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An intelligent, conversational, all-in-one voice assistant for airports

Gumband

TIMELINE

8 Weeks

(Fall 2021)

CO-CONSPIRATORS

ROLES

Research, Concept Development, UX/UI Design, Motion Design

TOOLS

Figma, After Effects

PROJECT BRIEF

AI-powered Voice User Interfaces (VUI), in particular, have shifted the way users interact with computers or machines. Virtual assistants (VA) can access and analyze users’ locations and online activities, and they have become an important means for users to interact with other services and applications. How might intelligent user interface change the way designers build systems and ways users interact with their products and services?

Design novel interactions between human(s) and a virtual or intelligent agent for a company of your choice based in Pittsburgh.

OUTCOME

Pia is Pittsburgh International Airport’s very own conversational AI assistant.

 

Built for traveler needs, Pia is a data-rich assistant that makes important information quicker to access through intuitive and dynamic conversation.

While airline service addresses a short segment of the air travel experience, airports actually see travelers through a greater number of touchpoints throughout their journeys—everything from booking to the moment you step onto the plane, and again from deplaning to getting home.

Pia supports the whole itinerary with responsive voice-led features that intelligently address complex requests for travelers under pressure.

My role included research, concept development, identity design, motion graphics (After Effects and Figma), UX/UI design (Figma).

CONCEPT VIDEO

Design Summary

Process

Research

Research >
Context

Why might the airport experience be one where voice UI would be helpful, but more importantly, necessary?

Current traveler experiences can be complicated and confusing, with even the most experienced travelers and the most refined itineraries exposed to the risk of calamity. Through our review of traveler interviews, airport visits, and feedback for Pittsburgh International’s digital platforms, we identified a number of common travel issues left unaddressed during most travelers’ experiences. We then mapped pain points for experiences before the airport, at the airport, and for post-travel engagement.

Research >
Current Platforms

Travelers going through Pittsburgh’s airport have little resources to support their needs. Current platforms are an official airport mobile app (serving as a kind of manual directory) and in-house kiosks only supporting airline check-in software. However, these have ample potential with mobile attachment and a host of kiosk hardware features (e.g., scanning, printing, feedback) left unused.

Current mobile platform

Current kiosk platform

Research >
Passenger Experience

Beyond looking at just the tools at their disposal, we also mapped user journeys that highlighted the emotions, needs, and interactions with which we could find opportunities to help.

Concept Development >
Storyboarding

Concept Development

With an understanding of the scenarios where Pia could really help travelers, we began storyboarding situations that helped us understand the needs and nuances for which we needed to design.

We started with three scenarios to maximize use-case coverage:

  1. A local frequent-flier familiar who experiences a delay after getting to the airport

  2. A local family flying with children and an elderly parent

  3. An international passenger who's never been to Pittsburgh and needs to get into town after landing at night

Departure storyboard

Arrival Storyboard

To refine our concept and concept video, we developed these storyboards into two distinct personas/scenarios

Chad

  • Local

  • Frequent-Flier

  • Driver

  • Doesn't book parking ahead of time

  • Cuts it close on timing

  • Has a flight delayed

Jin

  • Never been to Pittsburgh

  • Not super comfortable with English skills

  • Not familiar with transit options

  • Arrives late at night

  • Has a bag mixup