Personal Navigation System for Tourists

1. Mooshir Vahanvati Nagraj .K. Palwencha Parag Agarwal Nikhil C. Rao M. Sreekant Personal Navigation Systemfor Tourists

2. 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.

3. Definitions • tour·istn. • One who travels for pleasure. • nav·i·ga·tionn. • The theory and practice of navigating, especially the charting of a course, • in·for·ma·tionn. • 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.

4. 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; Ba{ck}{g}(?)-packers • Comfortable with any form of transport • ~35+ years • Hired transport preferred

5. User Study

6. 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

7. 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

8. 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

9. 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

10. 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

11. 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

12. 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

13. 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

14. 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

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

16. 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!!

17. 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 1:30

18. 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 doesn’t know the nuances of street nomenclature in Bombay… oops, Mumbai!

19. 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!

20. 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 can’t understand the numbers as they are in Marathi! • Frustrated, he decides to take a taxi to the station

21. 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

22. 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!

23. Our Solution!

24. Design Considerations • Affordability • Multilingual and graphic in nature • ‘Zero Learning Curve’ • Small, light and robust • Online service (connectivity to GSM network)

25. A sneak peek!

26. A sneak peek!

27. Acknowledgements We thank Prof. Anirudha Joshi and our TA, Timma Reddy. Thank you!

28. Questions?