My Lil' Healthbot redesign.Fall 2022

Accessibility Project

Overview

My Lil' HealthBot is a vending machine that was placed back in 2020 in Robarts Library by The University of Toronto (U of T). Its purpose is to provide over-the-counter and hygiene products to students 24/7 at an affordable price.

While this vending machine solves availability and affordability problems, it is inaccessible to people with visual impairments (PVIs).

In a group of four students, we tried to redesign My Lil' HealthBot vending machine to address selected accessibility barriers.

Role

Background research on barriers faced by people with different visual impairments
Analysis of barriers of access to the vending machine
Participation in experts interview for feedback

Tools

Figma
Figjam

Target Group

People with different visual impairments, namely low vision, color blindness, and full blindness.

Because it was difficult to reach this protected population, we used forums and YouTube videos where some PVIs shared their experiences using ATMs and touchscreen kiosks.

Redesign Process

Background Research

Literary review on kiosks and accessibility barriers
Company's case study
Forums and YouTube videos on people with visual impairments using ATMs and touchscreen kiosks

Addressing Chosen Barriers

Listing My Lil' HealthBot barriers and picking the ones to address
Redesigned vending machine using Figma

Design Solutions For Accessible Kiosks

Research on available solutions to make touchscreen kiosks accessible

Redesign Evaluation

Experts feedback on the redesigned vending machine

Challenges of touchscreen self-service terminals use by PVIs

Informational challenges

Low vision acuity (20/70 or less)

Small text and/or graphics without magnification option

Extreme light sensitivity

Screens lacking contrast and luminosity adjustment options make standard visual systems and glare overwhelming

Blindness

Depending solely on visuals to present information

Reduced vision field

Placing important content in different areas of the screen extends reading and access time

Color blindness

Use of problematic color combinations and depending solely on colors to present information

Privacy concerns

High risk of theft to accomplish the smallest tasks at check out due to:

Inability to verify the charged amount and inserted PIN.
Having to share sensitive information with outside assistance.

Locating self-service terminals

Lack of braille and tactile layout plans to reach the terminals
The physical space around the terminals: lighting, shadows, physical obstacles, etc.

Technological literacy

Regardless of technology literacy, variety in terms of interface design makes it difficult to learn how terminals work, especially when standing in front of a long queue.

Social barriers related to health products

Sexual and reproductive health products are associated with purchase embarrassment.
The social purchasing environment (crowding, store clerks presence and friendliness) influence shoppers behavior.
People with visual impairments are perceived as asexual and do not require access to sexual and reproductive health products (condoms, birth control pills, pregnancy tests, etc.)
In a study conducted by Lindokuhle Ubisi (Ubisi, 2020) with young people with visual impairments, one of the female participants reported:

Sometimes you will see condoms. I would like to take them, but I’m afraid of what the people around me might think or say. You feel ashamed because you are disabled and what would people say. You fear that they would make assumptions about my disability and question if I am also sexually active. I have that fear and it prevents me from taking them. Then what happens is I end up not taking the condoms.

Barriers of use of My Lil' Healthbot

Physical

Lack of wayfinding signage leading to the vending machine
Pools of light on the floor created by artificial lighting
Glare on the screen as a reflection of the floor

Informational/communication

Missing information on the existence of this vending machine and its location
Recognizing when it is operating
Lack of assistive technology: braille keyboard, screen reader, magnifier, speech-to-text, color contrast adujstment

Organizational

Assuming that the target users (18-24) can buy menstruation products in the context of period poverty where one-third of Canadian women under the age of 25 cannot afford them

Cost of condoms acquisition is a barrier: youth are more likely to use them when provided for free

Social

Placement of the machine in a busy area near the food court
Screen, icons and labels size contribute to further embarrassment associated with contraceptives and menstrual products purchase

Design decisions

Vending machine

Motion sensor

Installing a sensor that signals to the user that they can activate the machine by touching the screen and informs them of the accessibility options

Privacy shields

Privacy shields extending from the sides and spanning half the length of the machine improves privacy

Anti-reflective film

Covering the touchscreen with a low-cost, quick-installation, anti-reflective film helps avoid glare from the floor and ceiling lighting

Tactile and voice outputs

Headphone jack
Tactile keyboard
Braille card reader

Smaller touchscreen

A smaller touchscreen adds to the privacy and removes the need to reach upwards or downwards to interact with the screen

Drag-to-read

Allows users to read using their fingers

Proposed kiosk redesign

Illustration 1: Front face of the machine and minimum and maximum heights of signals and controls as specified by the City of Toronto Design Guidelines for kiosks

Illustration 2: Angled view of the machine which shows the tactile keyboard and privacy shields

Screens & user flows

The HealthBot’s initial screen sequence includes the dormant welcome screen, language selection, purchase mode, an information popup regarding free products on campus, and the homepage.

Accessibility options on the HealthBot

Through the accessibility menu, users can adjust volume levels (the volume of their headphones or audio played from the machine aloud), select alternative contrast options such as inverse color, and activate the magnifier tool.

Purchasing a product through the HealthBot

Product pages feature a copy of the information provided on the product packaging, whereas the original HealthBot had limited, point-form, summarized information on the product pages.

Purchasing a product that is offered as a free resource on-campus at the University of Toronto

When users select a product that is available for free on campus, the machine provides another popup informing the user, and offers the user a list of locations where the specific product can be found on campus.

Getting feedback

We received feedback on our proposed redesign from Adrian Petterson, TA and a Research Assistant at University of Toronto, and Nandita Gupta, an Accessibility Product Manager at Microsoft.

Evaluation protocol

To have the industry experts conduct an evaluation of our redesign, walkthrough tasks were created to help answer two fundamental research questions:

Is the redesigned kiosk accessible to PVIs?
Are there any features that can be improved/added to make the kiosk more accessible for PVI?

Three tasks encompassed all the changes made to the HealthBot interface. These included exploring the newly introduced Accessibility Menu, purchasing an over the counter painkiller, and a menstrual product.

Recommendations

Privacy shields

Make the privacy shields full length to reduce the risk posed by shields spanning half the length of the machine. These shields may not be perceived by someone using a cane or with limited field vision

Add to cart

To accommodate returning users, it was proposed that we incorporate shortcuts such as an “Add to cart” for products while browsing the full list, rather than having to go to the product page

Speech-to-text

Incorporate speech input as an option, as headphone users will not be affected by ambient sound

Remove sensor

The sensor, introduced to make wayfinding easier, was highlighted as a possible privacy concern, with detection issues that might discriminate against users with shorter stature

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