Building the Touchscreen for Commercial Cleaning Robot
00 Overview
A new touchscreen interface for a commercial cleaning robot that will be developed in 2025 Q1.
Uniring Robotics, a developer of commercial cleaning robots, is revolutionizing the industry with a new and improved robot featuring an integrated 10-inch screen.
This innovative design replaces a complex web interface with a user-friendly touchscreen, simplifying the user experience for janitorial staff, cleaning crews, and company administrators.
Our work is predicted to significantly boost efficiency by 43%. The user-centric design approach has already garnered significant interest, with Rakuten pre-ordering over 200 robots.
The Team
4 Designers, 5 Engineers
1 Director, 1 Project Manager
My Role
UX Designer/Researcher:
Focus on Map Building and Task Scheduling
Duration
3 months
(Nov2023 - Jan 2024)
Company
Uniring Robotics
Introducing Full Editing...Directly on the Tablet!
Let's Build the Maps!
Final Solution
Denoise
V2 Improvement: Custom shape creation for enhanced precision in defining areas. We merged the cleaning zone creation options (nodes and drawing) for a simpler user experience. The Next button is now disabled until edits are complete, guiding users to effectively engage with editing tools.
Final Solution
Add Areas
Limited by predefined shapes, users struggled to accurately define areas such as eligible areas and cleaning zones.
Similarly, route editing lacked flexibility: a single mistake meant deleting and redrawing the entire route.
V2 Improvement:
Custom shape creation for zones. Route editing includes backtracking functionality, eliminating the need to redraw entire routes.
Let's delve deeper into this project!
Ready to see how we brought this to life?
Let's rewind and explore the design process step-by-step, uncovering our work behind it.
We began by conducting an inventory of our available resources and then created a research plan with a finite timeframe:
🤖 MIO1
Being a remote team, we explored online testing and observation via Zoom to gather data on the robot's performance and user interaction.
🧹 Sanitary Supply Exhibition
Leveraging the 2023 ISSA Show, our sales and engineering team gained insights from existing and potential customers without additional research costs.
💣 The Competitors
Analyzing the cleaning robotics field, we focused on user reactions to competitor features to differentiate our product and better address user needs.
Our Research and Findings
The Users
Through in-depth user testing and casual interviews with several participants, we gained valuable insights. Here's what we learned (for map editing):
Disjointed User Experience
Users find the workflow confusing, particularly when switching between the robot's physical buttons, the website's system pages, and navigating back and forth within the information architecture.
This suggests a need for a more streamlined and integrated user experience.
Lack of flexibility
Users are forced to create complex shapes like polygons and circles by overlaying multiple quadrilaterals when editing a map. Additionally, there's no efficient way to select overlapping areas. These limitations significantly increase the time users spend completing tasks.
Same issue also appears when it comes to rotating the map after scanning, there isn't a efficient way for users to do it.
The Competitor
To gain insights into the strengths and weaknesses of our main competitor, GS-Robot, we conducted user interviews and supplemented them with online research. Here's what we found (for map editing):
Fingers Causing Accuracy Issue
A common complaint from GS-Robot's touchscreen users is difficulty drawing precise areas and routes. Their fingers can block the view of what they're drawing, making it frustrating to see the final result.
There are three main user groups for this interface, each with different needs. The functionalities I worked on are primarily used by cleaning staff and cleaning company employees.
Janitors
Often older adults who operates the robot when it's in manual mode.
Usually with less experience using technical products. Their functionalities prioritize clear, simple, and large UI elements for ease of use.
Cleaning Staffs
This user group consists of in-house company employees responsible for building maps, creating and scheduling cleaning tasks.
They are more comfortable with technology, allowing them to handle more complex functionalities within the interface.
Cleaning Company Employees
This group manages cleaning businesses, often serving multiple clients at diverse locations within a day. Their needs combine those of admins and janitors, but with more complexity in scheduling tasks across various clients and locations.
Reimagining Map Interaction
Remember the pain point of our current users and the users of GS-Robot have with the map editing method?
To address the lack of flexibility, and surpass our competitor, I came up with a new way for users to interact with the map, and iterated on the design with my team.
Solution 1
Consolidate Eligible Area Editing
Through iterative user testing, we discovered that users struggled to differentiate the concept between drawing complex shapes and using preset rectangles. This confusion stemmed from the information hierarchy within the interface.
In response, we streamlined the experience by merging these options into a single card. Users can now choose their preferred method (complex shapes or rectangles) after tapping on the card. This simplifies the initial presentation and gives users the control over their selection.
Initial Design
4 Cards Option
Final Solution
3 Cards Option
Solution 2
Drawing Without Finger Obstruction
Freehand drawing presented three key challenges: significant development hurdles, lack of accuracy, and potential finger obstruction based on competitor user feedback.
To address these concerns, we devised a new solution: allowing users to set a fixed point as an anchor and move the map while drawing. Interestingly, I later discovered that this approach mirrors how users interact with the Uber app, potentially reducing the learning curve for our users.
Initial Design
Draw with Freehand
Final Solution
Drag the Map
Solution 3
Improving Pin Visibility
Our initial pin design used a simple "+" symbol. However, user feedback reported difficulty locating these pins on complex maps.
To address this need for improved visibility, we switched to dynamic bubbles as the pin. These bubbles also provide an additional benefit: their appearance can now indicate whether the map is currently in "moving mode" or not.
Initial Design
Use "+" as Pin
Final Solution
Use Bubble as Pin
Solution 4
Rotating the Map
Previously, rotating maps was limited to 90-degree increments. Our research, however, revealed that users often prefer to orient maps with north at the top or match their walking direction.
Our improved design addresses this need with greater flexibility. Users can draw any line, such as one parallel to a wall, and then rotate that line vertically. The entire map will rotate accordingly.
Previous System
Rotating Map in 90 Degrees
Final Solution
Rotating Map with Reference Line
Milestones and Achievement
Design successfully completed and delivered to engineers with comprehensive annotations.
2025 Q1
is expected to be designed, manufactured, and ready for consumers to hit shelves.
200+
robots are pre-ordered by Rakuten Korea after a new interface impressed.
43%
efficiency gain is predicted using the new interface, compared to the initial robot.
What I've Learned
→ Designing for a Physical Robot
This project presented a unique challenge: designing an interface for robot operation. Unlike previous experiences, the design needed to consider not only user needs but also the physical limitations and capabilities of the robot itself. This broadened my perspective on interface design, requiring me to balance user and machine needs and design for physical needs.
→ Leverage alternative user research methods
In this project, we went beyond traditional surveys and conducted in-depth usability testing to gather richer user insights. This experience solidified my understanding that UX designers/researchers are the ones who think outside the box, and to get the result we want, we have to grasp every possible opportunity.
→ Know the acceptance requirements
By discussing about the acceptance requirements and documenting potential challenges, even if not immediately solvable, proved valuable. It allows for future product development to address those issues proactively.
→ Build a design system from 0 to 1
This project provided a valuable opportunity to build a design system from the ground up. This experience significantly enhanced my understanding of component selection, pattern recognition, and guideline creation. Building a design system from scratch has been instrumental in deepening my knowledge of these core design principles.
