1st Stand-up Presentation

Project Overview

Our project focuses on the road safety issue of people using their smartphones while crossing the street, with a particular emphasis on younger demographics, especially university students. This age group often multitasks between classes, social activities, and work, increasing the likelihood of distracted walking on campus. There are busy intersections and pedestrian traffic in universities, which present a safety issue. To solve this problem, we aim to raise awareness and shift pedestrians' attention from smartphones.

Literature Review

• The reason why we focus on young people because 97% of people aged 18-29 are smartphone users.
• Young people tend to have FOMO (Fear of Missing Out), which makes them more likely to stay constantly connected to their smartphones.
• Consequence: Cognitive Impairment, traffic accident, impact on wellbeing.

User Research

Observation

1. Frequent Phone Use at Signalised Crosswalks: Individuals more likely to use their phones including listening to music, texting, browsing while crossing, especially those walking alone.

2. Phone Use During Wait Times and Crossing: People tend to check their phones while waiting for the light to change, and a notable number of people use their phones throughout the entire crossing.

3. Lower Phone Usage at Unsignalised Crosswalks: At unsignalised crosswalks, phone use is less frequent, but more people make phone calls rather than browse.

Survey

1. We collected 30 reponses from the survey and 90% of them are 18 to 34 years old.
2. Although all participants reported that they use their smartphone when crossing the road in one day, only 40% participants expressed they "rarely" use their phone while crossing.
3. The majority of participants reported using instant messaging apps like WhatsApp and Line (66%), as well as social media apps such as Instagram (70%).
4. The top three primary reasons are convenience (50%), staying connected (36.7%), avoding boredom (26.7%).

Interview

Interview Protocol: https://github.com/kevinc45/TimTam/blob/main/userResearch/Interview%20Protocol.md

We interviewed 8 people and used affinity diagram to analyze results to themes. (Link)

Probe

Signalised	Unsignalised

Solution

Our solution involves placing interactive panels on the ground at each side of the street. Users can play a game on these panels using their feet. The game involves swapping fruits: a menu will display specific fruits that the user needs to collect, and they must use their feet to exchange fruits in the panel. When the traffic light changes from red to green, the game will automatically stop, regardless of what stage the user is at in the game. This approach aims to engage pedestrians and reduce phone usage while waiting to cross.

Project Plan

• Week 9: Implement Unity and Arduino
• Week 10:
  • Prepare standup
  • Test whether Unity and Arduino could connect and work
  • Debugging

2nd Stand-up Presentation

Problem Space Recap

Our research shows that over 30% of pedestrians in Australia are distracted by their phones while crossing streets, leading to accidents. More than 95% of smartphone users are aged 18 to 29, making them our target audience. Our project focuses on phone use during road crossing rather than phone addiction because the term addiction refers to specific symptoms and mental consequences. From the user research, we observed that users tend to use their phones at familiar intersections but avoid doing so in unfamiliar places. This highlights the importance of improving situational awareness rather than addressing addiction.

Aim and Solution

Our goal is to shift pedestrians' attention from their phones while they wait for the green light. We found that people often focus on their phones and cross immediately after hearing the crossing signal, without checking their surroundings. To address this, we propose a game-based solution by installing equipment on both sides of the street. Pedestrians can kick ingredients to match a menu and when the light turns green, the game ends and reminds them to cross safely. This approach reduces risky phone use while keeping pedestrians aware of their environment.

Design Concept

Our design will be implemented at an intersection with two screens placed on the ground on both sides of the crosswalk. For prototyping, we will use a single screen split into two, representing two players. The game is developed using Unity and Arduino. Unity manages the user interface and game logic, while Arduino connects to sensors that detect the distance between the user's feet and the ingredients, enabling the kicking action.

Prototype Presentation

The game has reached its initial stage, operating in a loop and displaying a "Win condition" when both players complete the randomly assigned recipe at the start. When an ingredient is triggered to move, it shifts to the opposite side at a random position.

Next Plan

• Improve both Arduino readings
• Conduct user testing
• Improve usability