BEACH BOT

BeachBot project developed a mobile platform that engages young users in annotating beach litter. The platform supports two autonomous robots - BB (litter picker) and MAPP (object recognizer)- by crowdsourcing annotated data through a gamified mobile app.

The project evolved over three years with 2 design sprints from conceptual ideation to MVP deployment.

Showcased at Dutch Design Week (2020) and featured in international media including Galileo ProSieben (DE) and Jeugdjournaal NPO (NL)

Timeline

2019-2021

Client

TechTics

Role

UX Designer

Context

Background: BeachBot

BeachBot project focused on designing a mobile platform to crowdsource litter annotation data to support two autonomous beach-cleaning robots:

  • BB(litter picker)

  • MAPP (object recogniser)

While the technical system relied on annotated data, the real challenge was human engagement.

Although young users were capable of contributing meaningful annotation data, annotation tasks were often perceived as repetitive and unmotivating.

The long-term success of the robotic ecosystem therefore depended on creating a sustainable and engaging annotation experience.

Problem Definition

Project Details

The BeachBot project aimed to involve young users in environmental contribution through a gamified annotation platform, supporting real-world autonomous robotics.

Key Observations

Early research revealed that:

  • annotation felt like a chore

  • young users disengaged quickly without emotional triggers

  • traditional labelling interfaces lacked intrinsic motivation

As the project progressed toward MVP deployment, additional challenges emerged:

  • lack of feedback loops in early designs

  • outdoor usability constraints (sunlight, wind, unstable internet)

  • unclear long-term retention

core problem

How might we transform annotation from a repetitive task into an engaging, purpose-driven experience that remains usable and motivating in real-world conditions?

OKRs & Hypothesis

Objectives

  1. Increase engagement of young users in annotation activities

  2. Validate annotation experience in real-world environments

  3. Deliver design directions balancing user motivation and business feasibility

Key Results

  1. Conduct early validation with more than 10 children through interviews and 2+ co-creation sessions

    Involving the young target users became a prerequisite to make sure the project to be user-centred.

  2. Test the MVP in real outdoor conditions with large-scale participation

    Considering the project domain, testing the MVP in the outdoor setup (beach) became mandatory to check the relevance and effectiveness of the design created. Also, iterating the design based on the collected feedback became our key strategy.

  3. Improve usability and motivation metrics based on field feedback

    This was another challenge for me. Through this experience, I aimed to learn how to capture user feedback from quantitative methods and how to convert the collected insights into meaningful design choices.

I hypothesised that:

Hypothesis 1

Engagement

If annotation is framed as a narrative-driven mission, children will stay engaged longer and contribute higher-quality data.

Hypothesis 2

Interaction

If annotation interaction allows creative and expressive input, users will perceive the process as playful rather than repetitive.

Hypothesis 3

Product Strategy

If design directions separate short-term deployment needs from long-term engagement goals, the product roadmap will become clearer.

Approach

As a UX designer, I covered the following activities:

Phase 1: 2019–2020

  • Led a ideation workshop and early prototyping

  • Designed story-driven onboarding and drawing-based UI

  • Conducted a group interview with 17 elementary school students in Groningen, NL

Phase 2: 2021

  • Facilitated 3 co-creative sessions with children and UX professionals

  • Conducted MVP field tests with 300+ participants in Hoek van Holland, Kijkduin, and Zandvoort, NL

  • 5x Iterated based on structured feedback (quantitative + qualitative)

  • Created 2 concepts to meet both business and user engagement goals

2 core strategies emerged:

Strategy 1

Story-Driven Interaction

  • narrative onboarding using alien characters

  • shared mission framing (“Let’s”)

  • emotional context before task execution

Strategy 2

Expressive Annotation

  • drawing-based annotation instead of rigid bounding boxes

  • step-by-step guidance supporting autonomy

  • creative interaction suited for young users

LTUX.png
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process

The project followed an iterative process across two phases:

    • annotation process analysis

    • storytelling research

    • group interview with 17 elementary students

    • low-fidelity prototyping

    Key insight

    Emotional resonance significantly increased early engagement.

    • 3 co-creation sessions

      • UX professionals

      • UX students

      • children participants

    Key insights:

    • social connection supports sustainable engagement

    • playful interaction improves retention

    • annotation flow must feel effortless

    • real-world environments significantly affect usability

Results

Phase 1: Concept Exploration

The design contains two main highlights:

  • Onboarding with catchy narratives

  • Annotation by drawing and tap

The work was nominated as the Winner of the 2020 European Design Upgrade Hackathon for innovative, socially-driven design. With that, we presented our work at Dutch Design Week 2020 - Read More

Dutch Design Week 2020
Onboarding It provides a context of whole interaction through a story of two aliens. By using “Let’s”, the beginning part triggers a sense of community.
Annotation The annotation process is guided by a step-by-step instruction considering the required interactivity. Annotating with a drawing pen enables for drawing the distorted shape of the litter in a flexible manner.
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Dutch Design Week 2020

Phase 2: MVP Scaling

The MVP was tested during the Boskalis Beach Cleanup Tour:

  • 300+ users engaged

  • 75 qualitative interviews

  • 33% requested stronger fun factors

Key finding:

→ The system was usable but not yet habit-forming.

7.5

usability score

7

motivation score

MVP Field Validation Survey Results (n=316; scale 0 to 10)

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final design outcomes

emerged in 2 directions:

direction 1

Light Version

  • core annotation functionality

  • simplified layout

  • faster deployment

  • business-aligned MVP

check the prototype

direction 2

Game version

  • mission-based narrative

  • higher interactivity

  • stronger emotional engagement

Check the prototype

Reflection

This project demonstrated that:

  • Joy drives repetition; annotation becomes sustainable when framed as a mission rather than a task.

  • Real-world testing reveals constraints impossible to simulate indoors (touch targets, contrast, offline tolerance).

  • One design direction cannot satisfy all stakeholder needs, leading to clarify product roadmap through dual-direction strategy.

Most importantly:

Designing for participation means balancing emotional engagement, usability, and long-term product feasibility.

check my other projects

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