Owen Crosby Sims

Emergency Blue Light Phone Study

Ann Arbor, MI

Winter 2023


DESCRIPTION
Building on the the previous inquiry into the utility of Emergency Blue Light Phones (EBLPs), the second part realizes that there has never been rigorous assessment of EBLPs.

Existing data maintained by the University of Michigan is incomplete, out of date, and lacks accessibility information — most importantly it fails to reflect the existing condition of a degrading EBLP system.

Our proposal is for a citizen science app to collect meaningful, current data that reflects the EBLP user population in Ann Arbor.

This project was recognized at the 2024 Taubman College Student Exhibition highlighting the best student work across the college.
TYPOLOGY
Service Design, Urban Informatics
ROLE
Student Designer

COURSE
UT 230
MENTOR
Elisa Ngan

TEAM
Haewon Park

AWARDS
2024 Taubman College Student Exhibition Nominee

2024 Student Exhibition Redesigned Poster



Existing EBLPs


Proposal Context

EBLPs often act as a form of security theater; however they serve a necessary purpose for some in emergency situations. Many EBLPs have broken lights, missing signage, rusty latches, and are frequently found on elevated, uneven, or largely unaccommodating surfaces.

Our mission became to to develop a data collection tool that provides current data on the condition and accessibility of Ann Arbor’s EBLPs, so we created the moniker SAFERS (Students Advocating For Emergency Response Systems) as a fictional, independent, privately funded group working to collect hard data on EBLPs in order to credibly advocate the University to update the system.
The SAFERS data collection app by allows members of the Ann Arbor community to submit data about EBLPs they encounter in their day to day lives. Participants are financially incentivized on a per submission basis with a minimum number of submissions required before being able to cash out.

Participants are limited on the number of daily and individual EBLP submissions to make to ensure a holistic picture of the system is collected. The data collection period would last for sixty days with a goal of generating around 10,000 individual submissions. Data will be analyzed and recommendations made to the University’s department of safety and procurement office.


Data Focused Proposal

We expect the results to highlight a lack of accessibility in the EBLP system for users with physical, visual, and auditory disabilities as well as the general subpar condition of the system.

This may or may not include:
- More vibrant and easily visible EBLPs
- EBLPs with bolder signage and less vandalism
- Functional blue lights and LEDs on all EBLPs
- Standardized design that does not require fine motor skills 
- Placement of EBLPs to be at a universal height on flat, wheelchair accessible surfaces adjacent to sidewalks and clear from landscaping

The SAFERS data collection app is presented as a market ready solution to generate holistic and up-to-date data on EBLPs; the design can be broadly applied to a range of urban data challenges.

Additional

The full Figma board containing a simulated user flow of the SAFERS app can be found here