Focus Flex
Say hello to your portable, AI-powered soccer camera.
Creating a Portable Capture Solution
Though it started out as a software company, in 2018 Hudl broke into the hardware space with the introduction of the Hudl Focus camera. Starting in the gym and then later moving out to the field, both the Indoor and Outdoor Focus cameras utilize multiple lenses and AI-powered ball/player tracking to allow teams to capture every game and practice they want without having to rely on recruiting a cameraman to film games or watching shaky footage in review sessions.
After seeing the wide success of both permanently installed cameras, Hudl set out to deliver a portable solution to the smart camera market. Over the course of about a year and a half, I played the key role of a product designer at Hudl’s Hardware Business Unit by conducting user interviews, usability tests, field visits, and iterative UI design in order to bring the device to market.
In 2023 we launched the Hudl Focus Flex; an affordable, portable solution to capture moments in games and practices beyond the reach of power and wired internet. Though the device will eventually work for a multitude of sports, on its launch the camera was targeted specifically to the club soccer market.
Why portable? And Why for Club Soccer?
The club soccer market proved to be an ideal point of entry into the portable automatic capture field for Hudl for a number of reasons. Coaches, parents, and athletes already knew the value of video for improving their skills and getting recruited, however, they were facing a lot of pain points in capturing that video. Unlike high school or college teams, club soccer teams don’t have a dedicated venue where they play a majority of their games. Oftentimes during tournaments they may even be playing on up to four different fields in one day. Because of this reason, our permanently installed cameras would not do the trick. Without a great automated portable solution, many teams relied on having a parent or assistant coach become the de facto camera person. Manual camera setups include complex setup and upload processes, less-than-ideal camera angles, and essential moments occasionally being missed. Though some early adopters had already started utilizing competitor products like Veo and Trace, Hudl believed that by creating a portable capture solution with a direct pipeline into our video analysis software and the ability to livestream, we could dominate the club soccer market and open up the floodgates for the Focus Flex to become the default mode for capturing a multitude of sports for club and high school teams around the globe.
Research, Design, and Development
The development cycle of the Focus Flex took roughly two years to complete. The first six months of this were spent in the industrial design phase, in which the hardware of the camera was designed, built, and tested. With the remaining one and a half years, we sent ~50 camera prototypes to interested users to participate as Beta testers. This is where I came in as a digital product designer.
Over this time period, as prototypes were put to use on the pitch, I conducted research in a variety of ways to understand how the product was performing in the wild and utilize that data to inform our team of Product Managers, Developers, QAs, and other Product Designers on how we should iterate on the product. Throughout the entirety of the Focus Flex Beta, my aim was to ensure that 1) the Focus Flex was simple to use and 2) it solved real pain points that existed for Club soccer teams in capturing their game footage. Here is how I did that:
Divergent Research
Over the course of the Focus Flex Beta, I conducted extensive divergent research to understand the problems coaches were facing when it came to filming their games. This research included conducting user interviews with club soccer coaches, as well as visiting fields to observe some club soccer practices and games firsthand. Through these interviews and field visits, I was able to gain insight into the specific challenges coaches faced using the Focus Flex prototype. These included but were not limited to: difficulty calibrating their camera to the field accurately, issues staying properly connected to the device, difficulty understanding LED indicators, and the need for a live preview in the mobile app in order to truly feel confident in the footage that they would receive. With tangible user data to back me up, I was then able to communicate with Product Managers and the rest of our development team on how to iterate on our product to better address the needs of club soccer coaches.
Convergent Design and Testing
In tangent with conducting divergent research to identify what problems we needed to address, I also proceeded with convergent usability testing to identify how we should solve those problems and inform the design and functionality of specific features for the camera. This iterative UI design + testing process allowed us to continually refine and fine-tune the camera's interface and user experience until we reached a point where coaches found it easy and efficient to use.
By creating app prototypes in Figma, observing real Focus Flex users using them, and asking probing questions, I was able to utilize usability testing to uncover key insights about user behavior and improvements that needed to be made to the product. The qualitative data that was gathered from these tests then informed iterations to the respective designs/workflows. Following this process, my research and design directly improved the functionality, ease of use, and overall user experience of the following features:
Connection of Focus Flex to Wi-Fi to Upload or Livestream Recordings
Overall UI Layout and Navigation (see videos above)
Outcome
The Focus Flex officially launched in January of 2023, and was met with success as evidenced by our sales figures, usage data, and customer feedback. In the first quarter after launch, we sold over 620 units of the camera, surpassing our initial sales goal of 500. Our usage logging revealed that on average, coaches with activated cameras were recording 1.7 games/practices per week during the soccer season, indicating a high level of engagement and value from the product. Finally, we received numerous positive testimonials (see image above) indicating that users loved the ease of use of the product compared to their previous solutions. Overall, the data suggests that the Focus Flex has been highly successful in meeting the needs of its club soccer teams across the globe and helping athletes improve their performance on the field, and get recruited to the next level.