Abhradeep Chakraborty
Uber Assist for Visually Impaired
Bangalore city has a total of 6.5 million people with disability. And has a total employable force per 36% of the total disabled population which accounts to a total of 2.34 million people. But often the safety and accessibility of this section of the society is overlooked while designing our transport system.
Objective:
To develop an accessible platform for people with visual impairment to avail cabs for last mile connectivity.
Project Duration:
six weeks
Understanding Mobility in Bangalore
According to Statista report there are currently 254.30 million people using ride sharing services and ride sharing apps have a penetration rate of 17.6 %. Currently there are 5 major modes of transit in terms of last mile connectivity. And the network for the same is stretched across the city and its suburbs.
Understanding Journey Accessibility in Bangalore
Research Hypothesis
Increasing access to affordable ride sharing services will help increase independent mobility and access to essential services for people with visual impairment.
Research Plan for User Research
Field Research - Sensitization
Research Plan - Realization
Field Research - Interaction
Research Plan - Understanding
User Pain Points
Service Opportunities
Areas of Intervention
Service Blueprint
Service Flow
Business Model Canvas
After defining the service flow and the aspects of the business, the next part of the project dealt with developing some UI for uber. Here the first step undertaken was to analyze how users reacted to booking a cab using the Uber App. The study was conducted with 10 people with visual impairment.
Current Uber App
Source: Vishal Arora
Feedback (Observation & Verbal Quotes)
Keeping these points in mind an attempt was made to improve the UI of the app, by developing on the initial base of Uber assist. Where the aspect of voiceover was looked into. Voiceover is what users of iOS use to navigate their phones. This is an accessibility feature for blind people and allows them to navigate through their phones using a voice that tell them what they are clicking over. This became the basis of the design of the new app.
User Flow
Understanding Grid System for Voiceover
Draft Wireframing on Paper
At this stage, the process shifted towards developing workable screens to ensure functional flow throughout the app, from start to end. This is where a variety of unusable screens with radical UI which were made and often had to reiterated on the go. This was a fun process to undergo.
Screens - Login & Signup
Screens - Homepage & Ride Booking
Screens - Ride Taking and End Trip
Feedback & Thoughts
