I decided to sit and observe outside of Tresidder Union early this morning. One thing I kept on noticing was people holding bike helmets or having them next to them at their table. I also noticed that a significant portion of the people who were biking did not wear helmets. I started to wonder if there was a place to leave your bike helmet or a way to safely lock it to your bike, would more people wear a helmet? I feel like I am always annoyed at having to carry around my bike helmet all day. So my first idea is a locking mechanism so that people can leave their helmets and not have to carry them around with them all day.
Another issue I found was that whilst I was sitting there their was one person who was watering all of the potted plants and trees in the area. This in itself is not a problem, but the problem comes in that they were spending their time just water this one section in my view for almost the entire time I was sitting there. The person seemed very bored and continually scrolled/checked their phone in order to pass the time while the hose was running. I feel as though the method of watering could somehow cut down on the time or be more interactive so it is a more enjoyable task. I could also find a way to incorporate water conservation efforts. One idea is to gamify it, possibly adding a little screen to tell you how long to water it for so you don’t over or under water. There could also be a way to check up/document plant health.
This last problem I found was not when I was at Tresidder Union, but rather later when I was eating lunch. I find that sometimes, especially during busy times, the dining hall is out of some food items and has an abundance of others. There are definitely foods that people enjoy more and grab more of and different foods people avoid. This can sometimes be frustrating when you want a specific item but they are out. My solution was a way to send a report to the kitchen on what needs to be restocked via a weight sensor. This data could also be tracked for future meals to determine what is enjoyed more and therefore to cook more often.
I have decided to go with solving the issues of watering the plants at Tresidder Union because I personally love plants and think this topic will be interesting to explore.