Human-Centered Design to Improve Inclusiveness of CAVs for Older Adults Poster Session
Location: U-M Transportation Research Institute (UMTRI) Collaborative Meeting Space
2901 Baxter Road, Ann Arbor, MI 48109 (Room 139)
Date/Time: Friday, December 9th, 2022 | 10:30 AM ET
Session Description: Connected and automated vehicles (CAVs) hold promise for reducing traffic crashes and maintaining mobility among older adults. However, challenges remain in ensuring that CAVs are accessible, acceptable, and otherwise inclusive for older adults. Using a framework of experiential learning, students in a human-centered design course taught by Dr. Feng Zhou engaged in a classroom project to identify potential solutions for making CAVs more responsive to older adult needs and preferences. Students and researchers from the larger project will share their findings with CCAT members, UMTRI and other University faculty, staff, and students, and industry representatives.
Researchers and Michigan Engineering students will highlight how human-centered design principles can be used to address the needs and preferences of older adults in the design of CAVs. Hors d’oeuvres from The Produce Station will be served.
Team #1
Poster Title: “How might we design a GPS-tracking companion app to assist caregivers in monitoring the location of seniors with cognitive impairment while riding in autonomous vehicles?“
Abstract: Retaining independence is an important factor for seniors (people over 65 years old) who still drive. Many seniors voice concerns about driving safety for themselves and their partners and/or senior friends, especially if a senior has cognitive impairment. Based on the themes and feedback from our initial interview, we chose to target caregivers of seniors as the primary user and seniors with mild cognitive impairment as the secondary user who would be riding in the AV. We wanted to integrate our design into a technology that our target audiences are already used to. Drawing inspiration from our focus group and their affinity for the app called Life360, we decided to create an app called CompaniON. CompaniON is an app that could be used by caregivers of seniors (primary user) to track the GPS location of a senior AV rider (secondary user). The app would also help seniors AV riders locate their parked AV and communicate with their caregiver(s) if they need assistance.
Meet the Team
Melissa Clive is a part-time graduate student in the HCDE program at University of Michigan – Dearborn. Melissa works full-time for Michigan Medicine in Ann Arbor as MiChart (Epic) Clinical Business Analyst supporting the Operating & Procedure Rooms and Anesthesia for the HITS Department. Melissa hopes to bring Human Centered Design to her current working role to optimize user experiences in the healthcare setting. In her free time, Melissa enjoys jogging, gardening, and tending to her farm animals.
Dasol Han is a designer passionate about finding the most suitable design for people’s daily lives. She continuously provides a pleasant user experience within a diverse area through the human-centric approach. Currently, a full-time graduate student pursuing Human-Centered Design and Engineering. She also works as a graphic designer at a coffee startup company. Dasol enjoys utilizing her Bachelor’s degree in Crafts to create tangible products as well as digital-based designs. Outside of work, she enjoys cooking, plus she is a huge tea lover.
Committed to bridging divides, Molouk is an Arab-American Muslim female, a child of immigrant parents, and a first-generation graduate. She has helped lead numerous organizations and initiatives, recently serving as Vice President for Society of Women Engineers, all in an effort to empower women to achieve their full potential in careers as engineers and leaders. Molouk continually challenges her ideas, self, and peers as a current Ford College Graduate and part-time Human-Centered Design and Engineering Master’s student.
Swarna is a full time graduate student in the HCDE program at University of Michigan, Dearborn. Driven by an affinity for all things design and research, she is in pursuit of identifying real user needs, effectual insights and elevating human experiences in the digital world. Being an architect in the past, Swarna leverages her design aptitude in empathizing with people and solving problems . She values diversity and inclusivity in her work.
Jubilee (Seungju Choi) is a full-time graduate student in the HCDE program at University of Michigan – Dearborn. She is a person who sympathizes with someone’s problems as deeply as my own concerns, understands the nature of their problem, and helps them solve it. She has a bachelor’s in Global Entrepreneurship and UI/UX design in her undergrads days, She had some UX projects like developing coding education apps and healthcare apps, was a Research Assistant in Ergonomics Design and Technology LAB, currently working on Mobile User Experience Lab in University of Michigan Dearborn.
Seye Olabanji hails from Nigeria and is a freelance interdisciplinary designer, an Architecture bachelor’s degree holder, and a former relationship manager in the financial services sector. He is currently a full-time Human Centered Design and Engineering graduate student at the University of Michigan – Dearborn. Leveraging on his creative background, Seye is passionate about gaining a deeper understanding of the intricate relationship between people and technology in order to design lasting solutions for the good of the ever-growing global environment.
