Grant Beals – VEMI Lab /vemi University of Maine Thu, 10 Aug 2023 19:12:09 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.8.5 The Autonomous Vehicle Assistant (AVA): Emerging technology design supporting blind and visually impaired travelers in autonomous transportation /vemi/publication/the-autonomous-vehicle-assistant-ava-emerging-technology-design-supporting-blind-and-visually-impaired-travelers-in-autonomous-transportation/ Thu, 10 Aug 2023 19:12:09 +0000 /vemi/?post_type=publication&p=3657 The U.S. Department of Transportation’s Inclusive Design Challenge spurred innovative research promoting accessible technology for people with disabilities in the future of autonomous transportation. This paper presents the user-driven design of the Autonomous Vehicle Assistant (AVA), a winning project of the challenge focused on solutions for people who are blind and visually impaired. Results from an initial survey (n = 90) and series of user interviews (n = 12) informed AVA’s novel feature set, which was evaluated through a formal navigation study (n = 10) and participatory design evaluations (n = 6). Aggregate findings suggest that AVA’s sensor fusion approach combining computer vision, last-meter assistance, and multisensory alerts provide critical solutions for users poised to benefit most from this emerging transportation technology.

Keywords: Autonomous vehicles, People with visual impairment, Accessibility

Citation: Paul D.S. Fink, Stacy A. Doore, Xue Lin, Matthew Maring, Pu Zhao, Aubree Nygaard, Grant Beals, Richard R. Corey, Raymond J. Perry, Katherine Freund, Velin Dimitrov, Nicholas A. Giudice, The Autonomous Vehicle Assistant (AVA): Emerging technology design supporting blind and visually impaired travelers in autonomous transportation,
International Journal of Human-Computer Studies, Volume 179, 2023, 103125, ISSN 1071-5819, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijhcs.2023.103125

]]>