SMOOTH.

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Inspiration

Our team is united in this challenge by one common thing: our intense feelings for, and interest in, airports. While some are just happy to travel, some dread it and only do it out of necessity. While some take the time to expore and appreciate the planning and interior design, savour the services provided and the enjoy the exciting culture meltingpot, some want to speed through the checkpoints fast and settle at their gates. Airports both fascinate and stress out the people going through them each day.

After much feels, thoughts, debates (read: tearing ideas apart and rebuilding them), all filled to the brim with passion, empathy and even rationality, we pinpointed the most urgent needs of passengers - time management and information access. After all, most stress is induced by the unknown and unability to control one's situation. Factoring Finavia’s needs, we want to 1) improve in-airport experience and satisfaction of passengers' needs, especially transfer passengers, 2) provide better signage and information access, 3) increase transfer flow to their airports, and 4) relieve their customer service.

We decide to build a live update, ubiquitous and easily accessible information system to 1) reduce stress induced by time constraints, 2) reduce uncertainties, 3) fast responses to passengers’ needs.

At the moment we're focusing on experience 'during the airport', but we have plans for extending the service to before and after airport, and extending to different platforms (apps, websites, etc.).

What it does

Our indication system are series of active information screens physically present at the airports to give passengers all the information they need in a timely and need-based manners. It has 3 sub-systems:

System 1: FRESH OFF THE PLANE URGENT NEEDS

Indicate the most urgent needs for passengers fresh out of the plane: 1) Toilet, 2) Water, 3) Device charge. The screen gives info on time from current location to desired spot (hereby referred to as time away) and queue length/time (time wait). Considering live update of people flow and crowding effect, different options will be suggested to different batches of passengers coming out of the plane.

System 2: IMPORTANT GENERAL NEEDS

The static need-based information screens installed throughout the airport, along corridors in front of gates. The screens are color-coded based on different 3 most important general needs: EAT (green), REST (blue), WORK (orange). Info items for EAT include time away, time wait, gate number and direction on top of restaurant name. REST and WORK feature similar items with info on available tables/chargers/resting slots.

System 3: LEISURE

The more interactive screens for leisure, further divided by subcategories such as SHOP, READ, PLAYGROUND, ENTERTAINMENT, etc. Same info items including name, gate location, time away, time wait and direction will be shown.

TECHNOLOGY

Technology is ever evolving. What cannot be done today maybe be done as early as tomorrow. We try not to focus on what is technically possible, but the vision of a smart, technology-inspiring airprt. But here are the few technologies that will play an important role in realising our systems:

• Smooth and real-time data update across smart screens at the airport: This relies on superb data architecture , capability and management.
• Live tracking technology for queue time and queue length: tracking via bluetooth/Wi-Fi, or using machine learning to count number of people occupying, going in and out of a venue. This relies on network technologies and people flow technologies.
• Estimation of queue time: No live tracking is 100% accurate, so we employ historical data such as IoT data, people flow data, and OT (operational technology) data. We will use a probabilistic model to predict waiting time and average it with live tracking data to provide the most reasonable queue time estimation.
• Recommendations algorithms: Relying on current location of screens, different passengers' profiles, current time away and time wait. Further data on passengers' preferences, contents consumed will improve the algorithms.

How we built it

THE CURRENT SOLUTION:

Step 1: Do iterations and A/B testing on the design, colors and info items to see which combination works the best.

Step 2: Think about how to deliver System 3, user interface, sub-categories and interactive elements.

Step 3: Most important for Transfer passengers:

1) Information and urging to go through Border Control, 2) Communication of available shopping venues on the other side of Border Control, 3) Bundle recommendations based on Transfer profiles and connecting flight info - SHOP and VAT return

Like most service design process, ours is not linear, but requires a lot of back and forth, thinking and rethinking, ideation and scrapping ideas, to finally arrive at an idea that initially passes the validation and approval test. Much more must be done to further develop our solution.

Research

Two of our team members joined the Helsinki airport excursion, where we first familarised ourselves with Finavia's problems and concerns, and their hopes and vision for the near future (30 million passengers in 2030), and observe the layout and facilities in the airport. Finavia's concerns span different times and spaces, but customer service overload, rush hour bottlenecks, passengers' difficulty to access information and services, quality and comfort level of spatial environment stand out the most. Coupled with Finavia's wish to become the connecting hub in the Nordics (and possible Northern Europe), the culture factor that attracts passengers in the first place isn't there yet.

All team members studied through the customer surveys Finavia had delivered, such as the one from RedNote with information on different types of travellers, their satisfcation and pain points, and customer satisfaction ratings. Main concerns the team found there were: 1) passengers’ need to sit/sleep 2) helping people to find their way at the airport 3) fulfill the basic needs during airport time 4) decrease the negative feelings related to airport services 5) minimize the stress level of passengers

Ideation

On our first evening at DASH, although equipped with the different studies, we wanted to approach the challenge with a fresh mindset, so we did a free-brainstorming exercise to come up with problems at the airport from our own personal experience and our frame of references. This is our way to introduce empathy and user-centric sentiments to our design process. Each of us wrote different problems on sticker notes and put them on the wall. We then sorted them according to Traveller's Journey through the airport, with 3 main process: 1) Before, 2) During, 3) After. We then revisited Finanvia's problems and wishes to become the connecting hub, and decide we wanted to focus on the During process and cater for general passengers with an emphasis on transfer passengers.

