Fall 2018
inclusive
user experience
wayfinding
service
videography
Sarafina Kamara
Kennedy Liggett
Rachel Thomas
Use Apple iOS, Voiceover (a text to speech interface built into Apple iOS), and iBeacons to create a user interface that helps a blind user complete a series of wayfinding tasks.
Guided and Guider are sister apps that serve two different, but related, audiences: visually impaired customers, and the owners/managers of the businesses that serve those customers. Guided is a wayfinding app that uses iBeacons to guide visually impaired individuals throughout a space, while Guider uses the data collected by Guided and the iBeacons to provide owners/managers with valuable feedback about their businesses. Any business can become compliant with Guided/Guider, but for this specific project we chose to focus on a coffee shop.
We began by researching iBeacons. Through our research, we learned that iBeacons can be used to establish a region around an object, and iOS devices can then determine their proximity to that iBeacon.
We then dedicated some time to playing with iPhone’s vision accessibility features. We played with ‘Voiceover,’ a gesture-based screen reader that allows visually impaired individuals to interact with their iPhones, specifically focusing on the gestures used to control it.
We decided to frame our project around Liquid State, a local coffee shop, because we felt there were many aspects of a coffee shop that would be difficult for a visually impaired individual to navigate. Such as, how would one find their drink once it’s made and where would one go to add creamer?
We then visited Liquid State to photograph the space and take note of everything a visually impaired customer may interact with. We also interviewed the owner of Liquid State to learn more about the business and how they were currently serving visually impaired customers.
We then developed our personas. Lisa, our blind focus user, was given to us, but we also developed Ava, the facilities manager of Liquid State, because we wanted to consider the motivations behind a business owner/manager installing iBeacons in their space.
To make our user interface as painless as possible, we wanted it to be accessible on Apple Watch so users could navigate the coffee shop hands-free. To do so, we took the gestures used for ‘Voiceover’ and modified them for Apple Watch.
The two apps within our system: Guided (a wayfinding app to guide visually impaired individuals throughout a space), and Guider (an app that uses data collected by Guided to provide owners/managers with valuable feedback about their businesses).
Business owners/managers begin registering their business with Guider my mapping out their space. To do so, users can scan their business’s floor plan, add any furniture that wasn’t captured in the scan, and then specify the locations of the iBeacons within their space.
In terms of the coffee shop, business owners/managers can then add their menu, specifying each item’s price and category.
When a user opens Guided, they are taken to a screen that lists the registered businesses. Once a user selects a business, they can choose ‘Navigation’ to receive directions to that business, ‘Wayfinding’ to be guided throughout the business itself, ‘Menu’ to view the business’s menu, or ‘Information’ to learn more.
When a user reaches the entrance of Liquid State, the iBeacon placed there will recognize the user’s proximity and prompt the wayfinding options for the business to appear on their Apple Watch. Each iBeacon within the business prompts a different screen to appear.
Once a user selects an area within the coffee shop, they will be guided there using auditory and haptic cues. As a user travels, a compass will appear on their apple watch, audibly notifying them when they need to rotate, and when they are facing the right direction after rotating. They'll also receive haptic feedback that increases as they get closer to their destination, giving them a sense of where they are in proximity to it.
Certain areas within the coffee shop require customers to isolate items within a group (such as the drink counter or self service station). Users can scan these areas using their iPhone and Guided will use the compass to direct them towards their desired item. Users will also receive haptic feedback that increases as they get closer to it.
As visually impaired customers use Guided, business owners/managers can receive valuable feedback about their businesses. The iBeacons can also detect the number of people in each region, giving business owners/managers an idea of how their space is used and which areas are the most frequented.
User journeys illustrating how Guided and Guider interact with one another, as well as how Lisa utilizes Guided to independently navigate the coffee shop.
Diagram showing the relationships between the components of Guided and Guider.
Video documenting how Guided and Guider can be used to help visually impaired individuals independently navigate a coffee shop.
