This update will explore how the moovel idea will integrate into the moovel go. Next steps are integrating as many modes of transport as possible, into our beautiful mobility display.

Cover for Making moovel Go v2 multimodal

You've probably already seen moovel Go v2, with the handsfree mobility screen, allowing you to constantly see the walking time in minutes to the next car2go. We imagined moovel Go to be located in come-and-go situations such as cafés, hotel lobbies or offices. But for now it is very car2go centered - which is great - but there is room for more moovel here!

Questions raised during the last version of the prototype were:

  1. How can other modes of transport be displayed?
  2. How can maintenance be kept as low as possible?
  3. How will users be informed about the 'knock-knock' feature?

How can other modes of transport be displayed?

Alex used the moovel app search to access the nearby mobility points and display them on moovel Go. This is a great step forward in creating the final product we had imagined: getting mobility visible - always and everywhere. But it also opens up lots of questions ... once again. Showing more than one mode of transport implies a design change from a single number to many bits of information.

Marco and Benedikt are currently designing display methods, showing more than one mode of transport. The prototype ideas we will follow in the designing are:

  1. Minimalistic but beautiful interior design object
  2. Info screen holding lots of information
  3. Display centered dynamic approach

At prsent the display of car2go and mytaxi information is not very sophisticated. The information shown will either be walking time to the next car2go or minutes till the next myTaxi will arrive. So basically the users see the time remaining until their departure.

Following this approach, the method for displaying public transport info would be to show the minutes till the departure of the next bus etc. But this idea doesn't quite reproduce the moovel experience, since the user doesn't know when he will have to leave the café to get there in time. So we are also trying to integrate information about the departure point. See for yourself what our ideas are circling around on, and don't hesitate to leave a comment on them!

How can maintenance be kept as low as possible?

For a pre-series product, we decided to use an iPad, as it has a connection to the internet, and also has quite a bit of processing power. If something goes wrong, the user can simply restart the device and everything will be up and running just like before, using the Apple Configurator. Combining these software features with the plexiglass case we designed, users will only have to put a nail in the wall and hang moovel Go in their favorite place, ready for when they want to leave.

How will users be informed about the 'knock-knock' feature?

We figure that the 'knock-knock' feature is very cool. It actually works and can trigger events on the device. The downside is the app integration. Will there be a separate client app? Will it be included in the moovel app as an experimental feature? What event would be triggered on a multimodal mobility display? These are too many questions for a new and unlearned feature. Using it just for a single use case, like reserving a car2go, is no problem. Time will tell how we can integrate the handsfree feature into moovel Go ...