2022 · Schiphol & iLabs · Bachelor final project

TravelBuddy

A service that makes the whole airport journey, from arrival to boarding, calmer for senior passengers.

Nobody tells you how much time you have left

Schiphol, 2022

67% of senior passengers experience high to extreme stress at an airport. The question was how to make the entire airport process, from arrival to boarding, more pleasant for this group.

Travellers stall at every checkpoint because nothing tells them how much time they still have. The stress is not the queue itself. It is not knowing whether the queue will cost you your flight.

67%

of senior passengers experience high to extreme stress at the airport. That number set the brief: not a new terminal, a calmer journey through the one that exists.

TodayWith TravelBuddy

Stress level per step, arrival to gate · self-reported scale from the user research, projected for the concept

The scanning point, all sides · Solidworks model

Scan once, know where you stand

Scan your boarding pass at any decision point and get your own remaining time and route, in the type size and language you need. Travellers who get stuck can be helped by the person ahead of them on the same journey, which turns waiting time into help instead of dead time.

From user insights to service concept. I ran the airport research, built the journey map, designed the physical scanning point and the interaction, and tested the concept with the target group.

Traveller passing the scanning point at the Schiphol train station plaza — Schiphol Plaza · first decision point after the train

Render of the TravelBuddy scanning point — Product render · screen at reading height, scanner at hand height

TravelBuddy scanning point at Schiphol — The scanning point at a decision moment in the terminal

The film

A one minute walkthrough of the scanning point and the service around it.

Watch the walkthrough →