Conversational UI design for a Robotaxi service.
This story was originally published in my portfolio: Pradhyumnaa G’s Portfolio. I am currently looking for an internship, so if you are interested in my work, please contact me at pradhyumnaag30@gmail.com.
The current state of the autonomous car market and Robotaxi.
What do consumers think of self-driving cars?
We need to build trust between the car and the passenger. Focus on the passenger experience and create a positive first impression
We anthropomorphize Athena, so passengers believe she has some semblance of rational thinking and conscious feeling according to this study by the University of Nottingham.
Why choose the second option?
Because when anthropomorphizing Athena, we have to keep the strange valley in mind. Also, the first method seems too “static”.
Let’s see how Athena’s conversational UI will work and how it can be implemented.
The vocal prototype
Based on the board, I created a prototype voice to simulate some of the scenarios listed. Click the button below to interact with Athena’s voice prototype. This prototype was created using VoiceFlow.
Click here for the prototype
A potential implementation of this system can be achieved by combining an intention recognition model and a sentiment analysis model. By using a funnel, the model can benefit from separation of concerns and modularity.
Let’s look at the options using which we can authorize the ride. There are many ways to do this, each with its own advantages and disadvantages and different levels of implementation complexity.
Let’s imagine what a customer’s end-to-end journey would look like when using this service.
Why choose the vertical layout?
I chose to go with the vertical orientation because it’s more suitable for displaying certain types of content, like news articles. There is also a shift in content consumption from desktop to mobile devices.
Click to see the high fidelity prototype
Click to see the high fidelity prototype
Unfortunately, I was unable to contact a large group of participants to perform user testing on the Voice Prototype. However, I was able to gather user feedback through the use of an SUS test for the in-vehicle UI.
User comments
From there, the average SUS score of the 13 respondents is 82.5. According to Usability.gov, an SUS score above 68 would be considered above average and anything below 68 is below average. This means that the score of 82.5 is well above average. In addition to this, I received 3 written feedback responses from respondents.
77.5[3]: Seems pretty simple to use and understand, gives clear instructions, is versatile, and provides a lot of things like music and stuff. I think that’s all I need.
90[6]: That’s pretty good for a prototype.
72.5[7]: The user interface seems intuitive and very functional. Although the design may seem friendlier, it is good in the way it looks modern.
Please note that Athena should always be considered an unfinished product. Even after performing the required (extensive) user testing, we will need to continuously evaluate user feedback and be prepared to adjust the interface and chat capabilities to better meet user needs.
Keep in mind that the Intent Recognition and Sentiment Analysis models I developed are just a proof of concept and require extensive research and expertise to create a more robust and accurate system. We will also need to create or collect a high-quality intent dataset to use for Athena’s conversational capabilities to replace the Banking77 proxy dataset.
In addition, the driving and decision-making system of the autonomous vehicle must also be well designed for the safety of passengers and pedestrians. Assuming the Advanced Driver Assistance System (ADAS) is well designed, the Athena can be your value proposition that can differentiate your service from the competition by emphasizing the driving experience it offers to passengers.
If you liked this project and would like to hire me for a UI/UX internship, please contact me at pradhyumnaag30@gmail.com. Also, I would like to hear your comments on the project.
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