The iconic and storied Airstream corporation wanted to extend to the modern customer an update of its promise of giving travellers "all the comforts of home". One implication of this promise is remote control and sensing of the key systems within an RV. Thus was born the Smart RV concept, which we helped turn from aspiration to reality with our partners at Buddy.com.
Matchbox had the primary role of understanding user needs and designing the best user experience, including physical interactions within and away from the RV, and the app user interface.
Our work started with product planning, user story mapping, and technical feasibility assessments, including looking at the core systems of an Airstream and how they could be reached by APIs and apps.
Our design team looked at the key personas, identified jobs to be done, contexts of use, and got to work prototyping and designing mobile interfaces that fit modern device paradigms. The result was an award-winning app design.
We then progressed to hardware evaluation, building a test rig, UX prototyping, and then a pilot program with friendly users on the road.
We built the app on top of Buddy's IoT platform. We designed the interface for modern expectations on iPhone and Android. We gave Airstream the tools, systems and know-how to take their new Smart RV product from v1 into the future.
It was a fun ride and a privilege to be part of this next step in the Airstream adventure. Our hope for the future is that the lessons learnt from V1 will help Airstream and its customers find even better ways to enjoy the outdoors with all the comforts of home.
