Overview

The micro mobility service targets vulnerable individuals who lack access to public transportation. To enhance their social participation and autonomy and reduce blind spots in transportation welfare, the hardware and software of the service should be designed to be user-friendly for vulnerable populations.

As a team leader and UX researcher, I led a team of three UX researchers and was responsible for various tasks including research design, questionnaire development, document preparation for IRB approval, conducting in-depth interviews, qualitative data analysis, and report writing.

1. Goals

To identify requirements for designing the service

To understand characteristics of transportation vulnerable
Lifestyle, pattern of using transportation, digital literacy, preferences in design

To identify design considerations for a micro mobility service in terms of software and hardware
Requirements for the service optimization about mobility design, operation methods, etc.

2. Research Design & Process

① Recruiting

Participants Screener

10 males/ females aged 60-80
Having no significant restrictions on communication or physical activity
Occasional use of sedentary mobility
Able to walk on their own

② Pre-interview

Methods

Structured interview

Questionnaire

Demography
: Sex, Age, Residential area

Questionnaire (TBC)

Lifestyle: Frequency/ Distance/ Purpose/ Time of going out, Transportation/ Price, Digital Literacy
Previous experiences with powered mobility scooters: degree of stability/comfortableness (7-point scale), purpose
Impressions on AngGo: Size, color, etc.

① Recruiting

Participants Screener

10 male/ Female age 60 ~ 80
No significant restrictions on expression or physical activity
Occasional use of sedentary mobility
Able to walk on their own

② Pre-interview

Methods

Structured interview

Questionnaire

Demography
: Sex, Age, Residential area
Lifestyle
: Frequency/ Distance/ Purpose/ Time of going out, Transportation/ Price, Digital Literacy
Previous experiences in powered mobility scooters
: Stability/ Comfortableness (7-point sclae), Purpose
Impressions on AngGo
: Size, color, etc.

③ Riding AngGo

* AngGo 

: A sedentary micro mobility developed by UNIST DECS lab

Methods

Observation

Observation checklist

When/ why participants feel fear/ comfortable
Familiarity with methods of controlling the mobility device (e.g. handlebars, joystick, buttons) and comfort level with each method

④ Post-interview

Methods

Semi-structured interview

Questionnaire

Satisfaction: Satisfaction, comparison to powered mobility scooters, complaints
A sense of control: Opinions on controlling methods
Stability: Degree of stability/ comfortableness (7-point scale),
preference compared to walking
Hardware design: General design, color, seat, controller, size

⑤ Warp-up

Consent to Provide Personal Information

Incentives

3. Key Findings

1. Use Case

City

To travel short distance which is too short ride for public transportation or a car

Countryside

To travel long distance, get help with walking

2. Hardware requirements

Young & positive look

Vulnerable individuals do not want to project an image of being old or weak in order to avoid prejudice.

Speed Control

Speed should be adjustable.
Controlling methods should be intuitive and comfortable.

Backrest

Backrest increases the feeling of stability

Steering

People who have experience in driving preferred steering as a controlling method, as it is familiar.

3. Service requirements

Card Tagging

The elderly are not comfortable using mobile devices to rent a micro-mobility service. Card tagging is a more intuitive method for them.

Parking

City - Unrestricted parking, as the main use case is short travel
Countryside - Designated area such as hub, as the main use case is long travel.

3. Limitations

Restricted Area (Ulsan)

All participants were residents in Ulsan
The result may be different in the city having different environment

Imbalanced Samples

Out of 10, 6 participants were in their 60s.
Based on our IDI sessions, we found that the elderly perceive the age groups of 60s and 70s as different. Therefore, if we want to include individuals aged 70s to 80s in our target segment, further research would be required to better understand the needs and preferences of this age group.

Absence of Beta-service

Due to financial limitations, we were unable to deploy the mobilities. It is possible that unexpected problems could arise if they were deployed in real-world situations.

Micro mobility as a Service
for Transportation Vulnerables

“ What should be considered when designing a MaSS for the vulnerable transportation users? ”

Overview

1. Goals

2. Research Design & Process

3. Key Findings

3. Limitations

Other projects

Micro mobility as a Service for Transportation Vulnerables

“ What should be considered when designing a MaSS for the vulnerable transportation users? ”

Overview

1. Goals

2. Research Design & Process

3. Key Findings

3. Limitations

Other projects

Micro mobility as a Service
for Transportation Vulnerables