Alvik – The educational Robot

RoleUser Researcher & Content ManagerClientArduinoDuration3 months – 2023/24

Close-up of a student using the Arduino Alvik robot car to create drawings during usability testing session

Challenge

Arduino wanted to launch its first educational robot car, one simple enough for beginners, but powerful enough to grow with advanced users. My mission was to define what this robot should be: its core features, classroom use cases, and content strategy. The question was: How do we design a robot that works for both a high school student’s first steps and a university team’s advanced experiments?

Solution

My approach was to use a selection of ideation methods including storymapping and co-creation workshops to help define the product and its features. Then a prototype was tested with two user groups, one advanced and the other beginner. The insights were shared with the product and content teams to be implemented in the final design. The Arduino Alvik was shortlisted for the best Robotics Device BETT Award.

Phase One

Foundation – Storymapping

Storymapping workshops

Storymapping was chosen because the team lacked a common vision. Its structure: brainstorming, voting, and structured debate, enabled alignment quickly and efficiently

I designed and facilitated two storymapping workshops:

Workshop 1

1 hour session
Participants: Business Unit Lead, Product Owner, Creative Tech Lead, Product Designer.
Outcome: Internal alignment on technical, design, market, and sales needs.
Result: A prioritised hierarchy of features and actionable steps toward a Minimum Viable Product (MVP).

workshop 2

2 hours session
Participants: Internal stakeholders + external educators (professors, high school, vocational teachers).
Outcome: Shared understanding of teachers’ and students’ needs.
Result: A detailed report capturing essential requirements in sensors, add-ons, software, and content.

Alvik ideation workshop post-it notes — **Figure 1**examples of the remote workshop structure & analysis

a table showing an example of data analysis fro the ideation workshop — **Figure 1**examples of the remote workshop structure & analysis

Phase Two

Research Through Design

Co-creation with educators

Participants: 4 teachers across 3 key markets (USA, UK, Spain).
Profiles: Beginner, intermediate, and advanced.
Method: Teachers were given early product renderings and asked to design 3 projects with the imagined Alvik over two weeks.

prototype renderings of how Alvik might look like presented to teachers. showing a screen box and robot car — **Figure 2**prototype renderings presented to teachers

Why this method?

Teachers could ideate in their own time (important given busy schedules).
It captured authentic classroom contexts and use cases.
It covered a wide range of user profiles without heavy cost or logistics.

data analysis

The data : 12 project concepts + 4 follow-up interviews.
The challenge: communicating this volume of qualitative data to the product team in a digestible format.
The Solution: I transformed findings into User Stories, narrative formats that made teachers’ needs more relatable and actionable.

an example of user stories presenting Stephan's story, who's a teacher looking for tools that have a low barrier to entry and high cieling — **Figure 3**an example of the the user stories

Phase Three

Testing

Testing Groups

EXPERTS

The Possible Zone Team – MA,USA
4 experiences tech teachers
4 hours
Limited instructions
First interaction on the day of testing
Observation & group discussion

SEMI-ADVANCED

TUFTS University – MA,USA
15 engineering students
1 day
Instructions by professor
Professor received prototype 1 week prior to testing for preparation
Observation and individual interviews with students and professor

BEGINNERS

Hanover High School – NH,USA
18 high school students
3 days
Following Arduino's content
Teacher received prototype 1 week prior to testing for preparation
Observation, students' presentation of their work and feedback, and teacher interview

Experts & SEMI-ADVANCED Users

The testing showed that advanced users were able to achieve complex applications with Alvik, including connecting it with ChatGPT, adding additional sensors and changing its structure. Few minor technical limitations were discovered and forwarded to the engineering team, but beyond that, the device was successful in catering to the this groups needs.

Close-up of a TUFTS University student using the Arduino Alvik robot car during usability testing session — **Figure 4**testing with the advanced group at TUFTS university

Close-up of a TUFTS University student using the Arduino Alvik robot car by hooking it up to a custom app during usability testing session — **Figure 4**testing with the advanced group at TUFTS university

Beginner Users

The beginner students didn't shy away from experimenting beyond the content which shows that they passed the fear level which is a good indication for the product's success being beginner friendliness. However, the new MicroPython IDE environment and Arduino's own IDE were proven to be challenging and not very beginner friendly, an issue we didn't face with advanced users as most of them chose to use a third-party IDE or were used to Arduino's IDE.

Close-up of a high school student using the Arduino Alvik robot car with lego during usability testing session

Close-up of a high school student using the Arduino Alvik robot car to create drawings during usability testing session

Figure 5from testing sessions with the beginners' group at Hanover high school

Phase Four

Outcomes

The Arduino Alvik Robot car on a table — **Figure 6**the deployed version of the robot car

the Arduino Alvik Robot Car on a table with its squared orange and blue original packaging — **Figure 6**the deployed version of the robot car

Figure 7a teacher's experience with the product at the Acera school, USA

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Voices from the Field

“My students have always loved Arduino because it unlocks their creative potential, and Alvik is no exception… It’s an absolute game-changer.”
Austin G., STEAM Teacher, Spain

“The versatility and comprehensiveness of the Alvik robot… stimulate students’ creativity, enabling them to learn through direct and engaging experiences.”
Sara F., Informatics Teacher, Italy

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