Challenges of running and orienting

The first meeting with the case owner showed the presence of three main challenges. Those fell into the following categories: reading treadmill statistics, running independently while still avoiding collision with people or objects and finally orienting or finding objects around his own house.

Reading treadmill statistics could be easily solved by creating a text-to-speech system or creating a secondary device capable of communicating with the user in order to communicate its status while running. 

For what concerns finding objects or orienting in his own home multiple solutions were discussed. In this case, the most promising solution is related to ‘RFID scanners and tags’ being able to individuate the location of certain objects around the house via an app or sound-activated sensors that could be used to find objects.

Since the team was originally looking for more of a ‘challenge’ the main focus was given to running and its obstacles. In this case, multiple points of view were analysed. For this reason, the group followed three concepts directions namely: running sensors capable of distinguishing between and reacting to approaching obstacles or dangers, running track designs to be implemented in parks, public areas and marathons for the use of blind runners and finally a dog leash and harness design in order to run with his guide dog rather than by needing a buddy. However, even though Ted seemed fond of most of those ideas, he suggested switching focus to his massage parlour.  

Massage parlour

During the following meeting with the case owner, it was suggested to switch the group’s focus to massage therapy at the parlour. For this reason, a second ideation and research phase took place. In this case, Ted expressed his frustration in finding products, especially in the context of a session with a client, Ted explained that the sequence that he and his wife use during the therapy is different, which leads to an incongruity in positioning the bottles of products which might get mixed up in the process.

To try and solve this problem and number of concept directions were taken into consideration: an organiser for products differentiated for him and his wife, an automated system capable of ‘handing’ the correct product depending on the therapy and order of products, a new massage bed with multipurpose compartments and storage for products and towels.

For this second ideation, the focus was to create a system that would not disturb the massage session and allow a relaxed and calm environment. For this reason, no system should make use of sound nor vibration cues since they could influence the session atmosphere. However, Ted once again suggested changing direction, expressing a preference for something related to the kitchen.

The latest meeting with Ted another change in direction was suggested. In this case Ted expressed the need to find order into his daily life, as he later on explained, due to his vision he struggles to find and distinguish objects around the house. A clear expression of this struggle can be found in his kitchen where he deeply struggles in identifying spices.

In this case a fast look at the kitchen’s cupboard cleared all of the group’s doubts. Spices are kept inside a plastic box, each in their own container, which due to branding is often identical. Ted has to open and sniff each container in order to find the correct spice. This process is not only extremely time consuming but is also impossible with a stuffy nose.

In order to answer those needs a new ideation phase began.

Furthermore, after this meeting, the group utilised Ted’s experience to compile a checklist of essential features to consider when designing the new spice organiser. The criterias included accessibility, usability, organisation, navigation, safety, and integration of new technologies.

This is a list of the criteria used for the first ideation:

• Easy-to-reach shelves or compartments that can be navigated effortlessly by someone with visual impairment.
• Tactile markers or labels on each spice container to allow for easy identification through touch or braille.
• Function taking a higher importance than form, for accessibility purposes, so minimalistic controls and clear indicators are essential.
• Number of controls to operate the product, for accessibility & usability purposes.
• Logical and intuitive organisation system for the spices, such as alphabetical order or grouping by cuisine.
• Usability for both sighted and visually impaired users, for inclusivity purposes, therefore auditory or tactile cues to assist the co-designer in locating specific spices within the rack and visual cues for accessibility.
• Visual appeal, durable materials and sturdy construction to withstand daily use and potential accidental bumps or collisions.
• Safety features, such as rounded edges and non-slip surfaces, to mitigate the risk of accidents or injuries.
• Compatibility with existing assistive technology, such as voice control and screen readers, for accessibility and integration of new technologies. (smart sensors or mobile applications), to provide real-time assistance in identifying and managing spice inventory. (Ensure seamless integration into his daily routines).

(Henkler, 2020)

The following are the results of the multiple ideation sessions. The following are the most promising directions that were identified by the group.

It is interesting to notice how most of the designs seem to have a common ground in terms of design choices, this was probably determined by the creation of criteria before the beginning of the design process. 

The first part of the ideation was strongly based on the criteria set by the team. In this case the aim was to understand the best possible shapes and solutions that could easily answer the needs and behaviour of the case owner.

The idea for this phase was to work on shapes that could be easily recognised by the user. In this case the main focus fell on the shapes of the containers where more ergonomic shapes were used in order to provide some tactile cues thanks to the ‘redirections’ given by the container shapes. The group quickly realised that common spice containers might not be the perfect option for blind users. It was in fact discovered that visually impaired users tend to measure spices with the use of their hands, by, for example, measuring herbs by pinching them or using the palm of their hands. This consideration was kept in mind for the creation of possible containers.

Another very strong point goes with relation to the organisation of the space. In fact, Ted explicitly mentioned how he usually prefers simplistic designs since it makes it easier for him to get mis-leaded by pompous or complex designs which are usually thought for the use of sighted individuals. For this reason, the concentration of the team fell on more ‘grid-based-designs’ or simple and intuitive designs.

Based on the criteria previously selected, a list of requirements was created. This list will serve as a basis for the conceptualisation, and will be used to examine whether the product has met its goals.

After a thorough analysis of the ideas generated during the second ideation two concepts stood out, namely ¡Spice and Topp¡e. Both the concepts come from the preference of the case owner to process vocal cues rather than tactile ones related to braille or vibrations, at the same time both ideas can be helpful for a larger group of individuals even if not visually impaired.

