Forget Me Not
A mobile application to prevent hot car deaths
At a glance
Studies have shown that the number of heatstroke deaths of children left in cars has increased steadily over the years. Since parents are investing heavily in technologies to monitor child safety from a distance, Forget Me Not reflects these trends by allowing user to receive alerts for risks regarding a child’s/animal’s safety in a vehicle based on the temperature within that vehicle.
Team Members
Jeremy Block
Swarada Sathe
Rahul Bhatia
Tools
Miro
Balsamiq Mockups
Adobe XD
Invision
Duration
Role
Version 1: Nov- Dec 2019
Version 2: 2 weeks (Jan 2021)
UX Researcher, UX Designer
Client
Capgemini
THE PROBLEM
Forgotten Baby Syndrome - autopilot mode of the brain
Our brain, can also be prone to failure creating a false narrative to assure ourselves.
It takes only 15 minutes in hot car conditions for a loss of life to occur.
There are no ubiquitous systems in place to remind the parents of the baby or the pet in the backseat.
FOCUS STATEMENT
How might we empower parents and pet-owners to ensure the safety and well-being of their children?
FINAL SOLUTION
A mobile application paired to the temperature and motion sensors in the car which will issue alerts of different priorities when a child or pet is detected in the car
Status of the car upon reminder
The notification that the child/pet is detected in the backseat will be instantly received on the paired phone. The status page reveals the current temperature and the location of the car. It also allows the user to directly call 911 or his emergency contact.
Single click to see current status of the car
The home screens reflects all the cars that are paired up with the mobile and by simply clicking on one of those, the user can view the current status of the car.
Smooth pairing of a new car
The addition of a new car can be done smoothly by entering the basic details of the car and a unique 20-digit code specific to the sensor system installed in the car.
So, what is the Forgotten Baby Syndrome?
Why is it important?
DISCOVERY
Our brain, like every other organ, is prone to failure
Dr. David Diamond coined the term Forgotten Baby Syndrome in his article explaining the “autopilot” mode of the brain.
The article addresses the question -
How can loving and affectionate parents, with no substance abuse or disorder have a memory relapse putting the child’s welfare into question?
It is concluded that the loss of awareness of a child in a car is a failure of a type of memory referred to as prospective memory, that is, failure to remember to execute a plan in the future.
USER RESEARCH
How to interview parents about hot car deaths without mentioning hot cat deaths?
We encountered two main challenges for conducting user research.
How to approach parents about the sensitive topic of hot car deaths?
1
How to recruit parents of toddlers for a dedicated interview lasting for about 30 minutes or so?
2
We decided to divide the user research into two parts -
User Interviews
Interviewed 2 working mothers, 1 working father and one grandfather in a park
Survey
192 female and 16 male participants,
after sending the survey to 4 preschools
PERSONA
Based on all the information we gathered and the insights from both background and user research, we created a persona to streamline the idea.
Silvia Murphy
Meet Silvia, 29 years old, who works in a Design Agency and is a parent to 3 years old Daniel.
Behavior:
Actively embraces technology in life and is on the lookout for things that make her life easier
Goals:
-
Ensure the safety of Daniel at all times.
-
Use state-of-the-art safety precautions and technologies for her toddler.
Frustrations:
-
Commute is very hectic as daycare is on the opposite side of the town as her work.Often she feels preoccupied with work.
-
She hates complex devices that take up a long time to set up and learn. She does not like taking help when it comes to devices.
Photo by Brian Wangenheim on Unsplash
IDEATION
Based on the results of the user and background research we identified a few pain points which formed the primary user needs and thus opportunities for improvements.
PAINPOINTS
OPPORTUNITIES
Lack of ubiquitous and portable systems
Creating a system with a portable IoT setup in the car
Complex installations that require special training
Paired mobile application with "set-and-forget" functionality
Frustration at the plethora of notifications
Notifications mimicking the style of phone call to grab attention
WIREFRAMES VERSION 1
To address the user needs, and associated tasks, we develop a low-fidelity prototype of the interactions a user would have with the devices.
