Ralleye
• About the Project •
Ralleye was designed as an audio based GPS solution for users who have a hard time reading street names, suffer from ADHD and ADD, and for driving enthusiasts. This application was created to simulate having a co-pilot, which prioritizes the shape and length of the road over street names. Ralleye was based on rally car racing, a motorsport that navigates over various terrain and weather. Drivers in this competition race against the clock and not head-to-head, usually down closed dirt or gravel roads - one car at a time.
The Problem
Through research, it was found that a majority of drivers do not know street addresses. Rather, to find their way, they used landmarks (i.e. turn right at the light, make a left after the book store, etc.) With both of these ways of navigating in mind, your eyes veer from following the road to following the sides of the road.Using a phone for directions while driving typically involves looking at the device, which can distract from the road. How can one effectively utilize navigation without compromising road safety?
Research
For rally racing, knowing every inch of the course is as important as being able to maneuver through it as quickly as possible. With this, it’s imperative that Co-Pilots (or Co-Drivers) study the way the roads twist and turn so they, as well as the driver, remain safe when its time for competition. To remember every important landmark of the route, co-pilots will use a notepad filled with markings called pace notes. Each co-pilot has their own unique version, but all are based around the same iteration of symbols.
For this application, I streamlined these symbols to create icons that are easily recognizable at a glance and will not interfere with a drivers vision of the road.
Speedbumps
Safety
Due to the safety being an important aspect of the app, it was imperative that development and research was tested around keeping the driver safe. Because rally driving is a competition based sport and not traveling from A to B, to make a difference in public use and sports use was detrimental.
Unfortunately, a large problem can stem from user intentions. The user will always find a way to use the app in the way they want to use it. Its hard to control the user without allowing them freedom. What can be controlled is the way they must deviate from the sport. In the case of this app, the symbols have been altered so the user must learn to follow the directions via the app.
Vision
During initial research, it was found that all users look at their phone at least five times whilst using their gps to navigate. While driving 55 miles per hour, you can drive the length of a football field in 5 seconds*. How much distance can you cover in only one tenth of a second?
Length of football field = 360 feet
5 seconds = 360 feet
360/5 = 72 feet per second
72/10 =7.2 feet every tenth of a second
So what can you do to mitigate viewing your phone?
To make sure that development utilizes safety, a test to identify color was conducted. Three volunteers were asked to provide information on how far within the peripherals of their vision they can detect a difference in color. For this test, the volunteer stood looking at a wall, and their distance was equivalent to their arm length. By using their arms length and not a standard length, it was easier to determine the distance a driver would be to their dashboard - where most phones were located.
From this distance, three similar colors were provided: red, orange, and yellow. Volunteers were instructed to keep their eyes focused on the same spot ,without detracting from looking in any other direction. From this point, the colors would gradually move from the volunteers focus point and they were instructed to say whether or not they can see a difference in the color. The test would continue until the point where the volunteer would not be able to tell the difference between color.
The average results indicated that eyes have a hard time indicating color after 6 inches outside of focus.
Development
To utilize the color tests and to focus on the road, Ralleye draws attention to the current pace notes over the future turns. With this design, It forces the user to stay in the moment of driving, over expecting the end. This app also transcribes the current pace notes audio so the driver can subconsciously connect the text to the symbols.