NextSet | Team 5 - Bianca, Christine, Maggie, Yibo

Inspiration

As gym users, we often experience uncertainty when the equipment we want to use is occupied. When someone leaves their belongings on a machine, we have to decide whether to wait, ask if they’re still using it, or find another option. Asking can create an awkward social exchange and put pressure on the person using the equipment to justify how much longer they need, while avoiding the interaction can mean waiting unnecessarily, disrupting workout plans, or skipping the workout altogether.

What it does

We designed a mobile app experience centred around real-time equipment status and digital queuing. The system combines NFC interactions, machine status updates, queue management, progress tracking, and positive rewards to encourage users to comply with the system.

Challenges we ran into

Our biggest challenge was designing a system that encourages people to share their machine status without making gym interactions feel restrictive or punitive. We also had to consider how to make the process quick enough that users would actually use it during their workouts.

Accomplishments that we're proud of

We’re proud of turning an unspoken gym rule into a visible and communicable system. Instead of forcing users to guess, stare, or awkwardly ask when a machine will be free, NextSet gives them a clearer way to understand and manage equipment availability.

What we learned

We learned that the problem isn't simply that gym equipment is busy, it’s the uncertainty around when it will become available. Small social cues, such as a towel or water bottle, can communicate occupancy, but they don't communicate time. This showed us an opportunity to redesign how gym users communicate and share equipment.

What's next for NextSet

Next, we want to test NextSet with real gym users and explore how accurately users can estimate their workout time. We also want to refine the reward system, NFC interactions, and queue experience based on real-world usage.