Abigail Lorincz is a freelance graphic designer and clay modeler, specializing in visual communication. She is a graduate student at the University of Michigan-Dearborn pursuing a Master’s in Human Centered Design and Engineering. Abigail leverages her Bachelor’s in Business Management to deliver scalable design solutions for clients worldwide. Most recently, she partnered with the Kentucky Living Arts and Science Center to research visitor experiences and develop educational infographics for wildlife exhibits. In her spare time, Abigail heads her church’s creative arts ministry, leading a team of volunteers in planning and constructing interactive displays.
Team #2
Poster Title: “Improving the in-vehicle experience to help the elderly and their caregivers to feel connected during an emergency and provide trouble-free navigation“
Abstract: This project specifically concentrates on investigating elderly people and their emotional needs when considering connected autonomous vehicles. The problem identified was that the elderly need to feel connected to caregivers and/or family members in emergency scenarios. People over the age of 60 were selected to be the users. Those who still drive and those who do not drive were included. Secondary and extreme users were also included, such as caretakers for elderly people and people with varying levels of mobility and cognitive disabilities. Interviews were conducted to help understand the target user groups and their driving habits and their trust and thoughts in general about autonomous vehicles. Keeping our users in mind, we conducted an iterative ideation and prototyping phase. Primary, secondary, and extreme users were utilized during the testing phase to understand which features were most desired and which needed to be rethought. The ideas incorporated solutions that allow elderly passengers to call a list of contacts who could reroute the vehicle in case of a request, call emergency services and monitor the health of the car and the passenger remotely. The final iterative prototype was created and tested using Figma and provides a solution to the elderly passengers’ need to feel connected to their caregivers, especially in an emergency situation.
Meet the Team
Khajista is a full-time student at the University of Michigan – Dearborn studying MS in Human Centered Design and Engineering. She has worked as a Design Technologist for a digital education startup. Before discovering her passion for Human-Centered Design, she pursued her undergraduate degree in Bachelor of technology (Biotechnology) from Amity University in India. Her motivations include designing to add value, and engaging in reasoning to find solutions to diverse problems.
Manasi is a full-time student at University of Michigan – Dearborn studying MS in Human Centered Design and Engineering. She has a background working as a Lead Experience Designer at Wongdoody Infosys. Manasi has obtained a Bachelor in Design major in Human Centered Design from Srishti School of Art, Design and Technology, India. Her goal as a designer is to create engaging functional and accessible experiences that are memorable and solve complex problems.
Juby is currently a full-time student in the master’s program at the University of Michigan- Dearborn studying Human Centered Design and Engineering. She had a bachelor’s and master’s degree in Law, from the department of Soochow University, Taiwan. She used to work at MediaTek Inc, a Semiconductor Suppliers worldwide, and also joined the International Airport Corporation to promote government policy dissemination. Juby has a great enthusiasm for exploring an UX world and designing products that make things better and touch someone’s life. In her spare time, she does enjoy traveling, going hiking, and she’s a big fan of bubble milk tea.
Taylor is a current Innovation Program Lead at General Motors where she leads enterprise wide innovation efforts to solve complex, user-facing problems. She is a part-time student at the University of Michigan – Dearborn studying Human Centered Design and Engineering. Taylor’s background is in engineering, having obtained a BS in Chemical Engineering from The Ohio State University in 2019. Taylor’s interests include sustainability, clean energy technology, user-centric digital design, and product innovation.
Ashwitha Jathan is a full time Human-centered design student specializing in user experience design at UM-Dearborn. She has prior experience working with retail, finance and healthcare customers as solution consultant and UX designer. She has a Bachelor of Engineering degree in Computer Science and Engineering from Sahyadri College of Engineering and Management, 2019. She loves storytelling and real-world problem solving. She is inclined towards visual design and user research.
Team #3
Poster Title: “Navigating in the Dark: Designing Autonomous Driving Features to Assist Visually Impaired Older Adults“
Abstract: Age-related macular degeneration is a leading cause of blindness worldwide and is one of many limitations for older adults to drive independently. Fully autonomous vehicles present a prospective solution for those who are no longer capable of driving due to low vision, however, accessibility features must be implemented to create a safe and effective experience for users with vision impairment to maintain a sense of control. Using a combination of semi-structured user interviews and Wizard of Oz prototyping, our research team created and modified a prototype to aid passengers with age-related macular degeneration to travel comfortably and remain in control while riding in an autonomous vehicle. The final design prototype includes a voice-activated navigation system with three levels of detail to bolster situational awareness, a 360˚ in-car camera to detect both the passenger and objects in front of the vehicle, a retractable microphone for the passenger to be easily registered in the car while speaking and a physical button on the console-side of the right and left front seats to manually activate the navigation system.
