We need to design for many different users in mind. Once we had an understanding of current users, we wanted to gather more in-depth knowledge. We performed semi-structured interviews with e-bike owners, asking open-ended questions about their feelings and experiences.
Semi-Autonomous E-Bike Dashboard & App
Overview
There is a paradigm shift towards semi-autonomy, and while cars are at the forefront of this change, other forms of transportation need to catch up. Electric bicycles are on the rise, and the Ford Motor Company wants to develop semi-autonomous electric bicycles in response. These will utilize level 3 autonomy, meaning humans do not have to pay attention to the road, but they should be ready to take control, if needed.
The Brief
My team was tasked with designing this new form of e-bike, focusing on digital and physical controls, as a CMU assignment.
Discovery
Research into the Problem Space
Before exploring how semi-autonomy would function in an e-bike, we wanted to gain a solid understanding of current electric bicycles. We first conducted guerrilla research to establish users and their needs.
We found a range of users with very different needs
Student
She used her e-bikes to get to class quickly and to travel to areas near her campus. She needs quick speed.
Food Delivery Driver
He used the e-bike to make quick stops to deliver food. Sometimes he would pedal to get a workout, other times he would use the engine. He needs flexibility to pedal when he wants, and easy access to navigation.
User with a Suspended License
He used the e-bike as his main form of transportation in place of his motorcycle. He needs to be able to travel long distances.
Middle-aged Couple
They used their e-bikes as a way of bonding and getting exercise. They would pick a destination and pedal until they got tired. They need flexibility to pedal when they want and easy access to navigation.
I'd want a larger, better computer [screen] that is easier to use
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—E-bike Owner
A main point of contention found from both research methods is how non-user friendly current e-bike screens are. Users complained about their small size, their awkward controls, and having to scroll to see stats they liked. They would even attach their phone to their bike just to follow Google Maps.
Now that a foundation for the current e-bike problem space was established, we had to design solutions that fit different user needs while also applying semi-autonomy. While this is completely new technology for a bike, keeping the design similar to a current e-bike is important so that users can easily adopt our new products.
How might we convey the novel concept of semi-autonomy, while still:
Matching the user's mental model of e-bikes
Maintaining a degree of user freedom
Enabling the user to easily use our design
Final Solution
New Dashboard Interface
We created a dashboard interface that conveyed important information and the status of certain features, but still felt familiar to the user and was therefore easy to use. The user can get directions to their destination and follow them, or use a new feature, autonomous mode, which will do the navigating for them. We paid special attention to the battery and how it would impact the overall user experience, since it is an integral part of electronic bikes. If the bike has low battery, the user is warned when the battery will not last through certain routes.
Autonomous Mode & Pedal Assist
We decided that pedaling should be decoupled with autonomous navigation, to give users more control over their biking experience. Pedal assist moves your bike for you, with an option for half assist or full assist. Autonomous mode navigates for you, balancing the bike in the process. Seperating these two modes suits the needs of a larger demographic of people, from the exercise-savvy, to the commuter.
Take-over Moment
Since the e-bike is semi-autonomous, there may be times the user needs to take over control of the bike. We implemented pop-up screens meant to alert the user without being too panic-inducing. If the user does not take control, the bike will pull over and instruct the user to prepare to put their feet on the ground.
Final Solution
E-Bike App
We designed an app that appeals to the wide range of user needs we found in our research, with features ranging from a fitness tab for our health-conscious users, to live feed from security cameras built into the e-bike. The app will allow people to feel connected to their bike even when they are away.
Bike Location Finder
Users might not always be near their bike. We designed a feature that locates the bike and gives users directions to it.
Security
Security was a major worry of e-bike users that we uncovered during our research. We designed a camera monitoring system so users can watch their bike from afar.
A closer look
Design Process
Primary Research
We started with guerrilla research and semi-structured interviews to gain a better understanding of the problem space and pain points of current e-bikes. People used e-bikes for a variety of different things—for making deliveries, in place of cars, or for exercising when they no longer had the health to ride a regular bike. Thus, our new design needed to be suited for a wide variety of needs.
Task Analysis
Next, we constructed a task analysis for when users use e-bikes. This would help us look at the big-picture and determine how our design could influence different steps.
We decided to take aspects from planning the ride and integrate them into the e-bike. Instead of the user taking out their phone, pulling directions to their destination up, and then looking down and squinting at their phone while trying to follow the directions, we could display them on a large dashboard interface. All of these steps are simplified, and the directions are easier to follow during biking, which requires most of the user's attention.
Arguably the most important step in the task analysis is riding the bike, everything else is in preparation for it. It also imparts the highest cognitive load. Therefore, introducing semi-autonomy to this part of the e-bike experience could prove extremely useful. What if an UberEats driver could put in an address, hop on their bike, and be autonomously taken to the location? While some users would love this option, other users use e-bikes for exercise. What if they don't want to think about navigating, but still want a workout? We decided to separate "navigation" from "movement", making them two separate features called "auto mode" and "pedal assist". This gives users more flexibility in their biking experience, and can appeal to a wider ranger of users.
Introducing the User to New Concepts
The wifi symbol is now widely used and well-understood, but what about when it was first conceived? The same goes for the play button on a controller, how does a triangle convey "start"? We had to navigate these unknowns in our project with auto mode and pedal assist. We created short introductions for each mode, which would appear when the user uses the bike for the very first time. These tooltips can be accessed via the "i" symbol in the bottom left corner.
Usability Testing
We conducted many usability tests on our low fidelity and high fidelity prototypes to learn key pain points or misunderstandings. Our takeover notification screen went through many iterations because of the feedback of participants. At first, we made it take up the entire page, which users said was too scary. Then, we put it as a pop-up in the corner, but users said it did not seem urgent enough for the nature of the situation. Participants also suggested icons or images of what they needed to do, instead of only text. Finally, participants wanted to know how much time they had before the autonomous mode turned off. All of these suggestions were critical to shaping our final product.
Our many iterations of conveying Autonomous mode & Pedal assist
Another point of confusion was the difference between auto mode and pedal assist. Before we added the information pop-ups, users could not figure out how the two modes differed. The language we used for the modes in earlier iterations was confusing, as well. We went through many different icon designs, display concepts, and names for the modes before arriving at our final product.
Our Impact
Outcomes
Our designs were created to lead the change for the future e-bike landscape, positioning Ford at the front of this new market. Our product should appeal to a wide variety of people by matching their current mental models of e-bikes and giving users flexibility when pedaling. Fixing problems conventional e-bikes have, such as small screens with frustrating user interfaces and poor security features will also make our design more desirable.
Our product is highly conceptual and future-forward, so implementing it is out of the scope of this project. However, during the last round of usability testing, once icons were iterated on and introductory tooltips were added, people understood our dashboard and how to use it. More usability testing with a larger variety of users would help us determine if our goal of appealing to a broad user base was achieved.
