Picture yourself stepping onto a driverless that you can call at any time, from anywhere. What information would you expect during your journey? How would you seek help or report issues?

These were the intriguing questions posed by TPG, Geneva's public transport authority, at the Smart City Xperience 2024 hackathon in November 2024.

This 24-hour innovation marathon, organized by Open Geneva at the Haute École de Gestion de Genève (Geneva School of Business Administration), united 70 diverse minds, primarily students from the school's Sustainable Management program, to tackle 7 sustainability challenges. Among these challenges was TPG's project to design a user-friendly interface for the self-driving buses of the future.

As part of the EU-funded ULTIMO project, TPG and other partners are working to develop self-driving bus services across Europe.

They participated in Open Geneva's hackathon to engage with young people and gain insights into their needs and preferences for future autonomous vehicles, aiming to refine their current concepts. We interviewed Quentin Matthewson from TPG to learn more about the hackathon and its takeaways for the ULTIMO project.

Quentin Matthewson brainstorming with one of the students participating in the hackathon

Tell us more about your innovation challenge and your expectations from the hackathon?

"As part of the ULTIMO project, we're developing a user-friendly interface for future autonomous vehicles. To ensure we're on the right track and meeting the needs of future passengers, we invited students to work on our hackathon challenge.

Their feedback confirmed that a simple, functional approach is key. A clear display screen, for example, can significantly enhance the user experience. By involving this younger generation, who are already frequent users of public transportation, we can ensure that our future services meet their needs and expectations."

The team of students and TPG representatives at the Smart City Xperience 2024

How did the students and professionals collaborate on the project?

"The collaboration between the students and professionals was surprisingly positive. Initially, there were concerns about the students' engagement, but they proved to be highly motivated and enthusiastic about the project.

The students were skilled in utilizing AI tools, to generate sounds, logos, and other visual elements. This innovative approach impressed us, since we're less familiar with these technologies.

Overall, the collaboration was successful, with the students contributing creative ideas and technical expertise, while the professionals provided guidance and industry insights."

What did you find to be the most valuable aspect of the hackathon experience?

"The hackathon format proved to be an effective way to generate innovative ideas and rapid prototyping. The time constraints encouraged focused work and efficient decision-making. Additionally, the collaborative nature of the event fostered teamwork and knowledge sharing.

However, one challenge was the limited time for in-depth discussions and exploration of creative concepts. This was particularly evident during the drawing exercise, where the students may have preferred to focus on technical implementation.

Despite this, the hackathon provided valuable insights into the students' perspectives and helped to refine the project's direction. The final presentations, though brief, demonstrated the potential of the proposed solutions and highlighted the importance of concise and impactful communication."

How did the students' proposed solutions align with the project's goals, particularly in terms of user experience?

"The students' ideas were surprisingly aligned with our own, especially regarding user experience and potential challenges. They demonstrated a strong understanding of the user perspective, envisioning themselves as passengers in driverless vehicles and considering various scenarios, including worst-case scenarios. Their focused approach and attention to detail were impressive."

The students' innovative solution, developed with guidance from TPG, was a crowd favorite and won the "favorite project" award elected by hackathon community.

The students presenting their solution with an interactive presentation and immersive role play during the final pitch. 

The hackathon proved to be an enriching experience for team member and student Xavier Stouder. He gained a deeper understanding and was inspired to reflect on the potential of future transportation and emerging technologies:

“The hackathon taught me a lot about autonomous vehicles. I didn’t know there were already some in Geneva, near Belle-Idée. It’s clear that autonomous transport will soon be part of our daily lives. We’re already seeing this trend with self-driving cars. But the goal is to have no drivers at all! We need to figure out how we’re going to interact with these new vehicles. I think it could help us reach people in more rural areas, without someone having to get up really early in the morning to drive all the way out there.” 

Team member and student, Xavier Stouder, presenting the team's solution

What are the next steps in terms of implementing or further exploring the ideas generated during the hackathon?

"We will be implementing what we learned during the hackathon straight away! It's going to be part of a task with partners such as Siemens, who is focusing on accessibility and user-friendliness. By incorporating the ideas generated during the hackathon, we aim to create a display system that caters to the needs of all passengers, including those with reduced mobility and visual impairments. This will go beyond safety features and enhance the overall user experience."

Read more about the Smart City Xperience 2024 or the EU-funded ULTIMO project.