Application of Conversational UX for Navigation at Indian Railway Stations

The Indian Railways, which serves millions of passengers and handles a substantial volume of freight daily, underscores the critical importance of improving railway station infrastructure, with a particular emphasis on navigation systems. For instance, data indicates that Indian Railways transports over 23 million passengers daily, highlighting the significant demand and the necessity for an enhanced navigation system. Given the vast daily footfall, there is an urgent need to optimise navigation facilities to ensure efficient and seamless movement within railway stations. The railway stations currently do not have adequate resources to answer the queries of passengers, which essentially contributes to an unpleasant travel experience. Therefore, the incorporation of the advanced navigation system is much needed. This study aims to examine the deficiencies in the existing navigation system employed by the Indian Railways and proposes an innovative approach to enhance its efficacy. To tackle this challenge, the study employs a conversational User Experience (UX) design methodology as a potential solution. A design intervention (DI) is proposed, by taking the stakeholder needs and concerns into consideration at each stage. A solution including ‘Smart Glass’ integrated with voice Bot is designed with the primary goal of providing auditory and visual assistance for navigation through augmented and virtual reality (AR/VR).