Robert Alvarado Silva
Research Mentor: Kathleen Klinich
Mentor Department: Transportation Research Institute, Engineering
Author(s): Kathleen Klinich, Robert Alvarado Silva
Session: Session 1 (9:00 AM – 9:50 AM)
Presentation Type: Poster 20
Abstract
The goal of the Usable Vehicle Interface Design (UVID) project is to develop guidelines that make vehicle controls and displays easier to use for everyone, including people with disabilities. A key component of this project involves conducting laboratory testing in vehicles and mockups, asking participants with disabilities to complete driving tasks using controls and displays that do and do not meet current recommendations. Several tasks have been designed to evaluate vehicle human-machine interfaces for users with visual disabilities. Participants with and without visual disabilities will perform HVAC tasks using ideal, non-ideal, and middle-ground button sizes. Feedback will then be gathered from all groups on a predetermined perceived ease of use scale, to facilitate broad comparison. Additional vision-related tasks will assess readable font and icon sizes on the steering wheel and infotainment center, with color contrasts varying so they meet different recommended levels defined by web content accessibility guidelines. The feedback will enable this study to provide reinforced recommendations and data for future interface design that will make vehicles more usable and comfortable for these groups.
