Wes, A.I. Companion

Project Description

Facilitating independent wayfinding for visually impaired guests using Voice UI

Problem

Westfield Century City is a beautiful, large (1.3 million-square-foot) outdoor shopping mall in California. Since the complexity of the mall layout, shoppers get lost all the time. However, there are interactive directories that Westfield Century City provides for guests to guide the navigation. We wondered, what if you cannot see, and therefore cannot use the interactive directories? Our research and interviews show that they feel unwelcome to those large shopping malls because of a lack of accommodation. While they prefer a conversational assistant, some hesitate to ask a staff because visually impaired guests like to take time, and not all employees at a mall or a store are familiar with the speed. They don't want to feel awkward, which leads them to ask a companion from friends and family members. However, scheduling was another pain point. They cannot go to the shopping mall anytime they want.

Insights

We reached out to Wayfinder Family Services in Los Angeles, YouTuber, through our networks, and talked to 8 visually impaired people. We were able to go to a mall and some of the participants, which helped us understand their needs on a deeper level. What interested me was the most was completing tasks individually would boost their confidence. We also learn that they go to a large shopping mall like Westfield to see a movie, visit pop-up events, or go to restaurants. Understanding how they use apps and phones was also interesting. We learned that leaving texts on the UI or alt image is essential because they use a screen-reading program to read the screen, and some legally blind people like to screenshot the screen & zoom up to read the texts.

Solutions

Our solution was Wes, a conversational UI navigation system. With Wes, the user can access it anytime, and the guests can walk around independently. Wes informs where to go and even when to make a turn by using inside geolocation. Moreover, Wes delivers environmental information, such as if the user is passing by a water fountain. The amount of information is adjustable as considering both users. One wishes to hear only direct guidance to arrive at a location quickly, and other who wants to enjoy the additional environmental information to feel entertained.