INTRODUCTION
Traffic Systems: More Than Human Worlds
The current road system that exists in India is functional, but has many gaps that need to be bridged. We designed an Interactive public space installation for the stakeholders of Indian transport system. We followed an intensive design thinking process by using various methods of data collection, Analysis, brainstorming,and mapping.
DURATION
4 Weeks ( October 2020)
TEAM
Me- Service Designer (2), Human-Centered Designer (2), Industrial Designer (2)
MY ROLE
Project Management, Research, Analysis, Idea Generation, Mapping
BREAKDOWN
ORGANIZATION
Studio, Srishti Institute of Art Design and Technology
THEMES
Game, AI/ML, Transportation
DOUBLE DIAMOND PROCESS
PROBLEM STATEMENT
To increase the efficiency of traffic administration through education and Artificial Intelligence/ Machine Learning driven systems while keeping into consideration interspecies inclusivity.
When? Put into use within the next 5 years (post pandemic world).
What? Road and traffic management
Who? All users of the roads. (Including the specially abled, elderly, ecology )
Where? Indian urban context
Why? It is currently not as efficient as it is designed to be.
RESEARCH: Secondary Research
We started by secondary data collection. We tried to explore everything to get an idea about where we would like to go deeper into and to map out our personal interests.
They could be segregated into 3 categories: Human-Computer Interaction, Human+Animal/Environment Computer Interaction and Animal Coexistence Companies. We divided the categories and continued with our secondary research within them. We didn’t restrict ourselves to the heading, we added research to other columns as well.
We then narrowed down our point into 4 main clusters- Animals, Food and Agriculture, Employment and Transportation. Next, we wrote down all the points related to the topic and how they affect the whole system.
I suggested the idea of doing an Ecosystem map to understand the relationships and connections. We then conducted voting to choose our final idea of working on traffic systems surrounding the urban context.
Image from the user testing conducted with the final prototype.
RESEARCH: Primary Research
Looked at and understood the various stakeholders involved in the context road systems, specifically the urban spaces. To conduct primary research, we interview different stakeholders and users of roads and traffic systems. Our survey and questionnaires were designed in such a manner that the output helped us form important insights.
Below are some points gathered during the interviwes and surveys.
ANALYSIS
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Biased problem identification because of political or financial influence.
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Universal and easily comprehensible road signs are a must.
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Engineering and management to be done before enforcement.
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Unreliability of data collected due to lack of resources and ways of collection.
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Vehicles are the polices priority and not the pedestrians.
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Uncertainty in a jam increases the decisions the driver needs to take.
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Sharing of data between different organisations is possible because some have means to collect it.
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Proper allocation of public transport to make it accessible and reliable at all times.
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Concentrated work hours for all age groups and fields.
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Lack of proper systems for the all the stakeholders. Especially the ones not in majority.
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The systems and its implementation should change with times.
Image from the user testing conducted with the final prototype.
BRAINSTORMING
Methods Used: Step-Ladder Brainstorming, Reverse Brainstorming, Starbursting
Brainstorming, S.C.A.M.P.E.R, Normal Ideation, Role Storming, Rapid Ideation, Story Building
Total Ideas: 323
Shortlisted: 3
Conducted a need/want matrix to evaluate the ideas.
FINAL IDEA: INTERACTIVE GAME
1. Objective of the game is to identify and click on the traffic offenders, vehicular and pedestrian, making them disappear and thereby creating less traffic problems on the road.
2. The vehicular and pedestrian objects are coded to move according to real time data of the surrounding roads collected by traffic cameras and processed by AI to identify offences.
3. The vehicles movements will be tracked and converted into x and y coordinates with respect to the road and the animations will move accordingly.
4. When real time traffic density is low, it will automatically switch to previous high density traffic data to ensure that the game can be properly played. This uses existing technology already present at traffic signals as mentioned in our interview.
5. The players join the game by scanning the QR code while they wait for their turn at the signal.
6. They are assigned a specific cursor which is displayed on their phones and use their phones as controllers to move the cursor around in the game screen.
7. The use of a phone controller instead of touch interface is due to hygiene and safety issues in a pandemic and post pandemic scenario. This allows multiple players to play while still being safe and socially distanced.
8. They move around different roads displayed on the screen and try to catch the offenders as they commit the offence or after they commit the offence.
9. When the signal turns green for the players, the game stops and ads will be displayed on the screen until the next signal.
10. The users will have the option to broadcast their scores to their social media as well as see their rank on a Scoreboard to see how they perform.
FUTURE SCOPE
1. Levels to the game
2. Installation as a data collection medium
3. Incentives (from the feedback)
4. Gamification of the game further
5. Enforcement power reduction
More information about these on the final documentation.
PROCESS MAPS
Empathy Map, Stakeholder Map, User Journey Map, Backhand System Map, SWOT Analysis, PESTEL Analysis
Click on the maps for a pop up.
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