurdles.

The first alpha unit being testing in the wild. This study yielded a new side benefit to MOTI: the subject’s coworkers started to engage with his habit formation, giving out high fives whenever they saw him hydrating (his habit of choice) and leaning over to push MOTI’s button.

This video shows how we fabricated our 35 beta devices. They were proudly made by all female engineers!

Beta units ready to ship — at this point there were three form factors and five colors to choose from. We would quickly learn the need to minimize SKUs.

Planning out the user flow of the mobile app. The mobile app was required to set up MOTI, and could be used to track stats and remotely “push” MOTI if away.

A look at the MOTI Beta web portal.

A look at a later iteration of the MOTI App on-boarding process. You could use the mobile app to also view the same information as the web portal.

In 2015, MOTI was accepted into Highway1, which focuses on scaling manufacturing for startups. We moved from New York to San Francisco, and started a new phase of the startup journey.

I conducted extensive user testing on the user interactions and form factors for MOTI. This shot shows variations on how a user would “tell” MOTI they have done their habit. Users strongly preferred the Pavlovian satisfaction of a physical push button.

An exploration into MOTI’s feet.

Scale studies. MOTI had to be small enough to not take up too much space on a bedside table or messy desk, but big enough to be paid attention to.

We made a switch to a concave face after noticing that our mentors would always pick up the MOTI prototypes and rub it’s face absent-mindedly during meetings. We also experimented with alternative, softer materials for the faceplate. Getting the face right was one of the most important elements of MOTI’s design. We also paid attention to the face-to-body ratio to best convey the feeling that MOTI was a living being.

We went to Shenzhen with Highway1, and explored throughout Huaqiangbei to try and find the best LEDs, haptic vibrators, and pushbuttons for MOTI.

We also walked a number of manufacturing lines while there.

A key moment for MOTI is the push — it needs to be tangibly very satisfying in order to build that dopamine rush when a user completes their habit. We paid close attention to the exact force and travel curve of off-the-shelf and custom pushbuttons.

The form factor of the faceplate also played a big role in the feel of the push.

Eventually all this prototyping and testing led to the final form factor and interactions set. With the help of Highway1 and some contract engineers, we designed MOTI to be manufacturable with injection molding and a custom PCB. (I will always remember spending some long nights with the pick-and-place machine in the shop.)

We found a wonderful silicone molder in Shenzhen with stellar painting skills. Color choices are always hard and require on-hand prototypes before moving to scale.