Age-related macular degeneration is a leading cause of blindness worldwide and is one of many limitations to independent driving among old adults. Highly autonomous vehicles present a prospective solution for those who are no longer capable of driving due to low vision. However, accessibility issues must be addressed to create a safe and pleasant experience for this group of users so that it allows them to maintain an appropriate level of situational awareness and a sense of control during driving. In this study, we made use of a human-centered design process consisting of five stages - empathize, define, ideate, prototype, and test. We designed a prototype to aid old adults with age-related macular degeneration to travel with a necessary level of situational awareness and remain in control while riding in a highly or fully autonomous vehicle. The final design prototype includes a voice-activated navigation system with three levels of details to bolster situational awareness, a 360 degree in-vehicle camera to detect both the passenger and objects around the vehicle, a retractable microphone for the passenger to be easily registered in the vehicle while speaking, and a physical button on the console-side of the right and left front seats to manually activate the navigation system.
翻译:高自主车辆为那些由于视力低而不再能够驾驶的老年人提供了一种预期的解决办法,然而,必须解决无障碍问题,以便为这一组用户创造安全和愉快的经历,使他们能够在驾驶时保持适当的情景意识和控制感。在这项研究中,我们使用了由五个阶段组成的以人为中心的设计过程,五个阶段是:听觉、定义、概念、原型和测试。我们设计了一个原型,帮助那些年龄与年龄有关的畸形老年人以必要的情景意识旅行,在驾驶高度或完全自主的车辆时仍然处于控制之中。最后设计原型包括一个声音激活导航系统,分三个层次,以提高对形势的认识,一个360度的车辆摄像头,以探测车辆周围的乘客和物体,一个可收回式的麦克风,让乘客在说话时容易在车辆上登记,以及一个在左侧和右侧控制台的物理按钮,以便手动启动导航系统。