Self-driving vehicles are the latest innovation in improving personal mobility and road safety by removing arguably error-prone humans from driving-related tasks. Such advances can prove especially beneficial for people who are blind or have low vision who cannot legally operate conventional motor vehicles. Missing from the related literature, we argue, are studies that describe strategies for vehicle design for these persons. We present a case study of the participatory design of a prototype for a self-driving vehicle human-machine interface (HMI) for a graduate-level course on inclusive design and accessible technology. We reflect on the process of working alongside a co-designer, a person with a visual disability, to identify user needs, define design ideas, and produce a low-fidelity prototype for the HMI. This paper may benefit researchers interested in using a similar approach for designing accessible autonomous vehicle technology.
INTRODUCTION
The rise of autonomous vehicles (AVs) may prove to be one of the most significant innovations in personal mobility of the past century. Advances in automated vehicle technology and advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS) specifically, may have a significant impact on road safety and a reduction in vehicle accidents (Brinkley et al., 2017; Dearen, 2018). According to the Department of Transportation (DoT), automated vehicles could help reduce road accidents caused by human error by as much as 94% (SAE International, n.d.).
In addition to reducing traffic accidents and saving lives and property, autonomous vehicles may also prove to be of significant value to persons who cannot otherwise operate conventional motor vehicles. AVs may provide the necessary mobility, for instance, to help create new employment opportunities for nearly 40 million Americans with disabilities (Claypool et al., 2017; Guiding Eyes for the Blind, 2019), for instance. Advocates for the visually impaired specifically have expressed how “transformative” this technology can be for those who are blind or have significant low vision (Winter, 2015); persons who cannot otherwise legally operate a motor vehicle.
While autonomous vehicles have the potential to break down transportation
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Using Personas with Visual Impairments to Explore the Design of an Accessible Self-Driving Vehicle Human-Machine Interface
Recent reports have suggested that most self-driving vehicle technology being developed is not currently
accessible to users with disabilities. We purport that this problem may be at least partially attributable to
knowledge gaps in practice-oriented user-centered design research. Missing, we argue, are studies that
demonstrate the practical application of user-centered design methodologies in capturing the needs of users
with disabilities in the design of automotive systems specifically. We have investigated user-centered
design, specifically the use of personas, as a methodological tool to inform the design of a self-driving
vehicle human-machine interface for blind and low vision users. We then explore the use of these derived
personas in a series of participatory design sessions involving visually impaired co-designers. Our findings
suggest that a robust, multi-method UCD process culminating with persona development may be effective
in capturing the conceptual model of persons with disabilities and informing the design of automotive system.
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- Award ID(s):
- 1849924
- NSF-PAR ID:
- 10328671
- Date Published:
- Journal Name:
- Proceedings of the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society Annual Meeting
- ISSN:
- 1071-1813
- Format(s):
- Medium: X
- Sponsoring Org:
- National Science Foundation
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