Orbis – Smart Buddies for Everyday Life

Three questions to the project team

What was the particular challenge of the project from a UX point of view?
The main UX challenge was to make a very complex and abstract topic feel simple, personal and trustworthy. We wanted to design an interface for AI agents that could support people in different areas of everyday life, without making the system feel overwhelming or too technical. A key question was how to show personal data, agent activity and AI-generated information in a way that feels transparent and understandable. It was also important that users stay in control and do not feel like the system is acting as a black box. So the challenge was not only about structuring information, but also about creating a calm and approachable experience around something that can easily feel intimidating.

What was your personal highlight in the development process? Was there an aha!-moment, was there a low point?
A personal highlight was the moment when we understood that transparency is not just an extra feature, but the core of the whole experience. At first, the system felt very technical and abstract. But once we started to see the agents as an interconnected network around the user, the concept became much clearer. The aha moment was realizing that even a highly complex AI system can feel calm, natural and human if the interface explains what is happening and why. A low point was definitely trying to understand how current agent systems actually work. The topic is complex and sometimes quite overwhelming, but that also helped us sharpen the project and make stronger design decisions.

Where do you see yourself and the project in the next five years?
In the next five years, we see ourselves continuing to work on the question of how AI can become more understandable, transparent and human-centered. This project showed us how relevant the topic already is, especially at a time when data is often handled in unclear ways and AI systems are becoming harder to understand. We do not see this project as a finished product, but more as a starting point for further exploration. In the future, we want to keep questioning how AI systems are designed, who they are designed for, and how they can support people without taking away control. Ideally, we want to help shape AI experiences that feel useful, responsible and close to real human needs.