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Safety Buddy
A concept to help women feel safer on the streets at night.
A "Wizard of Oz" prototype as part of the Interaction Dsign and Prototyping curriculum
HCDE, Fall quarter, 2023
2 week sprint
Skills unlocked
Background
As an independent woman in her 20s, I venture out by myself quite often. Several of those times are at night, be it walking back from school or even visiting largely residential areas that have lonely and dark streets.
I've been constantly suggested to stay off the streets after dark, and to always travel in groups, or stick to brighter neighbourhoods.
The evidence is out with respect to women being abducted or murdered, but I do like to take the leap of faith and follow my instincts. Even though I consider myself to be brave, I would like to be in control if a situation goes out off hand.
I used my experience as inspiration to come up with the design question-
Design Question
“How can we give the user a sense of control over fear when walking on lonely streets at night?”
Designing to make streets safer is an uphill battle, with several efforts being made to solve for it. Instead of relying on factors out of hand, I wondered how I could give the user the autonomy and control when posed with a less than desirable situation, without being dependent.
Research
Due to lack of time, I used literature studies as a method to gather statistics around street safety for women to weigh in on the temperature around this topic.
tl;dr
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<80% of women felt unsafe to be in parks and open spaces at night. Source: Office for National Statistics
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<45% of women felt unsafe to walk on a quiet street close to home ta night. Source: Office for National Statistics
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78% of women have been abducted. Source: CTDC
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20% of women have been raped. Source: RAINN
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14% of women have been murdered; by strangers. Source: Bureau of Justice
Analysis: With the rise in crime and how much of it is reported, there is a constant expectation of it occurring at every corner. It is easy to see how one might feel unsafe and feel anxious for themselves or their loved ones.
Design
I imagined the solution to be a combination of a physical and digital component- the physical being a distance sensor and the digital being the processor, which would collect data from the sensor and process the result with respect to pre-existing data. This output would be processed and communicated on a mobile phone application.
Persona
I created a persona to represent the target audience. This will help me create the character for my scenarios.
Storyboards
I used storyboards as a method to visually represent scenarios depicting how the solution works.
Scenario 1
Tina walks back home from her class at 10 p.m
Sensors
The safety ring is sensing the distance and pace of the intruder behind the user and records it. It also uses the geo location sensor via the mobile phone to gather the location of the user.
Processors
The system records the data from the proximity sensors and processes it against a set threshold value. The geo location sensor helps the system understand where the user is in order to process real time data from the internet.
Output
If the data from the proximity sensor reaches certain threshold values, the system sends out a notification to alert the user of a possible encounter. This notification will be heard through the user’s earphones, if they have them on. The user has the choice to take action on the notification (suggestion) by the system. Using the geo location sensor data and real time data, the system also suggests alternative routes the user can take to be safer, whilst also sending updates to their emergency contacts.
Scenario 2
Tina encounters a possible attack
Sensors
The proximity sensor senses the pace mapped against time between the intruder and the user.
Processors
Based on the data collected from the two sensors, the system processes the situation. In this scenario, time is of the essence. As the intruder inches closer, the system has to act fast to come up with solutions.
Output
The notifications have to be intrusive and must pull all the stops to intervene. Notifications are sent out to the user to prepare beforehand. Further, notifications are sent out to their emergency contacts alerting them of a possible danger to the user, showing their live location.
Experience Map
I used an experience map to show the action of the sensors, processing of data and the output at various points of an experience with the solution. This would help me identify at what points the proposed design will act and output suggestions.
Conclusion
In an ideal scenario, fast action and accurate timing would bring out the best results.
Some points of failure:
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Research would need to be done to understand the ranges with respect to distance caps, pace changes and time required for fast action.
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The possibility of a weak data connection.
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This solution can only serve as a guide towards safety, and not the end all. Further, it cannot understand the motive of the intruder, which lies in the hands of the user to gauge.
If you need more information or help, follow helpingsurvivors.org
