InclusiView
> This is a project done as part of AcrossRCA unit at the Royal College of Art
> Duration: December 2023 - March 2024
> Tools used: Unity, Figma, Adobe Illustrator, Adobe Photoshop, Blender, Adobe Aero
> Skills: Design Research, Augmented Reality, UI/UX, Service Design, Product Design
> Team: Srinija Ghantasala, Aishwarya Bhave, Tejas Gaikwad, Mugdha Attarde, Emily Marzocchi
> Award: Selected as one of the top 20 projects out of 500+ projects with an exclusive exhibition at RCA
ABOUT THE PROJECT
How can we utilise cutting-edge technology such as Augmented Reality (AR) to address issues of accessibility in the space of construction and planning?
The project aims to shift perceptions of disability towards understanding it as a societal disadvantage. We seek to develop practical tools, such as AR for accessibility, to educate and assist in planning spaces that cater to diverse impairments from early stages, rather than using technology as a workaround for access issues.
WHAT I DID
As an experience designer, I contributed to the research, UI/UX development, and logo creation. I primarily worked on prototyping the concept in Unity, modifying and expanding 3D models to help train the model to recognise particular places in real-time. I was also responsible for making the final video.
APPROACH
We began by understanding our team's diverse strengths and weaknesses, given our backgrounds in service design, information experience design, interior design, and product design. Our theme, 'being digital,' led us to formulate a problem statement focused on accessibility. To inform our research, we studied 'Disability and Society' and the 'Universal Design Guide Playbook.' Discussions with our mentor refined our approach, and interviews with architects provided valuable insights. Due to ethical considerations, direct interactions with disabled individuals were not possible. After validating our concept with our tutor, we developed an AR model using Unity and designed the app screens. As our project evolved, we realized the app would benefit auditors more than architects. We assessed various college spaces for accessibility, leveraging ongoing renovations to implement our idea.
