Personal Navigation System for Tourists

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Personal Navigation Systemfor Tourists

• Mooshir Vahanvati
• Nagraj .K. Palwencha
• Parag Agarwal
• Nikhil C. Rao
• M. Sreekant

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Problem Definition

• Develop a system that provides the information
  how to go from one place to another to a
  tourist.
• This system can be embedded in a cell phone or we
  can build a new palm device.

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Definitions

• tourist    n.
• One who travels for pleasure.
• navigation   n.
• The theory and practice of navigating, especially
  the charting of a course,
• information   n.
• Knowledge of specific events or situations that
  has been gathered or received by communication
  intelligence or news.
• A collection of facts or data statistical
  information.
• The act of informing or the condition of being
  informed communication of knowledge.

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Redefining and Understanding the Problem

• Expected User Types
• Foreign tourists
• Very little familiarity with the country,
  language and city
• Indian tourists
• Can understand the language fair amount of
  familiarity with the means of transport available
• Expected Age Bands
• 20 years
• Young Backg(?)-packers
• Comfortable with any form of transport
• 35 years
• Hired transport preferred

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User Study
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Focus Group

• Conducted user studies involving 12 people
• Foreign tourists is our focus group
• More challenging problems (from a design point of
  view)
• More likely to go in for such a device because of
  feeling of isolation
• Unfamiliarity with the local language

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User Study

• Carren, 23
• Sweden
• College graduate
• Not a frequent traveller
• Does not carry her mobile on vacation
• Prefers taxis to trains, buses
• Cumbersome to figure out which bus/train to catch

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User Study

• Suk Joe, 24
• Korea
• Graduate student
• 4 days in Mumbai
• First time traveler
• Incompatible mobile phone
• Broken English makes it difficult to communicate
• Travels by taxi
• Cheated by taxi drivers
• Would like to travel by bus/train if more
  information were available

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User Study

• D. Haynes, 38
• Germany
• Yoga Teacher
• 4 days in Mumbai
• Frequent traveller
• Uses mobile as a storage device
• Likes walking has used taxis, buses and trains
• Cheated by taxi drivers many times

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Inference from User Studies

• Stay in Mumbai for a short time (3-5 days)
• Interacting with locals usually a problem for
  those not well-versed in English
• Macro-planning is done through the internet
  (www.lonelyplanet.com) and from asking friends
• Micro-planning (local travel plans) are made by
  asking Hotel receptionists and by referring to
  guide books

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Inference from User Studies

• Taxi is the most preferred medium of
  transportation but mainly because of lack of
  information about other media
• Understanding bus numbers was a common problem
  among foreign tourists
• Restricted to South Bombay because of lack of
  information about other areas (Bandra!)
• Mobiles mostly used as a storage device

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Persona

• Marc Peugot, 26
• France
• In Mumbai for 4 days
• Does not know any Indian language not too
  comfortable with English
• High school math teacher
• Did not bring his mobile to India
• Uses a travel guide and a map of Bombay to travel
• Prefers taxis and autos because he does not know
  about trains and buses
• Does not understand taxi meters
• Does not like to ask for help believes in doing
  things on his own

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Problem Scenario

• 0830, January 9th (Monday)
• Marc wakes up and has breakfast. The Mumbai
  Festival is going on and the Hotel provides him
  with a schedule of the days events
• He looks at his map of Mumbai and locates the
  places on the Map
• Marc marks events that interest him and off he
  goes to the city

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Problem Scenario

• 0930
• He catches an auto-rickshaw and asks him to take
  him to town! Little does he know that these
  funny vehicles do not travel to his intended
  destination
• 1025
• The auto driver drops him off at the Sion
  station, citing some engine problem
• He suggests Marc take a taxi to the NCPA and says
  that it is only a couple of minutes away

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Problem Scenario

• 1035
• Poor Marc is forced to take a taxi and to make
  things worse, he is stuck in bumper to bumper
  traffic

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Problem Scenario

• 1210
• He finally reaches the NCPA for the Exhibition
  bad luck Marc! It is too late they just closed
  the gates
• If only he had gotten here a little earlier!!

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Problem Scenario

• 1245
• He finds a place to eat near the NCPA and revises
  his itinerary for the rest of the day
• Next in line, the dance performance at Kala Ghoda
  at 130

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Problem Scenario

• 1315
• Frustrated from his traveling experience so far,
  he resorts to asking the restaurant proprietor
  for directions to Kala Ghoda
• The proprietor gives him directions but Marc gets
  lost because he doesnt know the nuances of
  street nomenclature in Bombay oops, Mumbai!

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Problem Scenario

• 1355
• Finally, Marc gets to Kala Ghoda. He has missed a
  couple of performances already and quickly takes
  his seat
• 1630
• The entertaining dance performance comes to an
  end. Next stop, the famous Gateway of India!
• Luckily for Marc, he finds a small group of
  French tourists who are with a local guide. He
  joins them as they stroll down to the Gateway of
  India
• Marc spends the evening at the Gateway of India
  with his new friends!

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Problem Scenario

• 1750
• It is time to head back to the hotel The guide
  suggests he take bus number 28 to Churchgate
  station and go to Andheri by train
• 1800
• Marc arrives at a bus stop but cant understand
  the numbers as they are in Marathi!
• Frustrated, he decides to take a taxi to the
  station

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Problem Scenario

• 1820
• On reaching the station, the driver beckons him
  to pay more than the meter reading
• Reluctantly, Marc agrees and makes his way to the
  ticket counter to buy his ticket

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Problem Scenario

• 1830
• Marc is caught in rush hour traffic and with what
  seems to be a humungous effort, gets into the
  crowded train
• 2000
• He is back in his room and is exhausted from his
  traveling!

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Our Solution!
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Design Considerations

• Affordability
• Multilingual and graphic in nature
• Zero Learning Curve
• Small, light and robust
• Online service (connectivity to GSM network)

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A sneak peek!
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A sneak peek!
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Thank you!

• Acknowledgements
• We thank Prof. Anirudha Joshi and our TA, Timma
  Reddy.

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Questions?