Of all the potential benefits of automated vehicles, the opportunity to bring personal mobility and autonomy to the lives of people with disabilities is one of the most under-appreciated.
Creating accessible transportation will require incredible innovation, and programs like the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Inclusive Design Challenge are critical to building momentum toward this goal. With $5 million in prizes, the Inclusive Design Challenge pits researchers and innovators in a competition to design and develop systems and features for autonomous vehicles that solve the most pressing access barriers for people with physical, sensory and cognitive disabilities.
PAVE is proud to partner with the U.S. Department of Transportation on the Inclusive Design Challenge in hosting a live webinar, “AVs for All: Inspiring Solutions for Accessible Design.” on September 22. The event’s panel discussions — featuring experts from academia, industry, and nonprofits — will provide an overview of the state of accessibility technology for AVs and the areas of greatest need. Registration is free and can be found here.
In addition to these discussions, PAVE and the panelists have worked together to provide this supplemental list of resources covering the Inclusive Design Challenge itself, the state of accessibility technology, best practices in design for accessibility, case studies, research on the benefits of accessible autonomous vehicles and more.
Resource List
USDOT Inclusive Design Challenge Resources
Inclusive Design Challenge landing page
Inclusive Design Challenge Rules/Terms
Inclusive Design Challenge Open Forum
Accessibility Technology Research/Statistics
Accessible Transportation Technologies Research Initiative (ATTRI) homepage
ATTRI Innovation Scan [PDF]
ATTRI Assessment of Relevant Research [PDF]
ATTRI State of the Practice Scan [PDF]
Bureau of Transportation Statistics: Travel Patterns of American Adults with Disabilities
Research/Listening Sessions On Accessibility for AVs
USDOT Access and Mobility for All Summit
Auto Alliance AV Accessibility Workshop Series & Report
USDOL ODEP AV Listening Session Report [PDF]
Greenling Institute: AV Heaven or Hell?
National Council on Disabilities Self-Driving Cars Report [PDF]
Ruderman Foundation: Economic Impact of Self-Driving Cars On People With Disabilities
ATTRI: User Needs Assessment: Stakeholder Engagement Report
Consortium For Citizens With Disabilities: Transportation-related Comments
Texas A&M: Safety Perceptions of Transportation Network Companies by the Blind and Visually Impaired
AV Accessibility Design Tools and Resources
DREDF Fully Accessible AV Checklist [PDF]
ITS America Report: Designing the Future of Transportation for People with Disabilities [PDF]
Consortium for Citizens with Disabilities: Autonomous Vehicle Principles [PDF]
University of Cambridge’s Inclusive Design Toolkit
Center for Excellence in Universal Design’s introduction to Universal Design
Inclusive Design Research Centre’s Inclusive Design Guide
Video Introduction to User Experience and Experience Design: Part One, Part Two, Part Three, Part Four
Anthropometry Resources for Accessibility Designers
UMTRI: Human Shapes Scalable 3D body shapes
TU Delft: DINED Anthropometry in design
Legal/Compliance Resources for ADA and AVs
United States Access Board: ADA Accessibility Guidelines For Transportation Vehicles [PDF]
Navigating College with Disabilities: An Essential Guide
National Law Review: Legal Considerations About Accessibility and AVs
State & Local Accessible, Equitable AV Efforts
SFMTA: Guiding Principles for Emerging Mobility Services and Technologies [PDF]
District of Columbia: Interagency AV Working Group Principles [PDF]
Inspirational Stories about AVs and Accessibility
Kent Keyser of United Spinal Association: Living and Mobility in the Age of COVID
Michigan Engineering News: An inclusive autonomous shuttle for those with physical disabilities
Institutions
The Inclusive Design Research Centre
University of Buffalo’s Center for Inclusive Design & Environmental Access
The Interaction Design Foundation
Morgan State University’s Urban Mobility & Equity Center
National Federation of the Blind
University of Michigan’s Inclusive Mobility Research Lab
University of Pittsburgh Human Engineering Research Laboratories
