NOVA
AR road safety glasses for children
Project Type
Professional
Timeline
2025.2-2025.8
Team
2 Designers and Meg McLaughlin (Innovation Specialist)
Responsibilities
Research, Prototype, Testing
CONTEXT
Exploring child-centered mobility through design collaboration
This milestone project was developed in collaboration between CCA and the UNICEF Innovation Node. We worked closely with Meg McLaughlin, Innovation Specialist at the Node, receiving feedback throughout the process to guide and refine our direction.
The UNICEF Innovation Node is a specialized hub within UNICEF that focuses on early-stage ideas and prototypes, partnering with designers and technologists to explore scalable solutions. Through this partnership, we investigated how human-centered design can create safer, more inclusive mobility systems for children in underserved communities over the next 3 to 10 years.
PROBLEM
Independence vs. parental reassurance
Children face safety risks when navigating cities on their own, such as traffic hazards, unfamiliar routes, and limited situational awareness. At the same time, parents often feel anxious about giving children independence in public spaces. Current navigation tools are not designed for kids, and constant phone-based tracking can feel either intrusive for the child or overwhelming for the parent.
SOLUTION
AR guidance for children, safety controls for parents
We designed Nova, an AR glasses system paired with a mobile companion app, to make children’s independent mobility safer and more confidence-building.
For children
The AR glasses provide simple HUD text, responsive navigation guidelines, and a friendly mascot that guides them safely while encouraging awareness.
For parents
The companion app allows setup of child profiles, emergency contacts, and safe zones. Parents receive real-time alerts if their child steps outside the boundary, offering reassurance without constant surveillance.
RESEARCH
Scope of the Challenge
To better understand the context of independent child mobility, we reviewed global data on road safety and parental concerns:
Global burden
Road traffic injuries are the leading cause of death for children ages 5–19, with nearly 220,000 lives lost every year — over 600 each day. These incidents disproportionately affect children in low- and middle-income countries where road safety infrastructure is limited.
Preventable injuries
More than 1,600 children and adolescents die daily from preventable injuries, and traffic crashes remain the single largest contributor. Many of these deaths are linked to unsafe walking conditions, poor visibility, and lack of protective infrastructure near schools and residential areas.
Parental concerns
In the U.S., one in five parents have never allowed their teen to travel alone, even for short trips. Parents cite traffic dangers, unfamiliar routes, and potential abductions, underscoring the tension between fostering independence and ensuring safety.
RESEARCH
Why we build the Navigation AR Glasses
We explored both community perspectives and expert insights to ground our design direction. Our team attended mobility and child-safety events to capture emerging challenges, interviewed five parents from different parts of the world about their children’s experiences navigating public spaces, and ran co-creation workshops to brainstorm and evaluate potential solutions. These activities gave us a balanced view of parental concerns and children’s desire for independence, shaping the criteria for our evaluation.
From this process, we chose to focus on Navigation AR Glasses. While feasibility today is moderate compared to simpler tools like GPS watches or mobile apps, the concept carries strong futuristic potential. As AR hardware continues to improve and become more affordable, glasses can provide real-time guidance that balances safety with independence while also delivering an engaging experience for children, something existing solutions struggle to achieve.
IDEATION
Design opportunity
How might we design AR glasses that guide children safely in public spaces, balance independence with parental reassurance, and remain simple and engaging enough for everyday use?
DESIGN
Success Metrics
To guide the development of the Navigation AR Glasses, we defined clear metrics that balance children’s independence with parental reassurance. These focus on building confidence, ensuring safety, and encouraging exploration while keeping both children and parents at ease.
Child navigation confidence
Children feel more capable and secure when navigating public spaces independently.
Parental reassurance
Parents gain peace of mind knowing their child is supported and monitored within safe boundaries.
Safety incident reduction
Fewer risks and accidents occur as children are better guided and more aware of their surroundings.
Independence encouragement
Children develop autonomy by exploring safely without constant parental oversight.
DESIGN CHALLENGE 1
Presenting information clearly without overwhelming the user
I researched different types of AR text displays and evaluated their suitability for this project. Based on that study, I chose HUD text as the primary approach because it keeps essential details like distance, estimated time, and alerts in fixed positions, making them stable and always visible without blocking the main view.
