Kodi

UX DESIGN / MOBILE APP
PROJECT OVERVIEW
Kodi is an AI companion app designed to help children with Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) to manage transitional and challenging moments in their lives.
ROLE
Thematic Analysis, Wireframe, Prototype
PERIOD
🌱 Mar - Apr 2023
TOOL
Figma, Miro
TEAM
David, Kevin, Narayan, Serene
RESEARCH
/ Background
Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a developmental disorder that affects social communication and interaction. Although the symptoms vary depending on individuals, a large number of people with autism struggle with sensory processing, rigidity of thought, anxiety, and repetitive behaviors. Autistic communities are facing challenges in many aspects of their lives, such as employment, education, independence, and accessing public transportation.
/ Data Analysis
To better understand the autistic communities, we reviewed 9 videos focusing on the travel of autistic people and 60 posts from online community groups. With these data, we conducted thematic analysis.
THEMATIC ANALYSIS KEY FINDINGS
💥 Overstimulation and Meltdowns
•     Loud noises
•     Flashing lights/strobing
•     Busy crowds
•     Changes to the plan
👪 Dependency on Caregivers
•     Scared of being alone
•     Anxiety
•     Hard to interact with strangers

🔁 Repetitions
•     Repetitions to learn something
•     Repetitive routine and actions


Having to face these triggers, especially on a regular basis, comes with the increased chance of a meltdown or shutdown - something that every autistic person will want to avoid.
I'm scared and I can't do it. I'm never alone in public places.
We've repeated it for a month now and he is getting better and better.
DEFINE
/ Brainstorm
❝ AI and robots are great tutors for autistic children because they can repeat instructions, stories and answers numerous times, without getting fatigued.❞
Companion apps
AI conversation tools
Challenges faced by young people with Autism in managing transitions and life events
/ User Persona
Sarah
11-year-old child with Autism
Scenario
Will be traveling by plane on holiday with her parents. Has never flow before and is nervous about the experience.
Goals
Wants to go through transitions without triggering meltdowns or with reduced stress and anxiety.
Frustrations
Unexpected changes. Busy and noisy places. Struggles to understand own emotions and responses to challenges.
John
Sarah's dad, 33-year-old
Scenario
Will be taking Sarah on her first plane trip as his family goes on holiday.
Goals
Wants to help Sarah avoid meltdowns or feel less stressful and arrive to the destination safely.
Frustrations
Needs to take care of Sarah and the trip at the same time
IDEATION
/ Design Requirements

Child View

Parent Dashboard
Ability to interpret child's needs based on conversation
Ability to create events that buddy can be aware of
Ability to speak and show written responses
Being able to input child's current feelings
Help easing anxiety in new experiences

Contextual support
Multiple input options (speech, text, etc.)
Buddy recognizes sounds and prompts coping mechanisms

Simple UI

Emotional connection
/ Initial Sketches
The app is paired with a customizable companion case that adds additional sensory elements. The screen/app acts as the character "face" while the case adds a physical comforting body.
/ Branding
/ Prototypes
/ Child View
Transition.
Kodi asks how the child is feeling about the trip. The user can answer using emoji buttons, speech-to-text, or the keyboard.
Based on the child's feeling, Kodi suggests some activities.
Daily.
/ Parent View
The parent user can create an event that will be shared with Kodi.
The child's feelings are summarized in a timeline and graph for easy visualization based on their responses.
Data on the child's emotions after completing each activity is logged and analyzed to understand which activities are effective.
TEST
/ User Testing
We used UserTesting.com to test the prototypes of the child view. We had to recruit adult participants between the ages of 18 and 50 due to the limited age options. The participants were mostly from United States and Canada. We asked them to answer using the emoji keyboard and complete a breathing exercise. After completing the tasks, we asked if there were any frustrations and their thoughts on Kodi character.
/ Results
Most of the participants answered that Kodi was very easy to use, especially for children to communicate their feelings. They picked the change of Kodi's facial expressions as their favorite part of the app.
USER TESTING QUOTES
It's very easy to use from what I have seen
This is definitely a major step forward, especially for children with autism adults too
I like how easy it was for a child to communicate their feelings
I love the change of the facial expressions