Transportation: Autonomous Vehicles
As Autonomous Vehicle (AV) technology transitions from the realm of science fiction to reality, the benefits of this technology have become ever more broadly discussed. Our research aims to make substantial contributions centered around the design of AVs and supportive technologies for AVs and how they can benefit all future consumers, especially those who cannot operate […]
Transportation: In-Vehicle Experiences
While an autonomous vehicle can be compartmentalized down to its ability to transport a person from point A to point B safely, this is not the only important aspect of the vehicle. How should a user communicate with the autonomous vehicle? What is the best design for the vehicle’s interior and exterior? How do SAE […]
Accessibility: People with Disabilities
An inclusive society is one where people from all backgrounds can engage equally in all activities and endeavors. However, that is not the case, in particular for people with disabilities. Research conducted in this branch examines the barriers limiting people with disabilities from participating in society, what needs to be addressed, and how to design […]
Research for Social Good: Games and Other Media
Games and other media, such as virtual reality (VR) can serve as a source of entertainment; however, this may not hold true for all people. Our research focuses on examining the factors that may limit or deny people from fully engaging in games and other media and how such factors can be improved to make […]
UTT: A Conceptual Model to Guide Universal Design of Autonomous Vehicles
ABSTRACT Autonomous vehicles (AVs) are closer to becoming a reality in changing the landscape of commercial and personal transportation. The launch of these vehicles come with the promise of improved road safety, reduced traffic fatalities, and enhanced mobility. However, there are questions as to whether the design of AVs will meet the needs of everyone, […]
Autonomous Vehicle Design Anti-Patterns: Making Emerging Transportation Technologies Inaccessible by Design
ABSTRACT Fully autonomous or “self-driving” vehicles represent a potentially transformative shift in personal mobility. Given the emerging nature of self-driving vehicle technologies, however, guidance for accessible implementation is limited. It has been suggested that the result is that much of this emerging technology is being designed in a manner that will render it largely inaccessible […]
Inclusion by Design: A 75-Minute Crash Course on Accessible Design
ABSTRACT The community of researchers supporting instruction on design thinking has a significant body of materials to help students understand and master the process of creative problem solving in design. Missing, we argue are materials and processes which directly support the design of inclusive technologies for persons with disabilities. We present ‘Inclusion by Design’, an […]
Putting Older Adults in the Driver Seat: Using User Enactment to Explore the Design of a Shared Autonomous Vehicle
ABSTRACT Self-driving vehicles have been described as one of the most significant advances in personal mobility of the past century. By minimizing the role of arguably error-prone human drivers, self-driving vehicles are heralded for improving traffic safety. Primarily driven by the technology’s potential impact, there is a rapidly evolving body of literature focused on consumer […]
Exploring the Needs, Preferences, and Concerns of Persons with Visual Impairments Regarding Autonomous Vehicles
ABSTRACT Fully autonomous or “self-driving” vehicles are an emerging technology that may hold tremendous mobility potential for blind or visually impaired persons who are currently unable to drive a conventional motor vehicle. Despite the considerable potential of self-driving vehicle technology to address this mobility issue, however, the needs and preferences of persons with visual disabilities […]
Implementing ‘The Enclosing Dark’: A VR Auditory Adventure
ABSTRACT Video games rely heavily on visual information ,making them largely inaccessible to blind or visually impaired (BVI) individuals. To address this barrier, we explored what an accessible video game for a BVI player would look like. Through the design process of The Enclosing Dark, an immersive virtual reality (VR) auditory adventure game, we found […]
