Save Ciccio

Delivery drivers experience an above-average number of traffic incidents for a variety of reasons. As part of an innovative project with Kiska GmbH, my team and I were tasked with addressing this issue after a university-run research lab connected us with the company.

Because we had similar backgrounds and skill sets, everyone contributed throughout the project. We conducted extensive research with participants from multiple countries, built more than 80 interactive devices, and delivered a full-stack product design with a functional, 3D-printed alpha prototype.

We began with broad desktop research. We investigated incident rates among delivery drivers and motorcyclists, the effect of weather, and road-safety laws across several European countries, including how those laws affected real-world outcomes.

We also studied drivers’ daily routines: watching hours of shift footage, creating accounts on commonly used delivery apps, and examining current and upcoming safety products.

We followed the desktop research with 14 interviews involving delivery drivers from Berlin, Munich, Salzburg, Vienna, Rome, and Athens. The sessions produced almost nine hours of audio, which we transcribed. Once we had contextualized the quantitative findings and analyzed the interviews, we assembled a comprehensive set of insights.

Some findings, such as weather conditions and the enforcement of effective safety laws, were beyond our scope. Most others were actionable. Phone use was the clearest opportunity: desktop research indicated that it contributed to more than one-third of motorbike accidents, and every participant explicitly described phones as a distraction.

Other risks included riders not wearing helmets, delivery apps that encouraged speeding, and car drivers who failed to notice motorbikes.

We explored the opportunities that seemed most feasible to address. During brainstorming, no idea was too unconventional; sketches helped us make each possibility concrete enough to discuss.

We soon began prototyping the strongest ideas. Everyone experimented with Arduino boards, code, crafting materials, and even Lego bricks. Our goal was to identify ideas that were technically viable and could genuinely improve safety.

At this stage, we divided more clearly into specialist roles, although at least two people remained involved in each area. I focused on refining the Arduino code, designing the interaction model, and creating a basic mobile interface.

Other team members developed communication between the device and our phones, designed the housing in CAD for 3D printing, planned validation, and prepared the pitch deck and documentation.

The device centred on a large button that drivers could press without looking away from the road. Based on context sent by the connected phone, one press could answer a call, accept a delivery, or complete one. Text-to-speech relayed key information so drivers could keep their eyes on the road.

The top of the button could also slide along one axis, vertically or horizontally, depending on how it was mounted. This enabled additional actions in apps chosen by the driver. We used Spotify and Siri or Google Assistant as defaults because every interviewee mentioned looking away to change music, and half relied on voice assistants.

None of us owned a motorbike, but we had the next best thing: bicycles. Two team members rode through the city with the prototype and helmet-mounted GoPros. The rest of us sent delivery requests, asked them to change music or use a voice assistant, and called mid-ride to simulate common delivery scenarios.

Both riders felt that we had achieved our goal and reported barely glancing at their phones throughout the test. Kiska subsequently handled further validation with motorcycle riders.

We delivered a functional alpha prototype, a design proposal for a custom microprocessor, reusable code components, detailed interaction diagrams, and a 15-page summary of the research.