RESEARCH NEWS
Team Will Develop Tech to Help People With Cognitive Impairments Use Automated Driving Systems by Brendan Lynch
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research team based at the KU School of Engineering is one of 10 semifinalists in the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Inclusive Design Challenge, which seeks to make self-driving cars accessible to people with disabilities. The team won a $300,000 prize and will spend 18 months refining highly automated driving systems designed for people with cognitive disabilities. The technology could usher in a new era of independence and mobility for people living with mild cognitive impairment and mild-to-moderate dementia. According to the researchers, about 16 million people in the U.S. living with cognitive disabilities can’t drive due to deficits in speed-of-processing, memory, attention, judgment and visuospatial skills. “These are vehicles that would drive by themselves,” said project leader Alexandra Kondyli, associate professor of civil, environmental and architectural engineering at KU. “At the highest level of automation there’s no steering wheel. We’re looking into how we can help those people identify the vehicle, access the vehicle, provide their information and where they want to go, and how they can interface with a vehicle that drives by itself.” Kondyli said the technology her team develops for people with cognitive impairments only would be implemented when vehicles achieve levels 4 and 5 of automation, considered “high” or “full” automation because the vehicle is capable of performing all the driving. Indeed, drivers would act more like passengers, unable to take control of the vehicle. The KU researcher estimated it could be a decade before such vehicles were on the road and thought the specialized technology someday could be offered as an accessibility package on mass-produced vehicles by automakers. “It could be another option, like leather seats,” Kondyli said. The project will depend on input from representatives from the automotive industry as well as participants living with cognitive impairments and mild-to-moderate dementia recruited from the KU Medical Center. “We’re going to have people with cognitive disabilities in our advisory board and also in our focus-group sessions,” Kondyli said. “We really wanted to design having them in
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Alexandra Kondyli
mind, and we need their input on what the design has to be in order for them to use it.” The researchers at KU are collaborating with a team at the University of Florida and KU Medical Center. At the end of 18 months, the group will bring a prototype vehicle integrating new accessibility technology to Washington, D.C., to be evaluated alongside technology from other groups such as those at Carnegie Mellon and Purdue universities and autonomous driving companies, such as Waymo. The firstplace team will win $1 million. While much of the group’s work will involve developing software systems, these innovations will be integrated into a prototype vehicle at the Hill Engineering Research and Development Center, where students will have the opportunity to participate in the work. The software will help travelers select destinations, plan routes, identify the vehicle and get to the vehicle. Further, the team intends to monitor the state of the traveler and provide help and information in case of a breakdown or fender bender. For instance, part of the research will involve developing a “playbook” that helps to ensure the well-being of the vehicle occupant.
