Applicada presents Station Alert - Seoul Subway.
Receive accurate GPS information for location, subway line, direction, and remaining transport time, in real time.
Listen to the entire User Interface, line by line, by swiping on the screen. Utilizes top-of-the-line NLP voice assistants.
Call the current station's station officers with the single press of a button, and receive all the help you need.
Station Alert is an application for the visually impaired to navigate the Seoul Subway, in South Korea. Offering features that are essential for the visually impaired in the public transport, Station Alert and the Applicada team has maintained communication with visually impaired communities to continue troubleshooting and improving utility.
Whereas the lack of public transformation consultation facilities are limiting the living conditions of the visually impaired, Station Alert provides better acquitance with public transformation for the visually impaired.
As technology continues to advance, transportation is getting more efficient yet complicated in our modern world. Public transportation has reached a point where passengers who are not used to it may easily feel lost.
For example, Seoul’s subway system is known for its convenient way to get to a desired destination; however, it is also famous for its complex subway routes that often confuse passengers.
Even worse, this problem is evermore crucial to solve for the sake of the visually impaired, who have less seeing abilities compared to the non-visually impaired.
Despite the braille blocks and continuous effort from Station officers, the visually impaired are still facing difficulties in their subway riding experience.
For instance, the visually impaired often collides with a waiting passenger as the braelle blocks are not installed around the entrance. Also, some visually impaired claim the braille blocks misdirects them to a wrong way which causes confusion.
While the visually impaired are utilizing those braille blocks as their eyes, the braille blocks are causing mishaps to the visually impaired rather than convenience. Thus, Station Alert is purposed to help the visually impaired to have a better subway riding experience.
Just like a normal subway application, our application allows the user to select the origin and destination of the route.
However, this UI can be traversed easily utilizing the swipe technique used by the visually impaired.
Every part of the UI is concisely narrated by the voice assistant, and a swipe selects the next part of the UI.
The chosen route can be favorited, and recent/favorite routes are displayed in the UI for easy access.
Simplified as much as possible, this UI was developed in conjunction with test users.
This screen displays the calculated route with a completely auditory guidance system.
For instance, when the start button is pressed, the app calculates the time till arrival of the trains, and notifies the user.
The real time navigation allows the app to alert the user when they should exit the train, etc.
The route can be marked as a favorite for easy access and repeated in the future.
This screen was also developed in conjunction with test users, and the same swipe mechanism was utilized.
The application also allows the user to contact the station officers by a phone call.
Sorted by current location and distance, the application allows easy access to this feature.
A similar swipe mechanism was utilized, and with each swipe, the next phone number is selected.
With a single press of a button, the user can contact the officers for help.
As one of the most convenient features that our application offers, it was also developed in conjunction with test users, and heavily updated.
We value feedback and reviews from our customers, and incorporate them into our application to further improve user experiences.
As someone who has developed other apps, when I used this subway app, it contains really necessary functions and is easy to use. When the iOS version comes out later, I think more blind people will be able to get help. It's a really great app, and great job!
Frequently, the visually impaired have difficulties in getting off the subway train because the information about the destination station was not provided due to the noise around them. We are very grateful that the students noticed our difficulties and made such a convenient app.
It’s really easy to use for me when I commute by subway every day. Especially, it is a very convenient application that shows only the necessary contents without complicated contents. It informs you how many stops are left until arrival and an alarm goes off when you arrive. I can also call subway officers for help in an emergency.
Applicada is a group of high school students working together to improve society by solving problems by developing applications.
Senior, 12th
Yongsan International School of Seoul
Hi! My name is Seojin, but I go with David (my middle name). I am an avid coder, and therefore decided to join this team with Abigail, Andrew, Cindy and Jane to hopefully give back to the world. I love running, playing the piano and listening to music.
I am really excited to be a part of Applicada!
Senior, 12th
St. Paul Preparatory Seoul
Hello! My name is Jane, and I like designing, creating, and engineering technologies. I also have an interest in UI design and coding. I am currently working hard to learn more about engineering and coding and hope to have a career related to technology in the future. I am excited to work with our Applicada team members!
Freshman
Cornell University
Hello! I'm Abigail. All of our members have their own unique strengths; I help coordinate tasks among us, and I help designing our logos and websites. In my free time, I love to draw, design, and play badminton. We always work hard to create our products, so I can’t wait to show you our current product Station Alert!
Sophomore
Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)
Hi! My name is Kyoungwan (Andrew) Woo. I'm a programmer, dreamer, and innovator who aspires to turn vision and idea into reality through empathy and technology. I am proud to be a part of the Applicada team!
Sophomore
Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)
Hi! I am a STEM student who loves to play volleyball, watch Youtube and play percussion during my free time. Collaborating with our team members to design Station Alert has been an exciting experience!