Week 6: UX & Usability Testing and UML diagrams

 

When designing ARTSI—the Autonomous Road Terrain Surveying Investigator—I knew that building a smart robot wasn’t just about the code and sensors. It was also about the user experience (UX): how a person interacts with the robot and understands its behavior in real time. The robot was built with accessibility and simplicity in mind, particularly for researchers, students, or city engineers who may not have a technical background.

 Key UX Features

• Real-Time LCD Display: The robot displays live system status such as "ARTSI is Online", "Obstacle Detected!", and the number of potholes detected—keeping the user informed at all times.

• Plug-and-Play Functionality: With automatic path following and sensor activation at startup, no complex setup or calibration is required.

• Emergency Manual Stop: A single button press allows the user to stop all functions instantly for safety and control.

• Smooth Operation: Thanks to PID control, the robot moves fluidly along the path, avoiding jerky behavior that could confuse or concern users.

• Data Visualization: A Python-based live graph helps users interpret terrain smoothness visually, making data analysis user-friendly and insightful.

 Usability Testing Approach

To ensure the UX was not only functional but intuitive, I performed several rounds of usability testing, including:

• Observation-Based Testing: Watching users interact with the robot and noting where they hesitated or misunderstood.

• Stress Testing: Assessing how well the robot responds in unexpected conditions (e.g., sudden obstacles, dark areas, rough terrain).

• Feedback Collection: Gathering comments from peers and advisors to improve user prompts and messages on the LCD.

• Iterative Refinement: Updating the interface and logic based on testing outcomes—like improving the LCD message layout and adjusting PID values for more graceful movement

Also had my fifth meeting with my supervisor Mr. Roshan Renji and updated him on what stage  i was on  for my final year project. And that i had ordered the parts for the robot. The parts had arrived. I had assembled the robot. I was fixing some bugs with the code. And i was conducting unit tests for the components i am using for the robot. I also updated him that i was done with the literature review and that i was 65% done with my report.

Date: 02/04/25

Time: 13:00 (Online)