Promoting accessible, safe autonomous vehicle rides for people with disabilities with inclusive mobile app controls.
CMU HCII
USDOT (U.S. Dept. of Transportation)
Organization
UX Designer
Simulator Team Lead
My Role
Sept. 2020
Timeline
UX Researcher
May 2022
ꜜ
conducting semi-structured user interviews and literature analysis
I was responsible for…
Meet My Team
Advisors
Nikolas Martelaro
Mobile Design
Xander Fan
Patricia Yu
Ginny Zhao
VUI
Joseph Han
Yvonne Hou
Kyra Low
Simulator
John Chae
prototyping app interfaces for the pick-up and drop-off user flow
leading a team of designers and engineers to build a simulator dashboard
Patrick Carrington
Charmaine Qiu
The Challenge
AV Control Interface Lacks Accessibility
Autonomous vehicles (AVs) have the potential to provide independence and freedom to people with disabilities. However, existing ridesharing apps lack a variety of communication modes and control interfaces that are accessible to all people.
The Solution
Unigo: Personalized and Inclusive Controls
A ridesharing app that prioritizes accessible controls and provides ample information about the ride and surrounding environment to help users feel safe and confident riding on an autonomous vehicle.
Project Phases
Human-Centered Design (HCD) framework allows for design iterations and focus on the users’ pain points.
Primary Research
We sent out surveys and conducted directed storytelling interviews with individuals and focus groups to understand users’ pain points from the order-ride stage to the drop-off stage of the ride.
Survey + User Interviews
By clustering our findings into an affinity diagram, we conclude that users share similar desires…
An efficient and reliable communication system
Accessible features that assist passengers throughout the ride
Freedom to control vehicle and ride settings
Capturing Key Themes
Synthesis
Identifying Opportunity Gaps
With the insights from the affinity map in mind, I created a user journey map showcasing the challenges people with mobility impairment face when using the ride-share service.
By mapping the pain points and emotions of the rider throughout different stages of the ride, I identified some key questions that I need to investigate is there.
Summary of Insights
“How might we design an inclusive system for autonomous vehicles with personalized controls?”
Define the Problem
With the problem statement in mind, I suggested moving communication and control to users’ smartphones. Users’ familiarity with their own devices eliminates the learning curve needed for using new technologies. More importantly, this solution allows us to leverage the built-in accessibility features of their smartphones and provide a consistent, intuitive ride-share experience on all types of vehicles.
Visualize the System and Controls
Design | Conceptual
When the team divides to perform parallel wireframing, I focused on designing low-fidelity wireframes of the controls for wheelchair users. With limited mobility, they are often anxious about orienting themselves on the street and navigating dangerous slopes and icy roads.
Mid-Fidelity: Visual Assistance for Onboarding and Deboarding
Design | Mobile App
Enabling Full Navigation and Control on User’s Personal Device
With the conceptual model in mind, I compiled key points from the WCAG guidelines and incorporate accessible controls into the wireframes.
Location Preview
To address this, I embedded a street view and a text description of the drop-off location.
Car and Ramp Visual
I also designed visuals that display the direction of the car and the status of the ramp deployment.
Low-Fidelity: Ride Settings Presets
To accommodate people with all levels of capability, I designed screens that allow users to specify their preferences and save the presets for all rides.
High-Fidelity:
Understand Controls and Feedback with a User Flow Diagram
Design | Simulator
After working on the mobile app, I switched to investigating a new challenge. How can we build a system to test the mobile app without an autonomous vehicle?
Based on the user flow diagram, I led the simulator team to iterate on the simulator design that conforms to the WCAG accessibility guidelines. I decided to design and develop an interface that simulates the riding environment and provides feedback to the users as they play with the mobile app.
Design a Dashboard that Provides Visual and Auditory Feedback
To ideate a solution, I created a user flow diagram to indicate what user action would trigger a response that can be displayed on a “simulator” that mimics the car environment. For example, based on users’ preference selection, the simulator would display the corresponding vehicle approaching the pick-up location.
