Week 12
The past few days have been incredibly busy and full of making lists of what is left to be done. I've been working on my final deliverables like the app, the promo video, the experience video and creating the boards and other diagrams.Citimap App
This is the stage that the Citimap App got to. I figured out the main functions, the UI and applied some basic branding to it. If I had more time I would work on this a lot more but from what I had, I'm happy enough with it.
There are 2 different modes to the app: the Blind User mode and the Sighted User mode.
The main function of the app for the Blind user is the navigation and being made aware of obstacles through audio navigation.
The main function of the app for the Sighted user is to tag and map obstacles.
There are 2 different modes to the app: the Blind User mode and the Sighted User mode.
The main function of the app for the Blind user is the navigation and being made aware of obstacles through audio navigation.
The main function of the app for the Sighted user is to tag and map obstacles.
Promotion Video
Coming soon...
Experience Video
Also coming soon but I've had issues with my editing programme and am hoping that the video will be done in time for the exhibition opening. Unfortunately it won't make my final presentation and I have to accept it.
Boards
Next stop: final presentation!
Week 11
It's almost presentation day! Next Friday will either make me or break me.. just kidding.. I'll somehow survive.
Since last week I've been trying to finalise what I will be presenting at my presentation as well as the exhibition which will be open to the public.
My deliverables will be:
- A prototyped Citimap app
- A promotional video
- A physical experience video and audio recording
- 2 boards that represent the sighted user and the visually impaired user and how the navigation system works for both
I have been going back and forth between what the physical experience will be.. My initial idea was to blindfold a person and have something guide them around the room, either using an Arduino or else have someone give instructions through a phone call, walkie talkie etc. Then the idea changed to using binaural microphones which record sound with the intent of creating a 3D experience. So I would go out and record the sound of me walking down a street, at the same time I would be recording a video of it too. I will then overlay different sound effects and directions like a visually impaired user would experience using the app. In the exhibition a visitor will be asked to put on a pair of earphones to listen to the sound and watch the video to get a sense of what the visually impaired user would feel when using the app and navigation system.
The promo video is pretty much self explained. It's very much like what we did before in the Peggit project and EEK, a video that goes through a short use case/ story of how Citimap is used, what it does and how it works.
The 2 boards are to explain how each user interacts with the system and how it works and to give a background to the story for the visitors to see.
The prototyped app is to feature in the promo video as well as have on the table for the exhibition. This will be for visitors to click through and would help imagine what it feels like to use it. I've been digitising the app using Sketch and have started creating a clickthrough prototype using Principle (which hasn't been the easiest to use for me for some reason) but it's being created and is slowly coming to life.
Filming was meant to be started today but mother nature AKA the rain decided today wasn't the day to start filming so I am trying to work very hard around that and get other things done like an updated blog post.. I've also been working on the video script and the app prototype.
Week 10
This week is 2 weeks away from the final presentation so it meant that a lot of to-do lists had to be written and things had to start happening.
For the majority of the week I've been working on the app screens of Citimap, using existing apps like Blindsquare and Be My Eyes for inspiration.
I began by drawing out screens with basic functions that they need. The app has 2 different user modes: for the sighted user and the visually impaired user. After that the functions of the 2 modes are similar enough but the layout and actual functionality of the screens are very different. I didn't do much research into app screens for visually impaired, that is not what my project is about, so I researched some existing successful apps and took inspiration from what they have done.
I am Sighted
The most important task of the sighted user is to map obstacles and places of interest. They do this by taking a photo of the object and recording the timeframe they think it will be there for or some details about the event. For each place they map, the user gets points, just as a little incentive. This user is also able to view the map of all the marked objects and browse through the different categories to look for somewhere to go.
I am Blind
The visually impaired user's main function in the app is to navigate and use existing markers to help them with the navigation. They can also map obstacles and places of interest, as well as browse the different categories and select a destination from there. The app is navigated through audio and is narrated.
On Friday everyone presented the development of their concept up to date. For me, it was a crazy 3 weeks of preparing for the Something in the Air exhibition and squeezing in some MP work in the last few days before the Friday presentation. I eventually got everything done and presented a good deck.
I went through the insights driving my project to give a background to why I'm designing what I'm designing.
It can be quite difficult to make people understand that this is.. That you can’t park a car up on the pavement. Environmental changes and obstacles are sometimes difficult to avoid.. It’s not just for the visually impaired, to make sure that the area is safe. Accessibility should be universal.And then I took everyone through what I have been doing up to date (the user testing, researching, decision making) and also the things that I am planning to do next.