Meet the Team
Jennifer Marcussen was born and raised in Grand Rapids, Michigan, and currently resides in Northern Michigan. She is a citizen of the Pokagon Band of Potawatomi Indians. Much of her work is reflective of her connection to this land and her indigenous culture. Currently, she is a full-time (remote) Human-Centered Design and Engineering student at the University of Michigan- Dearborn, focusing on user experience design. Jennifer earned her first BFA from Kendall College of Art and Design in 2015, with a focus on Sculpture and Functional Art. She returned to Kendall and earned her second BFA with a focus on Graphic Design in 2017. What drives her the most as an artist is providing an unforgettable experience for the viewer. She has a love of process and one day hopes to combine her passion for design and sculpture by designing point-of-purchase displays.
Lashawnda Bynum is from the DC-Maryland region. She studied information sciences at the University of Maryland, College Park. She spent considerable time after college pursuing information technology before learning about user experience design. She was searching for a field that would allow her to combine technical and creative efforts and came across user experience design. She enrolled into a design bootcamp immediately and graduated earlier this year. Since then, she’s been working as a product design intern at a mobile app for the past few months. She is now doing her MA in Human Centered Design and Engineering at the University of Michigan – Dearborn. She’s pursuing her masters to become further skilled in user experience design and explore personal interests in the field.
Jana Taleb is currently a full-time student in the master’s program at the University of Michigan- Dearborn studying Human Centered Design and Engineering. In 2021, she completed a bachelor’s degree in Integrative Studies with concentrations in political science, biology, and psychology. Besides being an avid reader and book collector, her main focus has always been to learn about and improve different aspects of the United States healthcare system through active communication to help combat medical racism. As a UX designer, she hopes to gain the tools necessary to effectively understand and implement user-friendly aids to increase patients’ long-term quality of life.
Aleyna Dogan is a writer, speaker, and entrepreneur. She studied technology ethics at New York University Gallatin School of Individualized Study, focusing on psychology, technology, and philosophy. After working as a copywriter and web3 strategist at Vayner3, she decided to pursue her master’s in Human Centered Design and Engineering. She currently publishes the NFTimes newsletter and co-hosts Twitter Spaces with Rarible every Monday. She is passionate about exploring the edges of technology, understanding where the practices are wrong, and figuring out how to live a good life in the overly connected technology-driven world. In her work, she tries to bring attention to the problems of web2 and make sure we build the new iteration of the web with care, equal representation, and opportunity for all.
Melanie LaFlam is currently a part-time Human-Centered Design and Engineering student at the University of Michigan Dearborn. She has lived in Michigan all her life and resides in metro Detroit. She graduated from Oakland University in 2014 with a Bachelor of Arts in English Language, and has worked in B2B customer experience development roles in the automotive industry for the past 7 years. She is currently the Assistant Manager of Fleet Operations at General Motors. Her work has focused on improving user experience in operational support channels, focusing on accessibility for an ever-diversifying group of clients as available technology evolves.
Nia Nitschke was born and raised in the California Bay Area, and earned a double Bachelor of Arts degree in Economics and Sociology from McGill University in Montreal, Canada in 2017. Later that year, she started her journey in user-centered research when she was hired as a project facilitator for a research study at a tech company. She has continued to grow in the user research space over the past five years, now working as a human factors engineer for consumer-facing hardware products. She is a part-time remote student in the Human-Centered Design and Engineering program, focusing on User Experience Design.
Kristy Lee is currently a part-time, remote Human-Centered Design and Engineering student at University of Michigan-Dearborn, focusing on User Experience Design. She studied US and International Law and Business Management in Handong Global University in South Korea. She currently works as a Compliance Analyst at a financial technology firm, helping the firm ensure compliance with applicable rules and regulations. Her passion lies in making financial products easier to comprehend and use for a broader range of users.
Meet Jay Parker! She’s originally from Grand Rapids, and recently moved to Farmington Hill. Jay got her undergraduate in Graphic Design at Kendall College of Art and Design, and is currently working on her Masters in Human Centered Design and Engineering with a concentration in User Experience Design. She is passionate about design, mostly the digital side of it. It’s her goal to become a UX Designer. This is something she’s always had a passion for!
