Research Review with Robin Brewer, Ph.D. and Nicole Ellison, Ph.D.
Speaker(s): Robin Brewer, Ph.D., Assistant Professor in Information Sciences, University of Michigan
Assistant Professor in Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, University of Michigan
Nicole Ellison, Ph.D., Karl E Weick Collegiate Professor of Information Sciences, University of Michigan
Presentation Title: Supporting People with Vision Impairments in Automated Vehicles
Research: Supporting People with Vision Impairments in Automated Vehicles
Date/Time: Wednesday, July 29th, 2020 | 1:00 PM ET
Continuing Education Units (CEU): .1*
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Abstract: Underserved communities do not have the same level of access to transportation, including those with visual impairments. This can lead to a loss in opportunities for healthcare, education, and employment, and automated vehicles have the greatest opportunity to address these concerns. This discussion is led by Assistant Professor, Robin Brewer, and Karl E. Weick Collegiate Professor of Information, Nicole Ellison. Professors Brewer and Ellison will focus on the perceived barriers and design solutions for autonomous vehicles from the perspective of blind and low-vision people. They will also examine the broader transportation ecosystem and how ridesharing services, a proxy to understanding AV use, are experienced by people with vision impairments.
Speaker Bios:
Robin Brewer, Ph.D. holds a courtesy appointment in Computer Science and Engineering. Dr. Brewer’s research in human-computer interaction asks how experiences with technology can be more accessible to digitally constrained communities. Much of her work focuses on older adults and people with vision impairments. Dr. Brewer holds a Ph.D. in Technology and Social Behavior from Northwestern University, M.S. in Human-Centered Computing from the University of Maryland – Baltimore County, and B.S. in Computer Science from the University of Maryland – College Park.
Dr. Ellison received her Ph.D. in Communication Theory and Research in 1999 from the University of Southern California’s Annenberg School for Communication. Nicole’s research has explored social and interpersonal aspects of online technologies and computer-mediated communication, including research on self-presentational strategies used by online dating participants; the role of social media in reshaping college access patterns for low-income and first-generation college students; and the ways in which users employ the communication affordances of Facebook to receive and give social and informational support to members of their network. This research has been funded by the National Science Foundation, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, and the National Academies of Science.