Human Machine Interface Design for Enhanced Accessibility

Abstract

In order for safety critical driver alert systems to be universally effective, they must be designed with the broad population in mind, including people with accessibility concerns. We have researched and designed accessibility settings for Arriver's human machine interface specifically for drivers with accessibility issues in five target user groups: vision loss, mobility issues, color blindness, hearing loss, and motion sensitivity. The HMI is targeted towards vehicles with level 2+ autonomy. Our goal in this project is to expand on Arriver’s existing in-vehicle HMI by making it more accessible, customizable, and adaptable. To achieve our goal, we have modified the base HMI to make it more accessible and easier to use as well as created five different accessibility settings that correspond to each of the target user groups we decided upon. Every change the user made to the accessibility settings whether it be increasing the font size or adjusting the color profile would result in a corresponding change in the base HMI, allowing for customizability and adaptability. We also compiled a list of recommendations for future work on our project based on feedback from expert reviews.