CODING PROJECT — AI CHATBOT — 2024
NYU NAVIGATOR
YEAR
PLATFORM
DISCIPLINE
TERRITORY
“How can a conversational interface make a sprawling university feel navigable from a single text box?”
ONE TEXT BOX, WHOLE CAMPUS
VioAI is a single-page AI assistant designed to simplify access to NYU’s digital services. By bringing shuttle schedules, personal appointments, campus locations, library links, and other resources into one conversational interface, it reduces repeated logins and unnecessary page navigation. Adaptive information cards surface relevant content when it is needed, helping busy and community-involved students navigate university life more efficiently.
The Problem
Accessing NYU’s digital services often requires students to move between disconnected webpages, repeat logins, and follow several links for basic information. Even the NYU Mobile App primarily redirects users elsewhere, making frequent tasks such as checking shuttle schedules or finding campus resources unnecessarily time-consuming.
General User Profile
VioAI is designed for busy NYU students who regularly use shuttles, appointments, libraries, campus spaces, and other university services. These students are often active in clubs and communities and need quick access to information while moving around campus.
The Objective
VioAI brings university resources into a single conversational interface. The assistant retrieves information without repeated navigation and adapts the interface by presenting relevant content and interactive cards based on the user’s request.
App Demo
The high-fidelity prototype was built in Swift and tested in the Xcode simulator. As of May 2024, VioAI recognized more than 100 NYU locations and could present shuttle times, personal schedules, nearby places, and local weather through clear, interactive cards. When information was unavailable, such as real-time library book availability, the assistant directed users to the most relevant webpage. It also supported casual conversations, including general encouragement, networking advice, and NYU trivia.
At the 2024 ITP/IMA Spring Show
VioAI was exhibited at the ITP/IMA Spring Show on May 12–13, 2024. For the exhibition, the assistant was expanded with information about the department, community members, floor layout, and featured projects. Visitors could ask for recommendations and receive directions to each project’s location, demonstrating how the interface could adapt from a student service tool into an interactive event guide.