Making Destinations Accessible for Mobility-Impaired Explorers
2 User Researchers
UX Designer (Me)
Context
Imagine wanting to travel to new destinations but being held back by physical limitations.
This is the unfortunate reality for millions of mobility-disabled people, such as those who are wheelchair-bound or the elderly.
“ How might we help mobility impaired people to have travel experience? ”
Results
A mobile app designed to help mobility-impaired individuals explore new and exciting destinations using augmented reality and 360-degree virtual tours to provide an immersive experience.
Users can connect with local volunteers who can guide and inform them about the significance and culture of places, making their travel experiences even more meaningful.
4.3
User Satisfaction Rating
85
System Usability Score
90%
Pain Points were Addressed
Understanding User Needs 👩🦼
User Research
We had a vague understanding of the mobility impaired people and their needs when we started. So, we started by learning about the difficulties they face to empathize with them.
We needed to find the answer to the following questions:
• What are their existing problem and pain points?
• What do they genuinely want?
• What do they actually need?
To find out the answers to these question, we dived into:
• Literature Review to understand the previously done research
• Conducted 7 user interviews
• Competitive Analysis to understand existing solutions
Literature Review
Key User Pain Points
📑
8.25 million
People from 61 million of U.S. adults have a mobility disability, with serious difficulty walking or climbing stairs.
🚧
3 Types of Barriers
Intrapersonal, interpersonal, and structural barriers are the three-dimensional hierarchical travel constraint framework.
🌟
Same Desires
People with disabilities have the same travel desires as those without and want to enjoy a full, active travel experience.
User Interview & Observation
To truly understand the experiences and challenges faced by those with mobility disabilities, so we spoke directly with friends, family, and acquaintances who faced these obstacles on a daily basis.
We conducted 7 interviews to gain deeper insights into their needs and expectations.
🔒
Personal Barrier
Users rely on family and friends for travel and try to minimize the number of requests to them to reduce the burden.
Some users are afraid and uncomfortable when asking strangers for help in new places
💵
Economic Restriction
They have to pay more than others when traveling, which is a significant barrier for them.
For example, a user shared that they always have to pay more when traveling as a disabled person.
✈️
Desire to Experience
They are well aware of the structural, economical and interpersonal limitation.Still, they are interested in looking and learning about the world. So, they turn to Vlogs, books, YouTube videos and street view on Maps.
Competitive Analysis
We got to know few sources they turn to, so, we did SWOT analysis of the current solutions that cater to user's need that are Vlogs and Videos, Google Street View Map and Articles and Books.
🤝
Lack of Personal Connection
There is a lack of personal connection with the subject. This could be due to the absence of live interaction with the people in Vlogs.
Lack of opportunity to ask questions, or limited engagement with other people.
🌀
Limited Immersive Experience
Vlogs, Street View, and books lack the immersive experience that is necessary to fully appreciate a subject.
For instance, watching a video about a city may not provide the same experience as seeing the city from first POV.
🌍
Lack of Cultural Information
There are gaps in the information available which could be due to the limited scope of the content, or inauthentic information.
Thus, users may not be able to fully understand the cultural significance of a place.
Defining the Pain Points
Affinity Mapping
To our surprise, we realized that the problem is not so much about adding accessibility features but experiencing places. Thus, we decide to build a solution that will have the following qualities.
Sense of Personal Connection
The solution should allow the users to feel a sense of personal connection that goes beyond what is typically offered in Vlogs and Maps.
It'll enable them to ask questions, share thoughts, and interact with people in real time.
Simulate Real World Immersiveness
The solution must offer real world immersive experience such as VR and AR. This will make the user explore exhibits as if they were physically present.
This creates a sense of presence and immersion that is similar to visiting a place in the real-world.
Real and Authentic Cultural Experience
This means that the user should be able to learn authentic information about the culture and the place.
This differentiates the experience as the users learn about the place rather than just sightseeing like Street View.
Ideate
Brainstorming
Each session, we tried to think of a possible solution for the three design opportunities using the "Diverge and Converge" method.
Storyboarding
To better understand and empathize with our users, we created two scenarios by story boarding. We considered two use cases:
Final Idea
An app with Virtual Tours that connects you with Local Volunteers and Guides
🤳
360 Degree Virtual Tour
A fully immersive experience of different cultural sites and landmarks around the world.
Users can view these sites from any angle and get a real sense of the place they're seeing.
👓
Augmented Reality View Tour
Allows users to see virtual objects overlaid on to their real environment.
This enhances the user's experience by providing additional information and interactivity to the tour.
👥
Live Connection with Locals
Connect with locals in real-time and get insights into their culture and way of life.
Users can ask questions, participate in discussions, and learn directly from the people who live there.
Who will guide our users?
Local people who want to share their knowledge and promote local culture.
Tourist guide with professional experience.
People with mobility impairments who have traveled before.
Wireframing
After finalizing the idea and layout, we explored several iterations of the concept, combining different ideas that focused on design goals.
Impact 🎯
We conducted 4 Think Aloud sessions with potential users, 4 Expert evaluation sessions, and we asked them to take a System Usability Score (SUS) test.
An average SUS score of 85 was obtained by adding the total scores of all participants, indicating an A rating for the application. It suggests that the users are comfortable with the system and that minor changes can make the application more stable.
4.3
User Satisfaction Rating
System Usability Score
Pain Points Addressed
