While attending the +Colabor module Situated Infrastructure, the first thing that came to mind was what the title of this module, “Situated Infrastructure”, was. This is because I could set a topic and proceed with the project only when I understood it. In my opinion, this module is about knowing the infrastructure of this physical space where I exist and figuring out how to improve it and doing it.
Among the numerous infrastructures around, I saw unmanned ordering machines/calculation machines, which are common in fast food stores and supermarkets, as infrastructure that needs improvement. I wanted to help those who had trouble using it.
At first, I cited the disabled and the elderly as people who have difficulty using these machines. So, I investigated exactly what difficulties they had, and what solutions now exist. I mainly looked into the case of Korea because it was easier for me to find a case in Korean.
After reading several papers and articles, not only the process of ordering but also the location of such a machine was a problem for the visually and hearing impaired. And in the case of the elderly, the problem was that they were not used to using electronic devices. For example, buttons that do not have an outline are not recognized as buttons, or they are not familiar with the way touch screens operate without physical buttons.
To solve these problems, the Korean government was developing and distributing barrier-free unmanned machines, or re-socializing the elderly. However, these efforts were limited. There were three years left to mandate the introduction of barrier-free machines, and there was a limit in that the re-socialization program was carried out individually in each local government and the elderly themselves had to find and apply.
Therefore, I made a manual booklet on how to use the machine so that I can help the elderly right at the time of the order. And the booklet was designed on both sides to serve as a poster.
After experiencing several applications (Sullivan + and Seeing AI) to help people with disabilities, I found that this kind of technology was too high for me to implement, so I limited the target to the elderly.
The project conducted in this collaboration module was an opportunity to look deeper into social issues that I was usually interested in. In Korea, the spread of unmanned machines is faster and this is considered a more serious social problem, so I will continue the project even when I return to Korea.