A multi-modal ecosystem implemented through mobile devices, built-in screens, and audio speakers in autonomous vehicles.
Orbit is specifically designed for shared transportation, so it considers the dynamics between passengers when providing real-time information. It also adjusts its level of support and interactions based on a passenger’s level of familiarity with their location and the system itself.
“Having the screen, it gave me that kind of human factor. Yes, I think this is a critical feature of taking a ride.”
- Passenger | In-vehicle prototype test
The team identified four guiding principles as a result of generative research. Each addresses a point of friction in the shared transportation journey.
These principles informed each design iteration leading to Orbit, a multi-modal ecosystem built to provide a sense of safety and confidence to passengers on the next generation of autonomous people movers.
People movers should adapt to each passenger's level of familiarity with both unknown systems and their destination in order to build user trust.
The layout and attendant system should consider passengers’ comfort interacting with fellow riders.
A people mover should offer multiple ways to fulfill needs, based on the task at hand. Accessibility and consistency of modes are paramount.
Future vehicles should provide discreet support that is adaptable to passenger needs and instills a sense of independence.
Throughout the generative research process, the team sought to answer three core questions that would help to build a framework for what an attendant should encompass:
To answer these questions, the team conducted research with passengers on public transportation from Seoul, to New York City, to Chicago, to San Francisco (and of course, Pittsburgh).
Although current public transit forms differ from future autonomous people movers, the team's goal was to understand people's mental models in a similar context - where a vehicle is shared with an ad-hoc passenger group. This research was crucial to identifying common needs and behaviors that the design of a future people mover should account for.
