Project details
Academic
Year : 2017 ( 6 Months Project )
University: TU Delft
Categories : Interaction Design, Product Design
Design: Taresh Ghei
Guides: Roy Bendor, Kees Nauta
How might we create trustful experiences around bicycle parking?
Bicycle owners park their bicycles on the basis of proximity to their destination, the parking facilities available and the sense of security that they perceive from that space. This may not be the case every single time and bicycle owners may be forced to park in areas where they would normally not park.
The fear of their bicycles being stolen makes most bicycle users feel anxious and worried. Since the bicycle theft phenomenon is quite prevalent, bike owners want the reassurance and the confidence to know that their bikes are safe.
Hence, The Neighbourhood Bike Watch was created, a way to connect with other bicycle users and collectively watch over each other’s bicycles, irrespective of where you park using a securely mounted light beacon, a GPS coin and a companion app.
Design Process
Fostering trust in the bicycle parking experience so that bicycle owners are more confident about parking their bicycles.
The User
Newly Arrived International Students, Local Dutch Students
The Situation
The process of parking the bike from searching endlessly for available spaces, trying to locate their bike in a crowded parking area to constantly worrying about damage to their bikes.
The Intended Effect
The bicycle owners should get some form of feedback or positive confirmation from the space / the lock / the bike or from fellow riders that their bikes are safe and will still be there when they come back to retrieve them.
Research & Analysis
Context areas observed: 4
Participants for Interviews & Workbooks: 8
Participants for Survey: 20
Key Insights
Perceived belief in the strength of numbers.
“Feel safe as long as there are other people as well. The probability of my bike being stolen will be divided between the people there.”
– Indian Student
Visual confirmations lessen anxiety.
“First thing I want to see is my bike.”
– Italian student
Exploratory Tests
Low fidelity mockups, storyboards and scenario enactment ( wizard of Oz ) techniques were used to test with participants. The aim of these tests was to seek out elements which would make bicycle owners feel more reassured and confident about parking their bicycles. Each test was scored on a 6 point scale on the basis of four key attributes – Reassurance, Trust, Social and Confidence
Participants for Storyboards, Enactment & Interviews: 13
Examples of Storyboards
Storyboard 1
Storyboard 2
Selected Concept
A way to connect with other bicycle users and collectively watch over each other’s bicycles, irrespective of where you park. It consists of a Light Beacon mounted securely on the handlebars, a GPS coin and a connected app. Simply tap the Light beacon to begin the connection process. The beacon will start to flash for a few seconds and other beacons mounted on other bicycles will start flashing to indicate that you are being connected. A companion app shows who you are connecting to and gives you complete control over your bicycle’s safety – get movement alerts, remotely activate or deactivate alarms and get precise real-time location tracking.
Preliminary Concept Tests
Scenario Enactment, Wizard of Oz and basic electronics
System Details
Device Details
The Light Beacon consists of an LED array housed in a waterproof Polycarbonate Plastic housing. There is a push button on top to switch on and activate the LED’s connection process. Sensors include the accelerometer, Gyroscope, Radio Transmitter and Bluetooth Antenna which are mounted on the PCB along with a rechargeable battery. Though not realised in the model, a USB connection to charge the battery along with a secure locking mechanism will be incorporated so that the device can be securely mounted on the handlebars.
The App
The Neighbourhood Bike Watch App
The app was created keeping the bicycle owners in mind. It was designed with two main experiences in mind – To let bicycle owners see who they are connecting to as they activate their Light Beacon and to provide them with the tools to track their bicycle and call for help in case their bicycle is being moved.
The app allows users to customize their Light Beacons and set their own preferences for alarms and notifications as well as set their own privacy levels. If a user does not wish to have their real name or their real photo displayed on the connections screen, they can choose to have an avatar and a made-up name instead.
Opening Screen & Log-In
The app opens with a small introductory graphics animation followed by the log-in and sign up screen. Once the user has logged in, they are presented with the option to set a name, select photo or an avatar and a custom bike icon. One they have set up their profile, they will be asked to connect their Light beacon and GPS coin.
Configuring & Setting Preferences
Movement Alerts: Set the amount of time after which you would like to get notified about your bicycle being moved. For ex. – if the time set is 5 secs, then you will get a notification if the sensors detect continuous movement for more than 5 seconds.
Light Animations: Users can set their own style of light animations for their beacon. They can set the brightness level of their lights as well as different animation patterns which can help them identify their bicycles.
Alarms: Users can set the time duration and the volume of their alarms.
Notifications: Users can set their preferences for getting notifications.
Connecting with other bikers
The connections screen will show users who they are being connected with in real time. The names and images of other bicycle owners will appear along with the light animation of the light beacons.
Alarms & Tracking
Once the alarm has been triggered, the users will get a notification from the app informing them that their bicycle is being moved. In the app users will see an alarm status showing them that the alarm is going on. If users chose to, they can switch off the alarm. In case the sensors detect that the bicycle is being moved despite the alarm going off, users can then chose to track it using the GPS coin and downloaded offline maps.
Testing & Feedback
The final test was done in four parts – Interviews, Enactment, Interviews and Questionnaires. Participants were first asked to talk about their current bicycle parking experiences. They then experienced the Neighbourhood Bike Watch system by acting out the whole scenario after which they were asked to give their feedback and thoughts on the proposed Neighbourhood Bike Watch System.
Participants for testing & feedback: 10
User Testing Feedback
Even though the proposed system is not fully operational, there is a lot of scope for improvement. Just a little demonstration with the light beacon and app was enough to make participants feel more confident, more in control and more connected.
10/10 participants: Felt more confident about parking their bicycles with the Neighbourhood Bike Watch System
5/10 participants: Neighbourhood Bike Watch System would make it easier for them to trust public parking spaces.
8/10 participants: Neighbourhood Bike Watch System made them feel more connected and part of a community.
Learnings & Future Considerations
A Game of Numbers: The Neighbourhood Bike Watch requires a certain number of users for it to be able to function effectively. Too many connected users will lead to extra notifications, while too few users will lead to doubts about the efficacy of the system.
False Alarms: There is growing concern regarding the alarms going off even if the bicycle falls or is moved by someone unintentionally. The system and the sensors will have to be made smarter in order to prevent the alarms activating. The accelerometers and gyroscopes could be programmed to register movement only in the back & forth direction, thereby eliminating the sense of movement caused by the bicycle falling over. Sound alarms don’t always work, so a different alarm system will have to be designed – one which does not create a nuisance yet is still effective.
Refining the System: The system uses its own network to connect to the phone and other beacons. This is mainly done through Bluetooth. Research suggests that it is possible to connect two different devices using Bluetooth ( which is the case in the Neighbourhood Bike Watch System ), but this will have to be tested and confirmed. Plus Bluetooth also has limited range. A new system of communication will have to be developed which will enable multiple devices to be connected to one source.
Too Many Devices: The current system has a Light Beacon & a GPS coin as separate devices. This was done so that even if the Light beacon is removed, you will still be able to track your bike. A new design solution might be considered which integrates both the devices into one and has a secure locking mechanism.
