Are virtual holographic assistants of value?

Our local station, Kings Cross, now has one of these holographic assistants reminding people not to take heavy luggage up the escalators but to use the lift instead.

You will note that just to the right, at the bottom of the escalator, is a sign giving the same message. That sign has been there since the station reopened and, we can assume, has not had any impact on people carrying luggage on the escalators and presumably on accident rates.  So they have decided to add to it with this more visible solution.  (this was also picked up by The Guardian)

These holographic assistants have become more common place since we first saw them at Luton Airport a few years ago.

We think the lessons for their use are much clearer now. The main point that they are not a replacement for a real person and should never be used as such.

What they do provide is a different channel to communicate information in a way that can attract attention. In this case, and the same when used to prepare passengers for airport security areas, they deliver information in a way that makes us notice it...at least for a while. This is good in places where static signage is not very noticeable, perhaps because of the complexity of the environment, and is clearly ignored.

The design challenge is probably reflected in the need to regularly vary the way in which this same information is presented as we become desensitised to each approach.

This should include the use of more playful solutions, which we have highlighted a number of times on this blog.  Although designed as a promotion for the Simpsons movie*, you could argue that this was a great way to draw peoples attention to the end of the escalator and improve safety.

* actually it looks like this was never used as an actual advert and the escalators in the movie was created by a street artist in Frankfurt.

Behaviour in crowds and paying attention

Part of what influences our experience of places like airports is how those around us behave.

Of course it's not always positive as far as our own perception goes - a recent piece on-line highlighted the 12 most annoying things other passengers do - http://goo.gl/rRIi6v 

We've probably all experienced most of these (and been guilty of some of them too!).  However we've pointed the link to the one about lack of attention as it tied in with another story we read about the influence of smartphones on people movement.

This article on the BBC website, talked about the growth in smartphone usage in Japan and how it is starting to impact on how, in a busy and congested environment, people navigate around each other. Cultural and social norms in Japan meant this has always worked effectively...until now as the smartphone draws attention away from the surroundings - the emergence of "dumbwalking"

There are lots of companies and operators starting to advocate the use smartphones for things like wayfinding and navigation. This experience suggests this might not be great unless we want more zombie-like people wandering the airports not paying attention!

Update: 15 September 2014
So now a Chinese city has created a special lane for phone users (perhaps not totally seriously!).  It's perhaps not the answer!  But it might be worth watching how people use it.  It certainly is a good reminder of the growing problem of distraction as people walk around our cities.