AutoTRUST at EUCAD 2025

Designing Inclusive Autonomous Mobility: User Centred Design (UCD) at the Core of AutoTRUST

by Guilia Cosentino

At AutoTRUST, we believe that autonomous mobility must be inclusive, trusted, and user driven. To achieve this, we adopted a User-Centered Design (UCD) approach and engaged directly with diverse user groups through focus groups, surveys, and an inclusive mobility workshop.

What We Did

Between late 2024 and early 2025, we organized five focus groups and one workshop with over 80 participants across Europe, including:

  • Experts in mobility and accessibility – to define initial evaluation criteria and challenges.
  • Individuals with disabilities – focusing on accessibility needs and interface usability.
  • Older adults – discussing safety, trust, and ease of interaction.
  • Visually impaired and blind users – to understand assistive technology and navigation requirements.
  • General users and caregivers – via an online survey and group discussions on comfort and personalization.

The Inclusive Mobility Awareness Workshop brought together stakeholders to co-design personas and explore practical strategies for embedding inclusivity in AV design.

AutoTRUST meeting session photo 1
AutoTRUST meeting session photo 2

Key Insights

  • Accessibility is Non-negotiable: Participants emphasized barrier-free entry/exit, clear HMI design, and voice assistance for visually impaired users.
  • Trust and Transparency Matter: Older adults and caregivers requested clear status information and emergency communication options.
  • Personalization Enhances Comfort: Adaptive seating, climate control, and multimodal interaction (voice, touch, gestures) were highly valued.
  • Social Connection and Safety: Users highlighted the need for shared mobility spaces to feel secure, not isolating.

From Insights to Guidelines

These discussions shaped a set of inclusive design guidelines, covering:

  • Psychological and social perspectives.
  • Diverse user representation.
  • Context-of-use scenarios.
  • Evaluation checklists for accessibility and user experience.

These guidelines will inform pilot site design and testing, ensuring that the AutoTRUST solutions are not only technologically advanced but also equitable and user-friendly.