My Role: Lead Visual / UI Designer
Duration: Aug 2018 – Jan 2019
The Product: GE Transportation wanted a system that calculated the optimum speed profile and then automatically controlled locomotive throttle and dynamic brakes to reduce fuel consumption and provide efficient train handling.
Responsibilities: High fidelity prototyping, visual design, motion design, exporting assets, images, and UI elements, collaboration with researchers and developers.
Unfortunately, due to privacy reasons, I can’t show the detail of my work for this project. But here are some brief notes about the work I did during that time, showcasing information that is publicly available.
What does it take to enable train automation, improve train handling, and save fuel?
An on-board and GPS systems, railroad aspects and train characteristics — such as length, weight, speed limits, travel time, locomotive performance, ramps and rugged terrain — to determine travel standards, and more.
Imagine a railroad with so many obstacles that, in order to preserve the locomotives, the train operators needed to drive according to different parameters, taking into account unstable and remote areas, sharp curves and speed and acceleration variations.
To give you an idea, train drivers had an instruction manual to drive the train in different sections of the track, with specifications for each car and locomotive, contemplating several territorial and operational factors!
GE Transportation wanted a system that calculates the optimum speed profile and then automatically controls locomotive throttle and dynamic brakes to reduce fuel consumption and provide efficient train handling. In addition to standardize trips, offer greater operational flexibility, and avoid unplanned stops.
With Trip Optimizer, trains should run on time, operate more smoothly, and use fuel more efficiently – resulting in fuel savings and corresponding emissions reduction.
Beginning in 2018 I joined GE, and worked with a small team one UX factors researcher, one product manager, and three software engineers—to help create GE’s digital solution Trip Optimizer, working algonside GE Transportation teams in the United States and Brazil.
Trip Optimizer is a feature available to train drivers as an “autopilot” that can also reduce fuel consumption. To do this, it intelligently calculates the optimal acceleration and braking of the locomotives arrangement considering internal and external factors”,
The solution integrates on-board and GPS systems, taking into account railroad aspects and train characteristics — such as length, weight, speed limits, travel time, locomotive performance, ramps and rugged terrain — to determine travel standards. Thus, it not only provides great gains in safety, but also in productivity.
Our objectives were to implement the controls on a working prototype to be used for research testing, as well as design a mobile app for tablet to be used as a checklist by the train conductors.
I led activities such as user flows, wireframes, high fidelity visual design, and animations. As with any design process, I began by learning about the research to understand about the project and the business objectives.
After an initial brainstorming and sketching, we began to develop an understanding of how the solution would need to work, identifying 5 main steps: initialize trip, trip data, train data, restrictions, and start trip.
The tools we used to design were Sketch & Adobe XD for wireframes/mockops/prototypes, Illustrator to create GUI elements, and After Effects/Lottie to create animations.
The following are views of the App being used in the trains.
During my time working in this project I learned an incredible amount about designing for transportation, one of my favorite things was the benefits these automation systems have such as emissions reduction, efficient train handling, and savings.
Around the world today, there are almost 3,000 trains operating every single day using the operational benefits of this digital solution, resulting in over 16 million kilometres travelled by smart trains!
GETransportation is now a division of Wabtec. It was owned by General Electric until sold to Wabtec on February 25, 2019.
