PATENTED

Geasture-based Interaction for Centralized Traffic Control

Research, UX Design & Development
Project Overview
Today's rail traffic is controlled using Centralized Traffic Control (CTC) systems by dispatchers. They use a computer with a mouse and a keyboard to interact with the system. The project is about showing how hand gestures can help dispatchers have a more engaging and comfortable experience in controlling the traffic.
My Contributions
I accepted the challenge to improve the UX of the CTC system and went on a journey of researching, investigating, designing and implementing new gesture-based interactions. Innovation in rail traffic control is very rare, where I have proved that hand gesture control for the CTC can be incorporated. As a risk-free company, Bombardier Transportation AB took a chance, reserved the findings for them to use and made my work patented.
Participant using CTC simulator
The project was a part of a Master Thesis assignment during my studies at KTH Royal Institute of Technology. I was employed by Bombardier Transportation AB in Stockholm to work on the project for 5 months. Both the institution & the company provided me with opportunities and technologies to explore, investigate, perform tests and accomplish the project.
KTH & Bombardier Transportation AB
Stockholm, Sweden
February 2016 — June 2016
Project's goal
Improve the interaction
with the CTC system & resolve usability issues
Dispatcher at Trafikverket

Requirements

1.
Quickly navigate the map
It is time consuming to find the mouse cursor on 8 screens
2.
Improve usability when taking actions on the map
Very small menu and buttons. No use of colors to indicate crucial actions
3.
Easily request for detailed traffic information
Current way is inefficient for active controlling of the traffic
4.
Improve dispatcher’s workstations
Very stiff working position, causes dispatcher's fatigue

Methods

Interview
dispatchers at Trafikverket
Research
on related topics and similar work
Sketch & Prototype
different ideas
Interaction Design
of gestures for CTC system
Implementation
of the simulation as a proof of concept
Usability Testing
gather feedback & results

Gestures &
Interaction Design

Gestures are designed to help dispatchers navigate, control and command intuitively, using their hands. Designs are based on the identified usability issues and are intended to improve the current UX and setup of the CTC system.
Panning gesture
Zooming gesture
Hover with the pen gesture
Grab & drop gesture

Patent

Bombardier Transportation AB was impressed by the project and the saw the chance to innovate in rail transportation. They have decided to initiate the patent process and make Gesture-based Interactions with the CTC systems patented. My name stands as an inventor of the interactions and the company itself owns the right to use the patent.

SEE PATENT on GOOGLE PATENTS

Simulator Setup

The purpose of the simulator is to demonstrate the designed interactions and visually represent how dispatchers use the CTC system. The setup consists of a computer running the CTC simulator on the monitor and a Leap Motion device that enables hand gesture control.

CTC Simulator & Leap Motion Controller

The map shown on the top of the screen is a map that has limited information about the traffic. If the dispatcher requires an overview of a specific part of the traffic (in detail), the window hovering the map will reveal those hidden details.The bottom bar serves as a placeholder where dispatchers can have a realtime snapshot of the desired part in detail.

Leap Motion SDK
JavaScript
HTML
CSS

Usability Testing

Usability testing aimed to examine the intuitiveness of the designed gestures. The dispatchers from Trafikverket were unavailable at that time therefore, the test was conducted with participants from different backgrounds, ages, and interests. The test helped determine the usability, gather statistical data and draw the conclusion of the project.

10 PARTICIPANTS
4 TYPES OF GESTURES
2 ERGONOMIC POSTURES
1 QUESTIONNAIRE
Usability test with a participant

Publication

The published paper describes the entire project, its research, methods, and results in more detail. Feel free to download and read it yourself.

DOWNLOAD PUBLICATION