The move towards driverless cars isn’t just a chance for people to relax at the wheel. It’s an opportunity to revolutionize personal transport in a way that offers life-changing benefits to people with disabilities.
But for this to happen, we need the car industry to commit to more inclusive design practices that right now are widely absent and overcome the challenges of designing new ways to interact with autonomous vehicles. The solution could involve manufacturers drawing inspiration from diverse areas of product design to get the balance right between style and real-world user-friendliness.
It’s not difficult to design accessible cars if the needs and capabilities of a diverse population are considered early in the design process. A few car makers have adopted this philosophy, for example, Ford uses a “third age suit” that simulates the limited mobility, vision, and sense of touch that many older people experience. The car industry has a choice to make: business class travel for a select few, or truly accessible transport for the wider population, offering dignity and an enhanced quality of life to those who face significant challenges every day.
Source: The Conversation
Name of Author: Paul Herriotts