User Research, Interaction Design
Spring 2009
School of Design, Hong Kong Polytechnic University in collaboration with Beijing Tsing Hua University

Team:
Omar Ramirez, Rui Wang, Michelle Li (Hong Kong PolyU)
Pai Liu, Han Tang, Litang Wang (Tsing Hua University)
Role: User research and interviews, concept development, web UI, interaction model poster, product photography, process report, presentation

Named after the Chinese goddesss of the sea, protector and guiding light of sailors and fishermen out at sea, Mazu is a modular communication system that keeps solo travellers in touch with loved ones back home while also providing a safety net for the traveller in medical emergencies. The system consists of a sleek tabletop device holding four wearable devices. The independent traveller will take and wear one of the Mazu pieces as he embarks on his travels while the core Mazu block remains at home with his loved ones. Mazu records a log of the traveller’s data like location, physiological data, health stats, activity states (awake or asleep). Medical records may also be stored  in Mazu in the case of emergencies. Overall health and emotional state information are transmitted back to the core Mazu block at home in an interpreted form of colour, light intensity, and pulse– giving the traveller’s loved ones a sense of connectedness and presence over distance. Loved ones can also check the traveller’s detailed profile online to view his past locations, current location and general health. Messages can also send a short message to the traveller that can be received on the traveller’s device. In medical emergencies, the traveller can present Mazu’s stored medical records and the physiological data logs to medical professionals, who can easily review and analyze with minimal language barriers.  Finally, a quick press of the emergency button on the device informs family back home of the health emergency so that members can go online, find out the contact details of his medical institution and easily get in touch.

The team began our user research with surveys and interviews and we had set up a website inviting people to submit a travel photo along with a story.  Synthesizing our user data, we found a positive correlation between the sense of adventure of the travellers and their level of sociability, that is, their willingness to speak to strangers and meet new people. This is especially important for travellers wanting a cross-cultual exchange as they are able to learn and experience more of the local culture. The travellers exhibiting the highest correlation are more likely to travel on their own and to venture out of their comfort zone. From analyzing our data we decided to focus our target group on the solo culture seeker travellers.

The culture seekers are those who enjoy travelling outside of their country/continent in search of different cultural experiences. Cultural and language barriers only add to the excitement and discovery of a new place. The solo traveller chooses to visit a new destination to explore a different way of living, gain new perspectives of the world and to challenge oneself. We came to realize that while travelling, our target users do not care to make the effort to keep in touch with people back home, however, their family and friends may be concerned about their well-being or are simply interested in their travels and locations they have visited. It was only when a few people in our target group had encountered various medical emergencies on their travels that they longed to get into contact with their loved ones back home.