The COVID-19 pandemic increased the need for remote meetings. As companies shifted to work-from-home models to minimize contact, the demand for virtual conferences surged. With more people working remotely, the need for video conferencing solutions became critical for maintaining team collaboration and communication.

The shift to remote meetings has posed communication challenges for many remote workers, especially those whose work involves use of gestures or physical objects during meetings. These individuals encounter the following difficulties:

Designers struggle to convey concepts in remote meetings, especially when using gestures or physical prototypes, making it harder for teams to fully grasp their ideas.

Remote workers often juggle multiple tools, delaying real-time feedback and disrupting smooth communication during meetings.

Converting physical documents to digital formats for remote meetings adds extra prep time and risks losing important details, making the process more tedious.

We conducted three phases of product and usability testing: working samples, Engineering Validation, and Design Validation. Each test followed the same process—explaining the test purpose, running usability tests, conducting a 30-minute interview, and completing the System Usability Scale (SUS) questionnaire.

We focused on three stages of a typical video conference: pre-meeting setup, in-meeting discussions, and post-meeting notes. Users completed five tasks, assessing both the product’s and their own performance.

I tested with 11 internal employees—4 mechanical engineers, 1 UX designer, 2 prototype engineers, 4 industrial designers, and 2 marketing specialists—representing both advanced and novice webcam users. Advanced users handled complex tasks like sharing sketches and product models, while novice users focused on online collaboration tools.

The initial EnSpire prototype included three core components: a control bar, main functions (screen recording, freezing, zoom), and secondary functions, offering users essential tools for hybrid meetings.

Also, there is a "Settings" function located in the bottom left corner of the screen which allows users to adjust more advanced options, such as signal sources and resolutions.