Voice-activated Transit Assistants

Code for Atlanta volunteers have been developing apps using Amazon Echo to fetch MARTA times. Next we will be exploring Google Home.

A successful transit information exchange relies on open feeds from many ride providers (bus, taxi, Uber, Lyft, etc.). Providing access to individuals without phones will be an essential ingredient to reduce public costs and engage a mix of private and public transit providers in making door-to-door transit fast and affordable.

Join us at the Code for Atlanta Meet Up on Mon. Sept 12, 6pm at Tech Square

KATIE - Knowledge Assistant for Transit, Innovation and Enterprise

KATIE is merely a concept at present. The goal behind KATIE is to unite walkers/bikers/riders with people who need assistance by creating an infrastructure of voice-activated input devices.

To provide easy access to transit exchanges, phone/electric pole could be affixed with voice-activated beacons to allow users to request rides through a competitive exchange, turning each pole into a transit stop that does not require the rider to use their phone. Strict privacy rules and open technology would protect the public from invasive monitoring.

KATIE could be activated by saying "Katie 101" (for info), "Katie 311" (for repairs), "Katie 311" (for directory), "Katie 911" (for emergencies). Users with phones could have custom callouts based on their preference settings, conveyed via bluetooth. Looking into a retina detection lens for several seconds would provide a means for the user to identify themselves for additional ride preference settings. Identification would allow the user to locate rides with friends and co-workers.

Most implementations would be privately funded and owned, with a reward structure that incentivized equitable distribution. Up to 16 beacons could reside within a 6 inch tall bulletproof glass ring wrapping the pole. A solar panel would reside within the ring on the south side of the pole. There would be no screens, only a small red/green led confirmation light, cellular antenna, microphone and speaker. Most rings would contain multiple beacons, to increase competition, redundancy and accountability.

The owner of each beacon would receive a portion of each financial transaction. Requests would go through a crowdsourced filter algorithm to determine which KATIE network responded.

Requests would be an open format for communicating with social networks, with statements like "my children are hungry" or "I think I broke my toe". Responses could be managed through a reward system whereby mobile respondents receive points within game apps and card programs for providing assistance. Respondents could be filtered based on their level of experience and prior response ratings.

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