Interactive Prototype · AI Guidance Agent
Live Prototype
Note
Under NDA. Client and product identity are confidential, VIGIL is an alias, not the product's real name, and identifying details have been changed throughout. This case study covers the design problem, my role, and what shipped, at the level of detail the NDA allows.
Role
Product Design, Research
Timeline
12 Weeks
Team
Product Designer, AI Engineers, Developers
Skills
UX Design, Research, Interaction Design, Content Strategy
OVERVIEW
An AI guidance agent for EV incident response
VIGIL is an AI guidance agent that gives first responders real-time, scenario-adaptive guidance through EV incidents.
Built over 12 weeks for a company working at the intersection of insurance claims and automotive safety technology, piloted on the Tesla Model Y as the first vehicle.
This case study covers the workstream I owned and finished - research, interaction design, information architecture, and the prototype.
THE PROBLEM
One incident, Two roles, Opposite timing
First responders arriving at an EV incident carry manufacturer PDFs, static rescue sheets that don't adapt to what's actually happening at the scene.
Inside a single incident, two responders need opposite things from the same information: the first responder accumulates context continuously across a response that runs from intake through handoff, while the tow operator who takes the vehicle next starts from zero, needing that same context before they touch it, not reconstructed after.
Same incident, same facts, opposite timing — the agent had to carry context forward without either responder re-entering it.
RESEARCH
How We Learned What VIGIL Needed To Know
We didn't have access to practicing firefighters or tow operators. Our inputs were documentary, but they were authoritative and current.
Manufacturer and regulatory documentation — Tesla's Emergency Response Guide, NFPA's EV field guide, NHTSA interim guidance. This defined the actual procedural sequence: disablement steps, cut zones, de-energization timing.
Four NTSB case investigations — Lake Forest, Fort Lauderdale, Spring TX, Coral Gables. Real incidents, not hypotheticals. Every one traced back to the same failure: information the first responder had wasn't accurately transferred to whoever handled the vehicle next.
Competitive analysis against five existing tools, scored on six criteria. Every one scored 1/5 on scenario adaptation and persistent state - confirming the gap wasn't a hunch, it was the entire category's blind spot.
SOLUTION
One Agent, Two Roles In Sequence
One persistent handoff record, built automatically as the incident progresses, shared across two role-specific portals. The entry point changes with who's asking; the record underneath doesn't reset.
CORE SCREENS
Guide the response in real time
First responders needed guidance that adapted to what was actually happening at the scene, not a static document they had to search under pressure.
I designed the incident chat as the primary interface. VIGIL reads what the responder reports and adapts its response - flagging critical hazards automatically, citing 1–2 sources on every message so the responder can verify without leaving the conversation.
Carry the handoff forward
Tow operators needed the context the first responder had already gathered, before they arrived and not the reconstructed one from memory.
I built the handoff record to generate automatically from the incident chat. The first responder confirms a few key fields before it locks, then the record travels with the vehicle straight into the tow operator's portal.
Give tow operators a head start
Tow operators needed the incident's key facts and continued access to guidance, without again being describing of an incident they weren't present for.
I gave the tow operator portal a read-only view of the handoff record, plus continued access to VIGIL scoped to load and transport guidance for the vehicle in front of them.
OUTCOME
What VIGIL did
VIGIL was shipped as a working, source-traced prototype and a complete design system.
VIGIL Adapts to the scene in real time instead of a static document, and carries a responder's context forward to the tow operator automatically.
After the handoff, the client continued to evolve the product with additional features and refinements based on their needs.
REFLECTION
What's Next, And What This Proved
VIGIL should extend past the Tesla Model Y to every EV make and model, and past first responders to EMS and law enforcement - the handoff problem repeats everywhere
The persistent-handoff record isn't just a feature here, it's a pattern other safety-critical, multi-responder workflows could reuse elsewhere.
Let’s make something people actually want
Strategy. Research. Design. And a healthy respect for the humans involved.