A smarter way to manage campus smoking areas.
Smover helps students avoid unwanted smoke exposure and helps campus staff identify, improve, and manage smoking-area problems.
Lee Chan bin · Business Major · June 11, 2026
Project overview
Smover is a student MVP that helps campuses reduce unwanted secondhand-smoke exposure by improving how smoking areas are placed, marked, and managed. Instead of relying only on bans or expensive enclosed booths, Smover combines a campus map, quick reporting, admin dashboard, and practical smoking-zone redesign.
The problem
A student may pass the same entrance or walkway several times a day. The CDC explains that there is no risk-free level of secondhand-smoke exposure, so even short, repeated exposure on campus matters. The concern on campus is not a single dramatic event but repeated, low-grade exposure that becomes a routine source of discomfort.
Source: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, About Secondhand Smoke.
Smoke drifts across walkways, entrances, and waiting lines that students cannot reroute around.
Vague boundaries and weak signage mean smokers drift toward whatever spot is convenient.
Even short exposure leaves smell on clothes, hair, and bags for the rest of the day.
User research
We had short, informal conversations with five campus users — non-smokers on common routes, a smoker, and someone thinking from a management view. A few clear patterns came out of those conversations.
Non-smoking students were less focused on arguing with smokers and more focused on having a clear route that avoids smoke.
Users said even short exposure felt annoying because the smell could stay on clothes, hair, and bags.
Smokers and campus users preferred clearer zones and better placement over simply pushing smokers farther away.
Feedback from five informal campus-user conversations shaped the final MVP.
Idea & solution
Smover is not one fixed booth design. The campus can choose a lighter or stronger version depending on location, budget, and complaint level. The process begins with a short site audit — current smoking point, nearby doors, queues, walkways, trash bins, signs, available space, and (when easy to observe) wind direction.
Marks the routes students actually use between classes, libraries, cafeterias, dorms, and entrances.
Identifies spots where smoke, smell, and foot traffic meet most often.
Creates distance from the main route and uses transparent panels to redirect drift while staying visible.
Shows smokers where the zone begins and ends, and gives non-smokers a clear alternative path.
Entrance location, main path, smoking point, complaint points, and available space.
Feedback after testing so the design can be adjusted before wider use.
Why a new approach
Bans, paint, booths, and relocation each solve part of the problem. Smover picks the right mix per site instead of forcing one answer everywhere.
Limit
Cheap, but does nothing to stop smoke drifting onto nearby paths.
How Smover improves it
Adds placement review, buffer space, and a visible boundary.
Limit
Strong on paper, but hard to enforce and often creates conflict.
How Smover improves it
Works as a transition step backed by reports, observations, and user feedback.
Limit
Can reduce smoke, but costs more — needs power, filters, and cleaning.
How Smover improves it
Reserved for the highest-complaint sites; lighter changes elsewhere.
Limit
Often just moves the same problem to a different walkway.
How Smover improves it
Checks entrances, walking routes, and follow-up reports together.
MVP
The MVP shows how students and staff would actually use Smover: find a zone, report a problem, view hotspots, and improve a location through campus feedback.
Student Home
Hello, Student
Campus air feels fresh today
Find Smoking Zone
Report Smoke Problem
Campus Map
Check Air Quality
Today's tip
Use Zone B near the library — fewer complaints, shorter wait.
Campus Map
Smoking Zone A
OpenDistance
2 min
Crowd
Medium
AIR
Concept
Quick Report
What did you notice?
Anonymous · Sent to campus admin
Admin Dashboard
Sample Reports
24
Prototype data
Air Quality
Future feature
Concept display
Most Reported Area
Library Entrance
Maintenance Needed
Zone B · Replace ashtray, empty bin
Prototype
Before
—Smokers stand close to the route, smoke drifts across the path, and non-smokers have no comfortable alternative.
After
✓The smoking zone is pushed to the side, a smoke-free path is kept open, transparent panels reduce drift, and signs make the boundary easier to follow.
Optional
This 3D model shows one advanced option for high-complaint locations. Smover can also begin with lighter changes such as signs, buffer zones, transparent barriers, relocated ashtrays, and clearer walking paths.
Transparent walls
Keeps the area visible so it does not feel closed or unsafe.
Ventilation / exhaust fan
Removes smoke from inside the booth.
Air filter system
Reduces smell before air leaves the booth.
Designated entrance
Access without crossing the smokers' standing area.
Ashtray / disposal bin
Cigarette butts go inside, not on the floor.
Easy-to-clean interior
Smooth surfaces, fast cleaning by staff.
Evening lighting
Safe and visible after sunset.
Occupancy display
Shows crowded / not crowded at a glance.
Campus map integration
Students find the booth easily through the app.
Report function
Report broken vents or dirty areas instantly.
Pilot evaluation plan
The pilot does not have to prove that every trace of smoke disappears. A realistic success standard is lower unwanted exposure, fewer complaints about the selected location, and a smoking area that people can understand and use.
01
Choose one high-complaint smoking area
02
Observe student flow before redesign
03
Collect reports through Smover
04
Test improved layout for 1–2 weeks
05
Compare complaints and feedback
06
Adjust or expand the redesign
Reflection
Smover started as a simple smoking-booth idea, but user feedback showed that the bigger issue was location and movement. The final MVP became a more practical system: map the problem, collect reports, redesign one location, test it, and improve it.
Smover is realistic, user-centered, and flexible enough to test at one location before expanding.