Smart Carts, Smarter Shopping: Empowering Wheelchair Users
Convertible wheelchair-cart systems and intuitive tech for barrier-free experiences, prioritizing dignity and autonomy
Duration
Oct-Nov 2023
Role
Seconday Research, Concept ideation, User Interview, Thematic Review
Industry
Accessibility and In-Person Shopping
Problem
How might we enhance the in-store grocery shopping experience for wheelchair users, enabling greater independence and ease of access to essential products?
Personal belief: Disability is not a single person's issue but everyone's problem.
Analysis
The Initial Puzzle: 🤔 How might the in-store experience for wheelchair users be improved?
Early Research
Conducted observations in Bloomington grocery stores to understand mobility challenges faced by shoppers with temporary or permanent disabilities. We watched them get a sense of what persons with both temporary and permanent mobility difficulties experienced when they went shopping.
Images taken during conventional observations are available here, along with the observation technique and insights.
Accessibility Gaps: Customers with mobility limitations face key challenges due to limited access to high shelves and difficulty loading items into carts.
User-Centered Design: Observing revealed critical insights for designing accessible, customer-friendly grocery experiences.
We made use of Affinity Mapping and grouped observations according to how similar the situations were.
These problems were categorized into 5 main issues:
Digital Ethnography
To further explore the complexities of this issue area, we used desk research. We looked into:
Reddit and Quora forums
YouTube vlogs
Digital ethnography
Take away from all of this:
Users prefer to remain in their wheelchairs, valuing independence and avoiding reliance on others
Basic items are often out of reach
Maneuvering a wheelchair with a shopping bucket while opening doors is difficult
People prefer independence with their wheelchairs over motorized carts
Sketching Solutions
Visual Thinking: Unveiling Thoughts and Ideas
Exploration 1: Attachable rods on a normal cart
Design issues: The distance between a person and a shopping cart can hinder their ability to reach and retrieve items
Fixing the problem: Lowering height & minimizing the distance
How did we cut down on the distance?
A cart that slides to the top
👉 During self-checkout, it can be difficult to put things in the cart and take them out again.
What if the cart took care of everything?
Queue-less, Attachable, and Smart Carts for Wheelchair Users
The more weight and capacity a cart has, the less maneuverable it gets. This implies that it takes even more effort for people to move the wheelchair and the filled cart. To solve this issue, a function like power assistance could be a useful addition.
Final Design
Rods to convert wheelchair into accessible cart
Lowered height for easy item placement
Wide wheelbase for smooth wheelchair integration
Built-in scanner, tablet & scale for self-checkout
Testing Concepts
To find volunteers for our concept test, we went to the Indiana Institute on Disability and Community.
Her insightful comments about our proposal
“There are different kinds of wheelchairs and they come in different shapes and sizes. How would your solution fit them all?”
“You should also consider people with just one hand or people with no hands or elderly people with stroke use this solution”
How will I improve this concept in coming future?
Sustainable and lightweight manufacturing materials
Power-assistance system
Personal Reflection
Through this design journey, I discovered the immense benefits of developing shopping carts specifically tailored to the needs of individuals with disabilities. Our designs promise to foster a more inclusive shopping experience, allowing everyone to shop with dignity, independence, and joy. This endeavor has brought us a step closer to fulfilling our purpose of making a meaningful difference in the lives of others.