Meet the Team: Emilia O’Brien, Jinjie Xu, Vivek Selveraj, Yared Beyene
Project: SI-612 Pervasive Interaction Design ****
Our SmartBar Design won the title of “Most Likely to Attract Investor,” showcasing compelling allure for potential investment.
Biking is a source of transportation for many people. Ann Arbor has been named a Gold-Level Bike-friendly community with over 90 miles of bike lanes. After preliminary research in the biking commute space, we saw a huge opportunity to augment the biking experience to improve both enjoyment and safety.
<aside> 🚲 Despite this, bike commuting can still be dangerous, and many people still feel unsafe biking.
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Through the Creation of The SmartBar, we sought to bring enjoyment back into the biking experience, addressing some identified pain points:
In order to understand the problem space more deeply, our team conducted a variety of research, namely, a diary study, a survey study, and user enactments.
To understand bikers’ daily routines and practices, which provide the challenges and emotions in their biking experience, we recruited five users to record each of their experiences biking over the course of 5 days. We leveraged personal connections to recruit participants for the study. Users recorded their levels of preparation before bike rides. After their ride, they took a picture of where they parked their bike and reflected on their riding experiences. Five days after the study, interviews were conducted with all participants to understand their experiences.