In order to generate ideas for this During process, we did a Speed-dating exercise, in which each of us would write down an idea to improve passenger experience, and after 1 minute, we moved and another member would develop on that idea. This was done in silence until all ideas were interfered and developed by all members.

We arrived at several cool ideas regarding 1) improvement of spatial environment by boosting the comfort design of the facilities and architectures or 2) injecting cultural elements to turn Helsinki airport into a gateway to Finnish culture to attract passengers from other cultures, 2) improvement of passengers feelings through airport help, 3) information access and update to de-stress passengers.

Developing concept

We had been debating on which problem areas we wanted to focus on. We had to go back to the beginning to look at it again from the passengers' point of view and pinpointed that the time constraint, lack of easily accessible information and control of the situation induces the most stress for an average travellers. We finally settled down on the idea of Easy Access and Live Update information for all. We then debated on which platform we wanted to deliver this solution. We talked about the app, as it's the most common approach these days, and Finavia has their own app, which we can revamp. However, we digged deeper with more imagination and empathy, and decided against app, at least at the earlier stage, because it requires a phone, download, browsing and exploring, which may not be desirable for passengers in a rush.

So instead of an app at your phone, your fingertips, what else can we do? Signage! Finavia's problem of signage and people flow management, and a new idea started brewing in our minds. What if we create big attractive screens that are 'in your face' (so that you'll never miss them) with the smartest display of information based on passengers' most urgent and important needs, colour-coded, during their airport experience?

We start with live tracking technology to get passengers instant updates through different check-points. We then develop the concept into overall indication/info system. We want to focus on experience at the airport, so we decide screens against mobile app since not everyone is hands-free to be browsing app, then we categorise needs.

Decisions & Rationale

Decision 1:

System 1 Urgent-needs screen showing: 1) Toilet, 2) Water, 3) Device charge This screen is shown as soon as passengers leave the plane Why: most urgent needs, less distraction, instincts to look for signs when first getting off the plane

Decision 2: (This is done by Finavia already _ we just need more attractive display and recommendations based on transfer profiles)

Screen to next-Gate, next security control!!! Why: Transfer passengers need transfer info

Decision 3:

We choose 3 most important general need categories to feature in each screen: EAT, REST, SLEEP. These screens are static. Why: These are main services for transfer (non-business) passengers at the airport. Passengers don't need and don't want interaction with the screen for these basic needs. They prefer fast and efficient info.

Decison 4:

More interactive screen for LEISURE with subcategories such as SHOP, PLAYGROUND, READ, etc. Why: People who look for things to do and entertainment generally have more time. But we also have to reconsider people who need to shop in a hurry.

Decision 5:

Big screens with different colors along the corridors, near the boarding gates. Each need has each screen -and is color-coded; change languages every 15(?) sec. Why: Attention-attracting, catering to different language speakers.

Showing options OPEN and ACCESSIBLE within 20-30 min walk Live info about where to get needs satisfied with 1) time to access, 2) direction, 3) queue time Why: quick, relevant

Non-interactive, non-customization, no distance Why: tired passengers, busy with luggage, no hands-free

Validation

This is not the only validations we’ll have done. More to come when our solution is more developed. We consulted with:

1. Design advisor about different layers of contextual needs, live tracking and update, people flow
2. Our clients: Finavia customer service - approval from Finavia, discussion about next step for more personalised 3. solution; discussion of technologies to make live update possible
3. Potential passengers: interviewing people at DASH about their needs (urgent vs non-urgent, interactive vs info screen, one screen vs many screens, how to increase screen-use + attract attention, color-coding of not only screens but needs-areas (where needs are satisfied) and signages.

Further points for validation: 4) Interviews with passengers: which info items to show for each need; how to categorise needs 5) Next step: customization, personalisation on a different platform

Challenges we ran into

First challenge: Pinpointing problems

We were fixated on the problems, going back and forth. While it was good to spend time exploring and understanding the problem, it was time to move on with the ideation and bring in mentor's support to validate initial ideas to decide to scrap or go further with them. We couldn't agree on a problem we wanted to solve, and were short on ideas or focusing too much on what wouldn't work.

Second challenge:Uncertainty about scope of our project

We focused too much on the details, if the technologies are available for this and that, if we could affect or change the architecture and layout of the airport. It impeded our progress and limited our imagination.

Accomplishments that we're proud of

Our idea came to us quite incrementally, and we weren't aware of the possibilities such a solution can possess, but the more we worked on it and used our imagination, getting mentor's help, we have improved our solution and injected into it some more strategic and ambitious vision.

From scratch and uncertainty in the beginning, we've delineated a solution we can go further with and use our imagination to scale and extend it further to different experience process, platforms and industries and we're hopeful with it.

Everything is possible even thought it doesn't seem so at first.

VISIONS for SMOOTH

Extending the current solution to other platforms:

Since Finavia has an app, airport map and the desire to make their passengers tech-savvy, we can extend the interface of our smart screens to other platforms by revamping their apps and website and making them more friendly and Needs-based.

Customization and personalisation is our vision for passengers who want to play with gadgets and technology. They can input their personal details, transfer profiles, preferences and contents to receive much better recommendations.

Extending to other industries:

Our smart, live update indication system would be a valuable system for information access and communication and people flow management. Its use is not limited to airport use but to other industries.

Vision when more advanced technologies are available: Just a teaser photo. Smart scanning to get personal information to instantly offer personalised recommendations based on time allocation, location and needs.