scout

Scout is an augmented reality outdoor companion that enhances hiking, running, climbing, and exploration through hands-free navigation, environmental awareness, and community-driven discovery.

Existing outdoor applications often require constant interaction with handheld devices, pulling users away from their surroundings. Scout explores how augmented reality can create a more immersive and connected outdoor experience by embedding information directly into the user’s environment.

Core features included:

1. Real-time hiking dashboard
2. Spatial navigation and route visualization
3. Community-created AR artifacts
4. Artifact creation and discovery system
5. Gamified treasure hunt mechanics

User Interaction Map shown on the right

What worked well:

• Positive first impressions of the starting scene UI across all testers
• Users engaged well with the stats page, especially those already familiar with fitness tracking apps like Strava
• The artifact discovery concept resonated with users
• Tutorial was effective when users engaged with it fully

Areas for improvement:

• Menu bar and empty space in certain scenes caused confusion
• Find and report buttons were inconsistent in functionality
• Artifacts sometimes failed to appear/trigger, preventing users from viewing messages
• Overall UI needs refinement to feel less static and more responsive to user movement

Feature requests:

• More gamification, with comparisons to Pokémon Go
• Artifacts and collectible elements should feel integrated rather than distracting
• One non-hiker user expressed more interest in gamified elements than hiking-specific features

Snap Inc

I had the opportunity to present Scout to Snap Inc. at their headquarters in Venice, CA. The product and engineering team was tested the concept and execution of the app, and provided valuable feedback for future iterations.