SMART

How can we create an application that shows the exact subway arrival time?

Sep 2018 (2 Weeks) /

Eunjung Kim (Independent Project)

SMART is a crowdsourcing platform that allows people to obtain and contribute information about subway arrival and departure times. I found that most subway arrival and departure time information is not accurate and it increases the inconvenience when the users have to transfer. In this project, I figure out three ways that people can participate interactively: application, interactive touchscreen, and poster.

Adobe Illustrator

Adobe Photoshop

Final Cut Pro

1. What am I empathizing with?

This project started with the personal experience that I faced using the subway in NYC. Most subway arrival and departure time information are not accurate and this inaccuracy increases the inconvenience for the passengers who have to transfer.

2. Research & Insight

I first found that there are lots of interactive touchscreens near the subway station. I thought the touchscreen can be an effective platform that people interact. However, there are some pain points about this idea: First, most subway stations do not have interactive touchscreens. Also, most subway stations do not have screens showing arrival times. Some subway stations have boards showing real-time information but the number for it is quite a few. Therefore, I start to think that how might the interactive touch screens play a role in encouraging people’s participation and create a new platform that allows people to participate interactively.

I tried to figure out alternatives that could be worked without interactive touchscreens and found that there are several areas where people’s eye stays. Based on the findings, I start to classify target users into three categories.

3. IDEATION

User Flow

I categorized the target users to use my product into three categories. The first users are people in subway stations without interactive touchscreens. In this case, they can access the application through the QR code attached to the poster. The second is people who are not in the subway station. They can access the application right away and get the information they need. The third is people who are in the subway station with interactive touchscreens. They can access the application via the NFC tag attached to the interactive touchscreen.

4. PROTOTYPING

Poster (low-fi)

The first prototype is posters. People who are in the subway station but cannot experience interactive touchscreens can access the SMART application through a QR code. These posters are expected to attract more people to participate by acting as an advertisement.

Mobile Application

The second prototype is an application. People who are not in the subway station can know the subway arrival and departure information by using the application. The most important feature in this application is the users become information providers. They do not only get the information but also give the information to others.

Interactive touchscreen (low-fi)

The last prototype is interactive touchscreens. People who are in the subway station with interactive touchscreens can access the SMART application by holding their phones on the screen. These interactive touchscreens are also expected to attract more people to participate by acting as an advertisement.