Accessible Navigation App

I conducted much of my user research in person with users experiencing the proof of concept application at a local museum. The region of the museum that had been dedicated to utilizing this technology was an Outer Space Exhibit with several points of interest inside of it.

What I did

Interviews, feedback and observations were very beneficial in determining how I would redesign the app. I followed various users including adults, children as well as users with physical disabilities at the museum while using the technology. I observed the entire system, starting with the process of configuring the navigation device, calibration as well as navigating the space with the app. I asked lots of open ended questions during the observations to understand pain points, missing features, usability issues, etc. I also interviewed several users after their experience to gain more insight, ask about similar apps, accessibility features they rely on, etc.

I turned the users feedback into actionable items and feature enhancements such as the ones below.

Spatial Awareness

BVI's overwhelmingly said spatial awareness of the area to create a mental map of the space was very important to them. For example… inside of the Outer Space Exhibit, having the understanding that the Rocket Ship is 10 feet to the right (or South) of the Space Landing exhibit at the BVI's 3 o'clock position in addition to other close Points of Interest or facilities such as restrooms. 

Solution

I decided we need to have an ongoing description of the user's whereabouts as they navigate from one point to the other and incorporate their direction (North, South, East, West) as well as orientation. We achieved this by tapping into the iOS onboard compass to enhance this experience. I also included the ability to toggle between a clock orientation and degrees as I noticed most children are not aware of the 12-hour clock reference.

Where Am I

Another common request during navigation was the ability to ask "Where Am I" inside the museum when they were just wandering about the museum, not necessarily navigating between two points of interest.

Solution

I added this as a main navigation component on the tab bar and it essentially became the Home Screen for the app with the ability to refresh that location at any time. I found that if the user stays on that screen and it continually refreshes and announces it over the screen reader, it becomes very irritating. That prompted me to introduce a button for them to choose rather than be forced to hear the update.

Where Should I Go?

When ready to start exploring, several of our test users asked the question, "where should I go?" as they were not familiar with the museum or the exhibits it offers. Many of them didn't want to take the time to navigate through all of the Regions and associated Points of Interest. We have added a feature for our next release for the concept of "featured or recommended" points of interest to get people started!

Following our customer interviews, we synthesized our findings and were able to create a customer journey and persona which were presented and discussed with the client.

These exercises formed a great foundation to move into feature ideation and prioritization.

Competitor 1: BlindSquare

Description/Functionality:

· After determining your location, BlindSquare gathers information about your surroundings on Foursquare and OpenStreetMap.

· Algorithms determine what information is most useful to you such as popular cafes, post offices or libraries.

· Shake your device to hear your current address and details about the nearest intersection and venues around you.

· BlindSquare will track your destination and periodically announce the distance and direction you’re headed.

· Mark your position if you’d like help finding your way back later.

What it does well: 

· API connection to Foursquare and OpenStreetMap

· Algorithm to determine your interests

· Ability to mark favorites which are synced to the cloud on all devices (personalized experience)

· Multiple languages supported, about 25 languages (wider audience, sense of self)

· Social media connection (sense of community)

· Works indoors and outdoors

· Can control it through voice commands

Where it lacks:

· Cost is $39.99

· Voice command feature is premium feature that requires the purchase of credits for continued use

Features to consider:

· Determine interests

· Save favorites

· Social media connection

Competitor 2: Nearby Explorer Online

Description/Functionality: 

· Free outdoor and indoor location app designed for use by people who are blind. It supports onboard maps from OpenStreetMap, and can optionally augment these maps with online data from Google Places or Foursquare.

· Works with any device running iOS version 9 or later, but if the device does not contain its own GPS receiver, like most iPads and iPods, you must use an external GPS receiver outdoors. All iPhones contain GPS receivers.

· You can select from several different location related options about what to announce as you move. These include typical items like street name, address, and nearby places as well as the distance and direction to them. (All announcements are optional.) All of this information is shown on the Home screen and is available at any time, but typical use is to adjust the level of announcements, then lock the screen and put the device away. This keeps both hands free and lets your preferred voice speak the characteristics of the environment as you move.

· Ability to create favorites, name them, and share them on OpenStreetMap so others can benefit from the places you mark and identify.

· A transit feature is included which provides detailed mass transit schedules for over 100 metropolitan areas in the U. S. and Canada. 

· You can virtually move to any area and explore, search, or use the transit maps for that area.

What it does well:

· Integration with OpenStreetMap, Google Places and Foursquare

· Create favorites, name them, others in the app can see popular places

· Announces your location upon opening

· Change distance measurements from imperial to metric

· Adjust speech speeds and other speech settings

· Screen reader settings available right in the app

Where it lacks: 

· Doesn’t tell you that you are navigating to the location you chose in search

· Confusing navigation

Features to consider: 

· Play/pause voice over

· Create favorites, name them, others in the app can see popular places

· Announce location upon opening

· Toggle distance measurements between imperial and metric

· Adjust speech speeds and other speech settings

Competitor 3: overTHERE

Description/Functionality: 

· overTHERE is a free iPhone app that helps blind individuals explore using virtual audible signs

· Users point the phone straight at virtual signs and receive audio feedback, as they move away from them the feedback decreases

· Users can mark special locations that wouldn’t otherwise be available on traditional maps

What it does well:  

· Free

· Is “finding signs” when phone is parallel with the ground and is in admin mode when it’s perpendicular

· Bluetooth hands free headset support
 

Where it lacks: 

· No ability to search for locations or addresses

· Does not indicate how to navigate to the location you want to go to

· Requires that the user has set their favorite locations, or the location is an “overTHERE” location

Features to consider: 

· Use of the gyroscope functionality to indicate what mode the user is in

· Ability to mark special locations that may not have a physical address