BookWorm
Need a book or paper printed but don’t have time to get it? Don’t worry, Bookworm has you covered! University students can receive requested materials right at their door or pickup station with our autonomous robot and BookWorm app. Additionally, BookWorm can aid library staff in managing inventory and optimizing library space for easier navigation.
Research, UI/UX
Contributions
Team: Diana Garza, Mary Amaku, Maria Rodriguez
Design Research: All team members
Mobile UI/UX: Diana Garza, Maria Rodriguez
Trademark, Illustrations, UI: Mary Amaku
Challenge
University students who live off campus may not always have time to visit their campus library. There are some who avoid it because of the distance, and others who cannot wait for long periods of time for a book to become available. The vast and intimidating atmosphere of the library can also deter students and make them feel overwhelmed and uncomfortable. Additionally, the library staff may encounter challenges in keeping up with inventory and restocking tasks.
Goal
The objective is to develop an autonomous robot service that can enhance the productivity of the library staff while benefiting both on-campus and off-campus students. This service will showcase exceptional organizational skills and assist library personnel in restocking books and other miscellaneous items to their designated locations. To optimize library efficiency, we intend to run this service day and night and deliver items to all dorms and pickup stations across the campus, minimizing any unwarranted delays.
Discovery
What is an autonomous robot?
Autonomous robots are programmed by humans to respond to outside stimuli without the need for assistance. Through programming, these robots are equipped with sensors that enhance their precision and accuracy, enabling them to maneuver around obstacles.
What are the benefits of an autonomous robot?
Improves efficiency, consistency, and productivity
Improves organization
Allows for more focus on valuable tasks
Brainstorming
Interview Takeaways
To determine the necessary tasks for our autonomous robot and ensure its smooth operation, we interviewed the library staff at our university. Through this process, we aimed to pinpoint the most significant challenges faced by the library staff and how they impact students.
The first week of every semester is when the library experiences its highest levels of activity.
Items are mostly checked out during midterm and finals week.
Inventory is not always met as library staff must prioritize more critical tasks.
Bookshelves are not checked as often as they should, resulting in students being unable to access specific books or items they are searching for.
Student Survey Takeaways
Following our discovery of the issues faced by the library staff, we proceeded to conduct a survey to determine the primary challenges encountered by students when using the library. The responses obtained from the survey allowed us to identify the tasks that our robot should be assigned.
Students avoid the library due to social fear, distance, and book search frustration.
Students use the library for printing, book checkout, and studying.
Students find their books and items through the library site, professors, book shelve browse, or through library staff assistance.
The majority of students would use an autonomous robot but would prefer for it to be touch screen rather than voice-automated.
User Personas & Empathy Maps
After identifying the challenges of both the library staff and students, we created user personas and empathy maps to narrow down our main priorities.
Intended Target Audience
Based on insights gathered from library staff interviews and student surveys, our autonomous robot service will assist both on-campus and off-campus students. This innovative technology will improve the library's efficiency and organization while reducing the workload on library staff.
How Might We Statements
To brainstorm ways our autonomous robot can enhance the library’s efficiency and provide students with quicker access to resources, we asked ourselves some questions to continue guiding our brainstorming process.
What is the solution?
To enhance the efficiency of library operations and provide faster service to busy students, we developed an autonomous robot in conjunction with a mobile application.
Why an autonomous robot?
The product is capable of independently navigating and resolving programmed conflicts, freeing up library staff to focus on higher-priority tasks and improving the overall efficiency of the library.
Why an application?
The combination of a mobile application and the autonomous robot allows students to request items from any location on campus and conveniently track the robot’s location to stay updated on their order.
User Flows
We created two app user flows to determine what features could speed up the process for students when ordering and returning items. Additionally, a robot flow was designed to identify the necessary steps for completing a task.
Wireframes
Final Outcomes
Login and Home Page
Upon the user’s login, they will be greeted with a homepage that includes all the necessary services they may need.
Features Include:
Print Services
My list: any items students has saved within the app
Courses
Saved Books
Checked out items
Search Engine
Addressed HMW’s:
How Might We enhance the efficiency and speed of book searching?
How Might We arrange library materials to eliminate confusion?
Users can easily search for materials, reducing the stress of physically browsing bookshelves. The search engine feature includes organized categories such as "popular" and "genres," helping users make quicker decisions and save time.
Destination and Confirmation
Addressed HMW’s:
How Might We make our services available to all students?
How Might We ensure that our services do not consume too much time from the busy schedule of students?
Providing the choice to either have items delivered or picked up at a specific location and time enables us to offer our services to all students on campus. This also permits students to place orders at their convenience without spending excessive time searching for items, rushing to beat the library’s closing time, or worrying about parking. In this screen, the user is selecting to have their items delivered to their dorm and confirming the selected address is correct.
Order Arrival and Completion
Addressed HMW’s:
How Might We develop a product that connects to our autonomous robot, allowing students to both utilize and track all movements?
As demonstrated in the previous screens, this application links to the autonomous robot and provides users with real-time updates on the order process and location. Integrating both services enables more tasks to be completed at a faster rate. Shown in this screen, the user has received a notification informing them that Wormie the bot has arrived. The User then opens their receipt and scans it on Wormie’s screen. Lastly, the user is given the option to rate their experience.
Printing Services
Addressed HMW’s:
How Might We incorporate additional services into our products, beyond just book delivery?
Including a printing feature in our app allows us to expand our services and offer more convenience to students. With the ability to print multiple files at once, students can save time and effort. Additionally, the option to have the printed files delivered or picked up adds further flexibility to the process.
Material Return Process
Addressed HMW’s:
How Might We improve the process of book return?
The return feature we have included in our app not only simplifies the process for students, but it also helps prevent late returns. By eliminating the need for students to travel long distances or worry about finding time to return items, this feature encourages timely returns and reduces the likelihood of procrastination.
Return Order Completion
Order is complete! The user has now received a notification from Wormie informing them they have arrived. User will open their given barcode and scan it on Wormie’s screen to complete their return order.
Robot Screen
A preview of how Wormie’s screen will appear once the user scans their barcode from the app.
A visual of what Wormie the robot would look like in the physical world
Project Reflection
My Takeaways
While working on BookWorm, I learned what it takes to conduct an interview and how to approach an interviewee. It was through BookWorm that I learned the importance of asking follow-up questions to gain a deeper understanding of the interviewee's concerns and frustrations. Paying close attention to their responses was critical in identifying the necessary features for our application and determining the tasks for Wormie. Additionally, through this project, I gained a newfound appreciation for the interview process and an understanding of the potential advantages and disadvantages of utilizing an autonomous robot on campus. It was also nice and interesting to see how others perceive the idea of a robot performing their tasks from our student survey replies.
Further Development
With more time, I would have also focused further on the perspective of the library staff regarding Wormie’s role. While we know Wormie will be responsible for daily tasks, I am curious about the specific methods we could give to it to accomplish them. I would be interested in brainstorming whether the staff would require their own app to assign or modify tasks for Wormie, or whether there are other interactive technologies that could be utilized to provide additional services beyond the app.