Wireframe flow diagram of wireframes v1
KEY FUNCTIONALITIES
Emergency Contacts
List of contacts associated with every paired car and will be contacted in case of emergency
Real-time updates
Current temperature and status of life detect of the paired car on-demand
Emergency Notification
Notification mimicking the style of a phone call whenever there is a life detect and the temperature is rising
LOW-FIDELITY TESTING
Paper Prototypes
We decided that testing on low-fidelity prototypes would be beneficial as we had no other application for competitor analysis. We carried out testing as well as received feedback from Capgemini.
Testing and client feedback results:
The main reason that we wanted to conduct testing on low-fidelity prototypes was that we wanted critique for the notification and the location functionality provided. Results from testing validated our concerns.
"I don't want my emergency contacts to know my location at all times."
"If I know that the baby is in the car and I am gone for 2 minutes, then I dont want my husband to freak out.
"I would skip the add photo option, you will have to think of a work around."
ITERATED WIREFRAMES
Based on the results of the testing and the design decision made by us for the improvements, here are the final wireframes for the main app as well as the notifications
Wireframe flow diagram for the notifications
Wireframe flow diagram for the main application
HARDWARE USED
Temperature sensors
For gauging the temperature in the car
Infrared sensors
To detect the presence of person/animal in the car
TASK FLOW
Set-it-and-forget-it tool
Here are the refined tasks percolated from the user needs. The user needs have a large degree of overlap so with a relatively small number of tasks, many of the outcomes can be accomplished. Users can have a set-it-and-forget-it tool while also having the system automate many common tasks when disaster strikes.
Wireframe flow diagram of wireframes v1
Iterated task flow (finalized)
CLIENT FEEDBACK
Proof of concept
We held weekly meetings with the client project coordinator to keep the project on task and to report any changes. We decided that this app would be a proof of concept to advertise to any manufacturer that would want to integrate this technology in their cars. They could use the APIs and integrate the functionality into their own apps.
THE SOLUTION
Notifications
Card on locked screen
Stage 1 notification
Stage 1: Life Detect but temperature optimal
Stage 1 of the notification system is when life is detected in the car but the temperature is around optimal. This notification is sent only to the primary owner of the car. This notification can be dismissed as the emergency situation has not been reached yet. Location and the current temperature of the car are displayed.
Card on locked screen for owner
Card on locked screen for emergency contacts
Stage 2 notification
Stage 2: Life Detect and temperature rising
When the temperature starts rising (the car is in a hot climate), stage 2 of the notifications is activated. In this stage along with the primary owners, the emergency contacts are also notified via the app notification and a text message.
Card on locked screen for owner
Card on locked screen for emergency contacts
Stage 3 notification
Stage 3: Temperature has reached a dangerous threshold
Stage 3 is activated when the temperature has reached 95°F and still the car is not opened. After 95°F the chances for death by heatstroke increases exponentially, especially in infants. In this stage, along with the primary owner and the emergency contacts, the Emergency Services are also notified with the location of the car and the necessary details.
Onboarding screens
Onboarding screens to introduce the users to the app and let them know about the purpose of the app .
Main App
Car details
Car details
Add car - details
STORYBOARD
Silvia's forgetful Friday
We created a storyboard and created a video out of it to demonstrate to the client as to how the app works and how it is beneficial to reduce the hot car deaths everywhere. It's a 3-minute video.
REFLECTIONS
No design is ever perfect!
Version 1
This was my first real project where I followed the entire UX Design process. I had negligible knowledge of color theory and typography and I thought design incorporating many features were cool and the way to be. Though the process was carried out almost perfectly, the high-fidelity prototype was kind of similar to the wireframes and without taking into consideration any constraints to development.
Version 2
After 1 internship, multiple courses in school, and reading many design and psychology books, I began noticing the problems in version 1. Cognitive overload, a complete misuse of colors, and disregard to Apple's Human Interface Guidelines were some of them. Some dead ends and limitations of the task flows were also revealed. I had started thinking like a true Product Designer, rather than a UI Designer. My visual design skills had also improved as I learned the power of whitespace.
