Isabel Bautista

ALOUD is celebrated for its unique literary and cultural events that foster human connection and live interaction. After attending several of these events, our design team identified key challenges faced by attendees. In our support for ALOUD, we envisioned volunteers as ambassadors of the event's mission rather than just support staff. Our goal was to enhance the attendee experience by ensuring volunteers are approachable, visible, and well-informed, ultimately creating a more engaging environment for everyone.

While the events are culturally enriching and attempt to create an immersive experience for their audience, attendees can face frustrating barriers when it comes to preparation, navigation, and engagement.

By recruiting passionate volunteers that embody the welcoming spirit of ALOUD—ready to engage, guide, and inspire–our goal is to make these events even more impactful. Additionally, having volunteers to guide and assist attendees has shown to positively impact guests’ event experience.

The ultimate goal is to turn moments of uncertainty into moments of connection and inspiration, ensuring that ALOUD events continue to foster a sense of community and excitement.

In collaboration with BMW DesignWorks, Echo reimagines the autonomous rideshare experience through inclusive, multimodal communication, centered on the needs of Deaf and Hard-of-Hearing (DHH) users. The project challenges conventional vehicle interfaces by replacing sound-based alerts with a layered system of visual, tactile, and digital cues that make navigation intuitive and accessible to all riders. From onboarding to drop-off, Echo delivers information through haptic seat feedback, soft LED lighting, closed captions, and an accessible in-car display. These interactions help users identify their vehicle, stay aware of route changes, and receive safety updates—all without relying on audio. The design was informed by interviews with DHH individuals, observational research, and hands-on usability testing using a physical prototype. Test riders experienced the interface while wearing earplugs and noise-canceling headphones, allowing our team to fine-tune feedback timing, screen positioning, and clarity of alerts. Echo doesn’t just aim to meet accessibility needs—it reframes them as an opportunity for innovation. By prioritizing clarity, autonomy, and dignity, Echo offers a future-forward rideshare experience where everyone can ride with confidence.

In our project, we recognize that approximately 30% of Americans live with a disability, including 15% of adults who experience some level of hearing loss. This includes around 37.5 million individuals, 6% of whom are severely hearing-impaired or completely deaf. Current ride services often overlook the unique needs of Deaf and Hard-of-Hearing users, in part because deafness is an invisible disability—a condition that may not be immediately noticeable to others, but still deeply impacts a person’s daily life and how they navigate the world. This can lead to a lack of awareness and understanding of their unique needs, which profoundly affects their daily lives and transportation experiences. We asked ourselves how we might help Deaf & Hard of Hearing (DHH) users feel empowered, included, and supported throughout their ride experiences. Through our investigation, we identified key barriers such as communication challenges, diminished independence, and limited awareness that hinder these users from enjoying seamless rides. While our design team explored emerging innovative technologies that could be applied in a more car-centric way, we realized the need to go back to the drawing board. We aimed to find a way to merge what currently exists and is immediately feasible with what could be possible in the next five years.

Our design process for Echo began by identifying key accessibility gaps in autonomous rideshare systems. Services like Waymo rely heavily on audio cues—verbal prompts, buckle alerts, turn signals—which are not accessible to Deaf and Hard of Hearing (DHH) users. We also observed confusion when cars arrived without clear visual signals, making it hard to identify the correct vehicle. We turned to inclusive technologies for inspiration: Sony’s DualSense controller for immersive haptics, the University of Maine’s AVA for accessible onboarding, and Uber’s ASL program for visual-first communication. These references guided our multimodal approach using visual, tactile, and digital feedback. One of our most valuable insights came from Jamie, a hard-of-hearing user, who shared: “Deaf individuals are so highly attentive to any flash notifications. It would be a game changer if the car can have flashing lights to signal to the Deaf individual that they’ve arrived, maybe there's a delay, maybe a car accident—you know, different colors to signal different alerts.” This insight solidified our direction. To test our ideas, we created a simulation where participants wore earplugs and noise-canceling headphones. Using a foam-board car model, LED lights, and a vibration mat, we recreated the experience of a DHH rider navigating a trip using only non-audio cues. These user-driven insights and tests helped shape Echo into an inclusive rideshare experience focused on clarity, autonomy, and dignity.

Our project is dedicated to creating a more inclusive and supportive transportation experience for Deaf and Hard-of-Hearing (DHH) individuals. We aim to address existing gaps in service, ensuring that their needs are met with the same level of attention and care as anyone else’s. At the heart of our initiative, Echo reimagines autonomous ride services by making accessibility the cornerstone of independence for DHH riders, rather than an afterthought. Our innovative solution incorporates several key features designed to enhance the riding experience. One such feature is haptic feedback, which uses gentle vibrations in the seats to alert users to turns, stops, and changes in the route. These tactile notifications enhance awareness without the need for sound and are seamlessly synchronized with app updates to provide a smooth experience. In addition to haptic feedback, we employ visual alerts to improve communication for DHH riders. LED lighting around the center console directs attention to route updates, while soft flashing cues replace conventional audio alerts. This visual approach not only reduces confusion but also boosts spatial awareness, ensuring that riders stay informed in real-time. Closed captioning further enhances our offering by displaying turn-by-turn captions and notifications on-screen. Our Video Relay System (VRS) allows DHH riders to communicate comfortably using American Sign Language (ASL). By providing on-screen captions for directions and messages, we reinforce information through multiple channels, creating a seamless experience that is accessible to all. Moreover, our hearing device pairing feature allows DHH riders to enjoy personalized audio support by connecting directly with their hearing devices. This capability, already successfully implemented in museums and transit systems, enables our autonomous vehicles to send ride information directly to riders' hearing aids. This innovation enhances clarity and reduces reliance on shared audio systems, fostering greater independence for DHH users. Ultimately, Echo aspires to be more than just a mode of transportation; it seeks to provide an inclusive experience that empowers DHH riders. We are committed to making them feel welcomed, valued, respected, and understood, ensuring they are not positioned as secondary within their communities.