Can navigation in cars be made safer?
IoT DEVICE + MOBILE APP
Everyone knows the inconvenience — not to mention the risks — of whipping your phone out of your pocket while driving to check for directions and ensure you're going the right way. What if that could be simplified or avoided entirely? "Rolliker" is a self-initiated project undertaken to find answers to this question.
ROLE
Product Designer
Co-founder
TEAM
Nikki Ajit
Aditi Mendoza
DURATION
Aug 2016
(10 mo. total)
OVERVIEW
Smartphone navigation in a car is difficult and dangerous.
Road injuries are among the 10 leading causes of death in the world. Driving is a complex and demanding task that entails many distractions which divert the driver’s attention away from critical events and place increased demands on mental load.
2010-20 was declared by the World Health Organisation as the Decade of Action for Road Safety. Having come across some horrific statistics, we embarked on a journey to minimise cognitive labour and create an atmosphere conducive to a comfortable and safe driving and navigating experience.
64% of smartphone users use navigation apps for driving
The Manifest, 2016.
27% of road accident fatalities caused by mobile phone use
Ministry of Road Transport & Highways, Government of India, 2015.
Response time of a distracted
driver is reduced by 37.5%
Transport Research Laboratory, 2014.
SOLUTION
Rolliker is an IoT system based on subliminal perception and human intuition.
Per our goal we ended up conceptualising a brand new system of Human-Computer-Interaction(HCI) based on physiological stimuli and psychological responses.
Rolliker is a hardware integrated IoT system that layers sensory signals to send turn-by-turn navigation information to a driver without diverting their attention from the task at hand - driving.
DISCOVERY
What are the drawbacks of existing solutions?
Smartphones and Head-up displays (HUDs) promote distracted driving by encouraging users to
engage in non-driving activities, thereby leaving the brain with less cognitive load for driving.
Windshield HUDs, being projections, are also notoriously hard to see in bright daylight and shaky vehicles.
Smartphone mounts are the most easily available and cost-effective solution to hands-free driving, but the small digital screen causes Eye Strain and Accommodative Dysfunction resulting in eye-focus problems and blurred vision.
India’s Geospatial policy doesn’t allow foreign satellite systems (American GPS is used by Google Maps) to collect superfine data. This causes maps to provide frustratingly inaccurate routes.
USER RESEARCH
My partner and I performed 100+ interviews.
Through Surveys, Personal Interviews, Contextual Inquiries and Focus Groups, we asked questions like "Do you generally drive alone?", "Do you enjoy driving to new places? Why/not?" and "How often do you use GPS while driving?".
In this way we identified User Personas, common frustrations and also mapped the User Journey.
USER PERSONAS
The Explorer
Bharath is a frequent traveller who likes to explore new places, both rural and urban. He is an enthusiastic and tech savvy person who uses his smartphone for navigation.
Goal: best driving experience independent of a co-passenger
Frustration: single handed operation
Satisfaction with smartphone for navigation
KEY INSIGHTS
There is clearly a need for innovation.
Operating a phone while driving is as uncomfortable as it is unsafe.
Smartphones and Google Maps are the most commonly used navigation assistants.
Interrupted music
is a common complaint.
"As I get older, I notice that it's harder for me to see tiny details on my phone while also keeping an eye on the road."
"I like to play music while I'm driving, but the lady's voice on Google Maps keeps interrupting it."
"I'm not a confident driver so I use a smartphone holder in my car so I can be hands-free and focus on my driving."
USER JOURNEY MAP
A typical driver embarks on this (literal) journey.
PAIN POINT
To get to a location
Motivation
Select route (and pitstops)
Preferences
Driving
Activity
Follow navigation instructions
Activity
Arrive at destination
Goal
HYPOTHESIS
It is possible to give a driver information using subconscious triggers and natural instinct.
All current solutions add on to the cognitive load of driving. So instead of further burdening the conscious mind, we sought to study the possibility of transmitting data through the subconscious.
TESTING HYPOTHESIS
Next, we performed a series of behavioural studies.
We studied how a demanding secondary task affects drivers' performance and cognitive load, using a unique combination of self-report, observation, and practical testing of working memory.
We tested things like peripheral vision, stereo separation and also prototyped a virtual reality (VR) experience using Google Cardboard.
IDEATION
Sensor = Stimulus + Signal
The use of phones while driving causes four types of distractions. While visual distractions cause drivers to look away from the roadway, manual distractions require the driver to take their hands off the steering wheel, auditory distractions mask those sounds that are crucial for the driver to hear and cognitive ones induce the driver to think about something other than driving.
For our concept model, we chose the three senses that have been proven to have defined receptive fields and their complementary sensors - sight, sound and touch.
We perceive up to 80% of all impressions by means of our sight.
Of our senses, touch is deemed least deceptive and most secure.
Driving occupies up to 70% of the conscious mind's capacity.
The human ear selects and reveals important details in the sound.
Perception and Response
The goal of sensation is detection. The goal of perception is to create useful information of the surroundings.
Testing Gestalt Principles and induced triggers for perception response, we came across Subliminal Stimuli that result in Subliminal Perception.
PRODUCT CONCEPT
A tiered system with subconsciously communicated turn-by-turn information.
Recent brain imaging evidence suggests that subliminal stimuli can alter behaviour, via non-conscious processes. Though our own tests showed exceedingly positive results, the brain is so complex that we thought it best to cautiously engage multiple stimuli for a better chance at success. Each of the three layers come into play sequentially as the driver comes close to a turn.
Aural trigger
250m
Tactile trigger
150m
Visual trigger
100m
Left turn
HOW IT WORKS
Decreased volume of music, vibrations on the steering wheel and light spills on a particular side of the car can subliminally notify a driver of an upcoming turn.
Auditory imbalance causes one to move in that direction.
We have been conditioned to recognise vibrations.
Peripheral vision enables seeing without head movement.
PROTOTYPING
The hardware and software work together.
The prototype was first developed on an Arduino Uno micro-controller for testing, upon which a custom Printed Circuit Board(PCB) was made.
The sensors used were - a potentiometer to shift audio balance, button vibration motors to deliver tactile signal, and LED strips for visual signals.
The purpose of the mobile application is to support and direct the hardware, enabling the user to interact with Rolliker through a simple interface.
I programmed the mobile app on Android Studio for the MVP under guidance of an expert.
VISUAL DESIGN
CONCLUSION
In this way, the safety issue of smartphone navigation has been solved by non-reliance. The problem of music interruptions have also been addressed. The unreliability of navigation routes and mapping on Indian roads is being addressed via the launch of India's own version of GPS -NavIC and partnering with local Mapping services like MapmyIndia or Bhuvan instead of Google Maps.
The entire system has the option to be pre-installed in a car during manufacture, or as an after-market addition.