63. A Novel User-Centric Assistive Device for Enhancing Luggage Security in Indian Railways

The security system at the Indian railways mainly focuses on X-ray scanning of baggage and metal detectors for ruling out possibility of any life-threatening object. Though so, the current management does not focus on the user centric needs of safety and security as a service within the trains. The number of passengers traveling by Indian railways is ever increasing, and implanting a strong security system at all major/minor stations remains a challenge. Baggage theft in trains has remained unapprehended as a crime causing people to stay attentive by themselves which add to cognitive load for the users/passengers. To investigate this problem from a design perspective, field research was performed based on a survey of 101 participants, and 15+ interviews were conducted as a part of direct observation and analysis. Multiple user case scenarios were used to generate insights based on which a solution was proposed. This solution presents an electronic device which is paired with a smartphone. The user can place this device inside the baggage for leveraging the security of their luggage. On lifting the bag without informing its owner, the device shall detect and pass the information to the owner’s smartphone through wireless technology. The smartphone receives the data and raises an alarm. The device is insensitive to the rotation and vibration of the train movement. The design of the user interface in the smartphone is based on the heuristic design principles to facilitate maximum convenience for users to operate it.