Automation for increased accessibility?
| Reference number | |
| Coordinator | NORCONSULT ASTANDO AKTIEBOLAG |
| Funding from Vinnova | SEK 397 100 |
| Project duration | August 2016 - May 2017 |
| Status | Completed |
| Venture | Strategic Innovation Program Drive Sweden |
Purpose and goal
The benefits of automation for visually impaired and persons with disabilities have been identified. A tool to benchmark how benefits are experienced in today’s transport system compared to future mobility solutions has been developed. This enables evaluation of how a future mobility solution may contribute to better accessibility for a user-group. A workshop-based method is proposed to identify the benefits for any user-group, and in this project it has been applied with a group of blind, visually impaired and wheel chair users.
Expected results and effects
The project identified 13 benefits that the user group associated with vehicle automation. Within the project the group members also graded those benefits to indicate how important (0-10) each benefit is in their everyday travel. By comparing these scores (and aggregated scores) with how they experience any new mobility solution, it is possible to tailor future mobility solutions to a specific user group. Large interest was shown from all project partners to use the results in their business development.
Planned approach and implementation
The project was performed in two parallel processes, one where the user-group gave input on their needs and experiences through a series of workshops, and one where the project group analysed the workshop results. The workshop series used the Norconsult Innovation process and Design Thinking to identify the benefits that automated transports can bring with a user centered approach. Based on those benefits, users estimated how important each of them are in their everyday travel. These weights were used to assess the benefits that a new mobility solution can bring.