Delta Fingerprint Scanner
‘Delta Biometrics’: Finger prints now give entry to Sky Club lounges
USA Today
Delta Sky Club member will be able to use fingerprint readers to gain access to the lounges…
The Development Process
Concept Sketch Phase
The sketches visualized the thought process behind the intended user experience.
Study Modeling
A collection of low-fidelity study models were created to validate feature placement and overall aesthetic form.
Electrical Testing
Adding lighting effects and integrating a new scanner into the existing electronics package.
Forming the Prototype
A requirement of a low volume run of manufactured units required a working first full prototype.
The Client
The previous fingerprint scanner was very unintuitive, and often caused confusion. To resolve this, the guest services team had created a number of signs and indicators to help visitors through the process, though with limited success. Kickr Design was tasked to quickly design and help manufacture a solution. The Delta Guest Services team understood the need to not alter the current electronics – adjustments would have been a costly endeavor. After discussing the problem we set off on an in-person contextual and user research phase to better define the problem and understand the environmental factors.
The Challenge
The goal was to have a more intuitive way for passengers to check-in to the sky lounge area. This meant an improved user experience, which allowed a more seamless process for check in. The guest services team could then spend more time with visitors who needed special assistance. Under the constraints of a very tight timeline, Kickr Design had to study the customer behaviors of the check-in process and find where the pain-points were that elicited any delays and frustrations. A practical challenge was that the Kickr Design team needed to revamp the outward appearance and rearrange some of the interface features having to use the same internal electronics package. Some notable services provided were:
- User research – Kickr sent a team to the airport to study the customer check-in context and better frame the project requirements.
- Concepting – we Concepted the user flow, UI (such as visual and haptic feedback) and analysis of how to integrate existing electronics and save time by not having to re-certify.
- Form exploration – designing physical mock-ups from low to high fidelity, helped finalize the decision for the desired industrial design embodiment before pulling the trigger on manufacturing.
- New supplemental PCB design to interface a new scanner with existing electronics.
The Results
Understanding the timeline and requirements from a high level allowed Kickr to move quickly through the project and reach a desirable outcome. Something that enhanced the Delta team’s check-in process included the user research data gleaned that helped them understand user behaviors much better.