From the ideation and the requirements, 2 final concepts were created:

Topp¡e

The second concept is Topp¡e, a voice control button that allows users to save a voice memo. When the button is pressed, it will then play this voice memo. For example, if the user uses a Topp¡e button for their rosemary bottle, they save the memo “Rosemary”, and when the button is pressed, it will tell the user that the product that they have is rosemary. A large advantage of this concept is that it is not limited to use for spices, and can also be used for other products (e.g., shampoo & conditioner, different remotes). 

¡Spice

The first concept is called ¡Spice and it consists of an accessible spice rack for the use of both blind and sighted users. The idea behind ¡Spice is to have a system that ‘reminds’ the location of certain spices for you. The smart system of ¡Spice gets activated by pressing a button on the side of the spice rack. By doing so the user will only need to name out loud the spice they are looking for and the system will answer back with the location of the specific container. The answer will be synthetic and will direct the user towards a column (letter) and a row (number). Extra space can be created at the top of the rack.

Ideal solution for the Spice Rack

The ideal solution for the software of the spice rack would be to have it implemented within the spice rack itself, so having a computer that allows for Text-To-Speech (TTS) and audio feedback. To save a new spice container or change a container’s position, the user presses the button and calls out the name of the spice and the grid position in which it should be saved. This will save the spice to that specific grid position. To recall the location of a spice, the user presses the button on the rack and calls out the name of the spice. The rack will then provide a speech prompt with the location of the spice. 

An addition to this system would be to digitally tag all spice containers, such as with an RFID or NFC tag. When placed within the spice rack, the rack would automatically save its location based on the grid position and a corresponding tag reader within every slot. A downside of this is that the RFID/NFC tags would have to be reprogrammed to alter the contents of a container, as likely not all types of spices will have their own tag. This is significantly more advanced than manually saving the positions of spices.

Solution for ¡Spice concept

As the hardware and software for TTS-modules are expensive and difficult to program, the decision was made to simulate this function using existing TTS software and audio feedback systems, using other electronic devices, such as laptops or phones. From this, the insight to use the TTS and memory functions of Google Assistant came up. This function proved difficult to use, however, as the remembering function was found to be highly unreliable, and queries would not be recalled properly. The choice was made to move to a program called Dialogflow. Dialogflow can be fed with intents, basically functions, and entities, more commonly described as variables. These intents are fed training sentences, which allow the program to associate similar queries with the original phrases. This makes it a lot more fool-proof than a self-coded input. From Dialogflow’s input queries, the entities can be extracted and outputted into an external database. As for the database, Google Spreadsheets was used in combination with Google Apps Script, allowing for programming within Google Spreadsheets. When the variables are sent to Apps Script, they are, depending on the function, either saved to a particular position, corresponding to its grid position, or recalled, from the grid position they are in. However, the link between Dialogflow and Google Spreadsheet cannot be done properly without the use of Google Cloud Functions. This is a service that is paywalled, thus the decision was made not to connect the two. This means that the functionality of the prototype is for now theoretical. However, both the front end, user communication with Dialogflow, and the back end, the Spreadsheets database, work in practice, so it is safe to assume the prototype would be fully functional using Google Cloud.

Throughout the project multiple techniques of co-designing were used. The visual impairment of the case owner led to two separate approaches for the co-design sessions. From one side the group used the technique of descriptive co-design, from which later gathered information from the feedback received throughout the meeting. The group paid meticulous attention to all details and comments of the case owner in order to apply his wishes as much as possible on the final design. From the other side physical mid-fidelity-prototypes become extremely handy when analysing the experience of the case owner while interacting with the designs.

The first approach was used especially during the first few sessions. In this case the design was presented in a descriptive manner, so that the case owner could create a mental image and give feedback based on the team’s description. On top of the descriptive presentations of conceptions, direct questions were asked. This iterative process enabled the group to quickly identify and address usability issues, refine design elements, and ensure that the final product meets the needs of the blind user effectively. Additionally, it helped the group members in leading the conversation and receiving concrete and constructive feedback from the case owners, as well as helping Ted in making choices and changes for the final ¡Spice design.

This technique was applied due to the request of the case owner to spend a minimum amount of time on the project and simply the decisions of the team. So, to get the case owners genuine opinion these direct questions were used.

The second co-design approach was conducted by going to the case owner’s home with a medium-fidelity prototype, to get him to feel the design and use the prototype to test the user interactions in order to receive feedback on what they liked or would like to see changed. During the co-design session, the co-designer interacted with the prototype, providing feedback on its usability and accessibility, and by suggesting improvements or modifications. This iterative process allowed the group to make rapid adjustments and improvements to the design in response to user input.

In one of the last co-design sessions Ted and the team worked with a mid-fidelity prototype. Before the co-design session, the group made a real-size cardboard prototype. Making the prototype on a 1:1 scale, this would help the case owner to interact with the prototype without considering that some parts would be larger in the end. 

For the co-design session, a delegation of the group travelled to the case owner’s house to test the prototype. Some factors that the group were especially interested in were the general sizes of the spice rack and spice containers, the layout of the slots and buttons, and the usage of braille, for instance.
The co-design sessions went smoothly, and the group got valuable insights into how to improve the product. Some things that the case owner mentioned were that the spice containers should lay down in the rack, instead of magnetically snap to the backside of the rack. Another aspect that was mentioned was the rack should be easily disassemblable. This would be of importance, as the rack may get dirty, because it would hang in a kitchen, probably near the stove.