Revolutionizing Railway Navigation with AR Wayfinding

Tejas Pawar
Jan 30, 2021
4 min read

Updated: 1 day ago

“This project is concerned with the enhancement of the user experience of IRCTC stakeholders and improving the existing flow of the application or creating a new flow altogether.”

Duration:

6 weeks

Mentor:

Mr.Sachin Pisharody
Mr. Vipin Yadav

Team member:

Abhishek Bage
Tejas Pawar
Shrishti Tijaria

Aim:

“To create a solution for the railway ecosystem due to lack of navigation signifiers, awareness, and feedback for non-frequent passengers.”

Project Overview

Our initiative focused on understanding and enhancing the user experience during train travel, specifically by augmenting the functionality of the IRCTC mobile app. The goal was to ensure that this digital platform aligns perfectly with travelers' needs, offering convenience, efficiency, and a seamless journey experience throughout their railway travels. My role in the team was to lead the UX research and collaborate with my teammates to conclude with the best UX practices and UI concepts for the project.

The Problem

Navigating through Indian railway stations can be challenging and confusing, leading passengers to frequently end up in the wrong locations. They often lack clear information about their train's arrival platform and struggle to locate essential facilities, resulting in a subpar passenger experience. This issue is particularly prevalent among new solo travelers and the younger generation, who prefer train travel as a more budget-friendly mode of transportation.

Railway Ecosystem

At the beginning of our project, we crafted an octopus diagram to map out the railway station's services and stakeholders. This visual tool placed the 'Railway Station' at the center, with extending branches representing services like ticketing, catering, platform management, security, and passenger amenities. Each branch detailed the associated stakeholders, including passengers, railway staff, vendors, and security personnel. This approach provided a clear overview of the complex interactions within the railway ecosystem, guiding our subsequent research and design decisions.

Research

During the research planning phase, I proposed creating a matrix to guide our selection of appropriate methods. This matrix evaluated each method based on several factors: context (the general application of the method), purpose (our specific intended use), advantages and disadvantages, deliverables (the expected outcomes or outputs), and feasibility during the COVID-19 pandemic. This structured approach ensured a thorough evaluation, enabling us to choose methods that were both effective and practical under the circumstances.

After thorough evaluation, we determined that the most suitable research methods for our study were surveys, mapping, shadowing, in-depth interviews, and card sorting.

Survey

The purpose of the survey was to understand the passengers' thoughts, feelings, and opinions with respect to the Indian railway system.

Mapping

Mapping of the train station was done in order to understand the environment and observe patterns formed by the use of the different services available. This map provides an overview of services and signifiers available at the station.

Shadowing

Shadowing was conducted to observe and document passenger tasks from their journey's start until train boarding. This process provided insights into transportation modes to the station, the offline ticket booking process, key interaction points, and services encountered. Observations were recorded using the “AEIOU” framework.

In-depth Interview

In-depth interviews were conducted in order to gather qualitative data from the passengers, the main aim being to gather information about their behavior and experience related to navigation at the railway station, the frequency and reason for interaction with services, and to understand why they use the railway mode of transport.

Card Sorting Exercises

Card sorting was conducted during the interview phase itself, and a few extra participants were included to increase the sample size for accurate results. In card sorting exercises, there were four exercises: first, open card sorting; second, a test to measure the hierarchy of services; third, closed card sorting; and fourth, a test to measure the effectiveness of the signage.

Key Insights

Persona

The persona was created as a result of thorough research insights, offering a clear and comprehensive understanding of the core needs and behaviors of our primary users. It serves as a guide to align design decisions with user expectations, ensuring an empathetic and user-centric approach throughout the project.

Navigational Challenges Faced by Users

Journey Map

The journey map illustrates the complete user experience during train travel, beginning with ticket booking and continuing through the various stages of the journey. It breaks down key moments like pre-journey planning, station navigation, and in-train activities, highlighting user actions, emotions, and pain points. By capturing these insights, the journey map provides a clear visual representation of opportunities to enhance the user experience and create seamless interactions across all touchpoints.

Task Allocation

The task allocation matrix complements the journey map by detailing the responsibilities of both the user and the system at each stage of the journey. It focuses on tasks the user performs, such as checking train schedules or locating platforms, and aligns them with system expectations, such as providing accurate updates or intuitive navigation. This framework ensures clarity in user-system interactions, addressing challenges while streamlining processes for a more efficient and stress-free experience.

Solution

The solution is an Augmented Reality (AR) experience tailored for train stations. This AR-based application helps users track train schedules, navigate stations, and board the correct train with ease. Designed for non-frequent travelers, it simplifies navigation and raises awareness about station services, ensuring a seamless and stress-free travel experience.

User case #1: The user wants to reach the correct platform and seat.

Find navigation feature and enter PNR

After opening the IRCTC app the user has to find the navigation feature and then has to enter the PNR. Entering the PNR number allows the app to access the passengers and train details for better functioning.

Allow camera and location service

Give permission to the app to use the phone camera and location feature.

Enter platform number

Swipe through the list of cards at the bottom of the screen to find the platform card. Click on it, and it will show a list of services available on the platform. Enter the platform number you want to reach.

Start navigation

A dialog box appears at the bottom displaying your position, destination, amount of time required to reach the destination, and the total distance. Start the navigation by clicking on the arrow to reach the desired platform.

Scan QR to confirm the seat

After reaching the desired platform, to confirm the correct scan the QR is present above the seat.