For navigation guidance, I integrated responsive elements that adapt to user movement, while keeping text anchored in fixed locations to ensure readability. This combination strikes a balance between clarity and stability, enabling children to access critical information without feeling overwhelmed.
DESIGN CHALLENGE 2
Balancing safety with independence
At first, we focused mainly on the child’s view, designing AR glasses to guide kids with navigation cues and hazard alerts. But testing showed this wasn’t enough—parents still felt anxious. They wanted alerts, SOS triggers, and reassurance beyond what the child saw, so we expanded the system to include a parent-facing layer of notifications and controls.
This shift transformed the concept from a child-only tool into a paired system where parents and children onboard together. Children receive simple, encouraging guidance through the glasses, building confidence to navigate more independently, while parents manage safe zones, alerts, and emergency options in the companion app, giving them the reassurance they need.
DESIGN CHALLENGE 3
Making the experience engaging without distraction
A key challenge was keeping the interface simple enough for children to follow while still making the experience engaging. We intentionally designed the AR interface with minimal colors and clean visuals to reduce distractions in real-world environments. But this simplicity risked feeling too plain or uninviting for kids.
To solve this, we introduced Nova, a friendly mascot. The name Nova means “new star,” symbolizing guidance, discovery, and growth. It carries a navigation meaning while also aligning with UNICEF’s focus on supporting children. Nova uses strong color contrast against the environment, embodies the project’s values of safety and encouragement, and guides children in a playful yet clear way. This makes the system engaging and approachable for kids without overwhelming them or distracting from their surroundings.
USABILITY TESTING
Iterative feedback to refine the experience
Over a one-month prototype sprint, we tested with 10 parents, sometimes together with their children, two to three families each week. Their feedback on navigation clarity, safety features, and usability guided key refinements to the AR glasses and companion app, making the system more practical, child-friendly, and reassuring for parents.
Major problems solved from usability feedback
Simplified navigation cues by clarifying text, icons, and language.
Strengthened safety with alerts, SOS functions, and danger warnings.
Improved the companion app with easier onboarding, safe zone setup, and parent–child contact options.
Reduced visual clutter so children could focus on key guidance.
Refined hardware concept toward thinner, more child-friendly glasses.
FINAL DELIVERABLES
Companion App Onboarding
Through the companion app, parents connect the AR glasses, create a child profile, add emergency contacts, and define safety zones such as home or school. Once setup is complete, they can monitor their child’s location in real time and receive instant alerts if the child leaves a designated safe area, ensuring independent yet secure navigation.
AR Glasses Onboarding
The AR glasses onboarding introduces kids to using Nova through simple, voice-based interactions. Guided prompts teach them how to start navigation with a wake phrase, clearly state destinations, and follow Nova’s real-time directions. Kids also learn they can call for help at any time, ensuring both independence and safety during their journeys.
Navigation Mode
Navigation mode for the AR glasses guides kids step by step to school using voice commands and clear visual cues. Children can start their trip with simple prompts, choose their destination, and follow safe, turn-by-turn directions enhanced with contextual alerts like construction zones or traffic lights. Along the way, progress updates and friendly characters keep the journey engaging, and kids are celebrated when they safely arrive at school.
Freedom Mode
In Freedom Mode, the AR glasses give kids more independence while still ensuring safety, offering gentle reminders and alerts as they explore. The system warns when leaving a safe area, discourages unsafe interactions, and guides them to safe places when needed. With step-by-step navigation and positive reinforcement, children gain confidence moving around on their own while parents remain reassured.
"Collaborating with the CCA design team was a meaningful experience. They brought creativity and a strong user-centered approach, and their prototype clearly demonstrated how AR could support safer and more independent mobility for children."
— Meg McLaughlin, Innovation Specialist, UNICEF Innovation Node
REFLECTION
This speculative project explores how children’s mobility may evolve in the next 3 to 10 years, balancing safety, independence, and parental reassurance. While AR navigation can build confidence, we also considered the risk of overdependence. Moving forward, the focus is on shaping the system into an educational tool that fosters real-world skills and awareness, encouraging independence beyond technology.
Thanks for reading! 😊
© 2025 Chang Mou. Crafted with 💪 and ❤️
