Science Fiction Prototyping concerns thinking about high-tech futures, so therefore we wanted to create a futuristic environment to house the online innovation lab and so the idea of basing it on an online simulation of a spacestation was born.  It consists of a large central arrival area (Social Deck) leading to an, essentially, unlimited number individual rooms, each of which can be customised by the users to suit their particular purposes.

The focus of OurHEX is to support brainstorming activities and, consequently, each simulated iLab includes a communal electronic white-board, a set of anonymised editing stations (so ideas and comments can be written to the white-board without identifying the writer), a means of ranking ideas and facilitator tools for managing and archiving the sessions.

The ‘Our HEX’ spacestation prototype is available on line for users to access from anywhere in the world. The video shows the Social Deck in OurHEX which is the central arrivals area. Users are free to walk around the environment; interacting with all elements display boards showing outputs from earlier sessions, or interactive display boards where they could participate in competitions, evaluate innovation outputs, or just read notices of other events. The central area has corridors leading to each of the different iLabs where users would be able to participate in Imagination Workshop and Creative Innovation Development sessions or whatever other activities are underway. Teachers and facilitators would be able to observe, assist and rate participants work.

The original online spacestation platform was inspired by a long-defunk Essex University restaurant, with an hexagonal structure, called “The Hex” (or more fondly “Our HEX“). For the online innovation lab we adapted the original spacestation to house the online innovation lab, giving it the domain name OurHEX. In the original spacestation design, each hexagonal element housed a room which could be fitted out to support almost any activity. In the version for the online innovation lab, we are proposing to create a mechanism for ‘plugging in’ an almost unlimited number of rooms, to support the required activities.