Using Personas with Visual Impairments to Explore the Design of an Accessible Self-Driving Vehicle Human-Machine Interface

Recent reports have suggested that most self-driving vehicle technology being developed is not currently accessible to users with disabilities. We purport that this problem may be at least partially attributable to knowledge gaps in practice-oriented user-centered design research. Missing, we argue, are studies that demonstrate the practical application of user-centered design methodologies in capturing the needs of users with disabilities in the design of automotive systems specifically. We have investigated user-centered design, specifically the use of personas, as a methodological tool to inform the design of a self-driving vehicle human-machine interface for blind and low vision users. We then explore the use of these derived personas in a series of participatory design sessions involving visually impaired co-designers. Our findings suggest that a robust, multi-method UCD process culminating with persona development may be effective in capturing the conceptual model of persons with disabilities and informing the design of automotive system.