ROXI
Get your own slice.
FUTURE MOBILITY EXPERIENCE · HYBRID PROJECT · 4 - MONTH
The first half of the project is a transportation design work addressing potential social hazard and is finished sololy. The second part is a mobile app design that develops a taxi service based on the vehicle I designed, and the app is developed as a group project.
INSPIRATION
This is a painting I did in my freshman year of college. My thought at that time was that if transportation can be altered in a way that the cars don’t move but the roads move, then it would reduce the congestion and also avoids accidents.
THE LAST MILE: In many cases, public transportation is unavailable for citizens to travel the last mile before going back home. It is an awkward distance that is uncovered by public transportation, too short for taxi or uber, but too long to walk.
ELECTRIC MOTORS FOR ELDERLY: This kind of transportation that is under no regulations in China. They do not require a license plateor a driver’s license to operate, and thus are often driven by unqualified drivers and are made of terrible quality.
IDEATIONS
MEASUREMENT
The average human scale of Chinese citizens is learned from China National Institute of Standardization. The cabin is compact from the exterior while provideing abundant head room and leg space. The length of the car is limited to 275 centimeters, equals to the average width of a typical bus, and thus when cabins are combined, it is not too wide for the road.
INTERIOR DESIGN
Inside the cabin, two revolving chairs made it possible to rearrange the interior space according to the car’s status.
When the cabin is driven as a unit, both drivers will be facing the steering wheel, and the interior of the cabin is like a normal car, but only with one column of seats.
When the space is moving as a cabin of the train or parking, it can be used as a private dining space or meeting room. The tinted window provides privacy to the pessengers.
EXTERIOR DESIGN
The vehicle is a seperable mini train, and each cabin is privately owned by pessengers. When each cabin is seperated, they can all be driven as individual vehicles, and when connected, the cabins are powered by the locomotive in the front travel a wider range at a higher speed.
On the outside, the car is designed with a minimalism language but great attention to details. The use of horizontal lines and rounded corners make the car gorgeous both as a single unit and as a whole.
PERSONAS
After interviewing potential customers, we summarized the findings into three personas with different demographic and cultural backgrounds. They show a variety of interests in this new market, and we need to further analyze their opinions to find our design opportunities.
EMPATHY MAP & MARKET ANALYSIS
From the empathy map, it is learned that many users are not trusting the self-driving technology yet, but will rely on government regulations when it comes to safety issues.
Learning from our competitors in the self-driving industry, we analyzed their business model based on the ten types of innovations. After observing what they are doing, we are more comfortable being innovative with our own services.
AS-IS JOURNEY MAP
This is a journey map of the current mobile taxi services with our personas, and we discovered multiple pain points. By making our taxi service a self-driving experience, we inherently have advantages over current services in privacy and safety aspects.
AS-IS JOURNEY MAP
The core of this journey map is making the trip user-centered. We are using key touch points of online help to ensure the ongoing process while eliminating unwanted social interactions with drivers. The design of the vehicle coresponds to the user experience.
BUSINESS MODEL
Shift from high to low touch:
Less awkwardness from interaction, but offers key touchpoints
Shift from low to high tech:
Less labor-intensive leads to a boost in revenue
WIREFRAME & USER TESTING
“Make sure to have license plate of the car, so you can double confirm it’s the right car.”
“Keep car locked until you get close. Add button to unlock it from the app.”
“Button to flash the light on the car to make sure that’s the exact car.”
“add 911/emergency button.”
“have a way of explaining/knowing what the call button is for and how to use it.”
“like that it’s sequential and straightforward. Streamlined.”
PROTOTYPE
The LED light bar are used as signals for customers to recognize their rides.
In this environment, Roxi is not served as an electric car for elderly but a rideshare vehicle, it requires physical changes to the model to better suit its use.
The cabins are wider and lower for better performance and larger capacity.
With the removal of the driver’s seat, a double opening door makes entrance and exit easier for passengers.
MOBILE APP
LIGHT INDICATOR
Upon arrival, the led light around the car will display a color that matches the indicator on the mobile app.
FUNDAMENTAL FUNCTIONS
On the main page, three main functions make sure the ride runs safe and sound: play music, settings, and questions.
EMERGENCY
Before or during the trip, there is an emergency button on the screen, and you can always call about unexpected incidents.
FEEDBACK
An optional feedback survey after the trip can let us know if anything in the car needs to be noticed, such as a dirty floor or a malfunctioning AC.
PERSONALIZE
Whether waiting for the car or aboard, you can stay in your comfort zone the whole time, just like owning your own vehicle.