For the presentation I did very lo-fi wireframes of the 2 versions of the apps for the visually impaired user and the mapping user and that is one thing I need to keep working on.
The drafts of our design rationales are due in a few days and that will have to take priority. Once that is submitted, these are the things that I will have to work on:
- wireframes of the apps to turn into a clickable prototype for the exhibition
- language of the navigation
- a promo video
- creating the physical experience of using the app at the exhibition
Less that 3 weeks left to go!
Persona
Since yesterday I made up a quick persona, Jane, which might help me focus my design to this specific demographic.It can be quite difficult to make people understand that this is.. That you can’t park a car up on the pavement. Environmental changes and obstacles are sometimes difficult to avoid.. It’s not just for the visually impaired, to make sure that the area is safe. Accessibility should be universal.Jane is a 24 year old who has just been accepted into a local college. She uses the GPS on her phone to help her navigate around. She uses her laptop on a daily basis for college work.
Jane doesn't feel very comfortable being out on her own, especially in new places. She finds it difficult to avoid temporary obstacles like cars parked up too close or up on curbs and she generally doesn't spend a lot of time exploring the city centre. Jane prefers to run her errands and not stick around.
One of Jane's goals is to become more independent and not rely on her parents to come out with her a lot of the time. Jane loves art and being creative and would love to enjoy the local culture and attend galleries and different exhibitions more often. She wants to feel more comfortable navigating around the city on her own.
System Features
There are 2 different users and perhaps 2 different versions of the mapping system. The visually impaired person is one user who uses to app for navigation, being made aware of obstacles and places of interest. They can plan a route using their own destination or they can scroll through mapped points of interest and choose one as a destination.
The second user is the person who is mapping and obstacle or a place of interest. They use the app (which is an app at the moment - it could take a different form after further development and testing) to map out an obstacle and add some details as to what it is, how long its there for etc. The place of interest also requires some detail like what the event is, which is sorted into categories like food, design, art, entertainment etc, a description about it, the opening times and the cost of entry. All the details are relayed back to the visually impaired user to find out a little bit more about the type of event that is going on.
The other part of the system is the actual navigation - the language, the directions, the obstacle detection. It will be important to try out a few different versions of the navigation and user test it in order to get it right. One of the questions that I have right now is whether the obstacle detection consists of a voice telling you there is an obstacle or using sounds or vibrations to make the user aware of the obstacle, e.g. there is an obstacle on your left side so a vibration or sound comes from the left side of the user. I am also not sure how that would be implemented in real life but it is something to consider and keep it mind.
The screens are done at a very low fidelity level at the moment. The next step is to create a lo-fi working prototype and to user test it and get some feedback to be able to develop it further.
Week 9
I decided to start somehow creating or adding audio to a GPS map. I came across Map Maker which is a website that lets users drop pins with audio on a GPS map but was unable to register and use it - I'm not sure if the website is still working. I then came across Sonic Maps and downloaded the app to give it a go. I recorder some audio and began placing it on the map. I decided to focus my attention on the exhibition space and around the exhibition, along the main street. I recorded instructions that tell the user, as they're walking past the gallery that a project is being exhibited at the moment. The user then has the option to ignore the message or to find out more and if they want to know more they are told about what the opening hours of the exhibition are, if it's busy at the moment and how to get inside the gallery.
I user tested this and found out that the accuracy of the map wasn't the best and the markers that I placed on the map were also too big and so 2 different audios overlapped each other and made it difficult for the user to understand.
The next day I mapped out a route on the ground in the courtyard at college using chalk. Instead of recording instructions and placing them on a map I got 2 phones and through a phone call (me on one end and the user on the other end) I instructed them what to do. I tried to sound like a sat nav which might not have been the best way to do it - the users seemed to prefer the more human contact. I placed obstacles throughout the route and would either tell the user using words that there was something in their way or I beep.. beep... beep beep beeped which also told them when they were getting closer to an obstacle.
One of the difficulties was when I told the user to walk 5 metres ahead and nobody knew what 5 metres was so it would be better to relate the distance to something they know. The language that I used might not have always been suitable and by that I mean that I was too much of a sat nav and less of a human navigator. When turning left and right the users said it would help to include the degree that I want them to turn to make it more specific. The instructions were simple and easy enough to follow. Some of the users had already seen the route mapped out so it helped them navigate and so a more difficult terrain would be better to use in the future.
The next steps are to figure out the features of the visually impaired user's app and the features of the mapping app/ website and to draw up some wireframes. A persona might help me focus as well as a scenario of a specific use case.