SCC-PG:JST: Green Mobility for Aging Society

交通对于老年人能够获得所需的服务和保持整体独立至关重要。特别是农村老年人，可能并不总是能够随时获得良好的交通选择，他们往往需要旅行更长或更远的时间才能获得医院、医疗和牙科护理以及超市等关键服务。一些老年人也可能面临更高的撞车风险，这可能导致驾驶模式和习惯的改变，从而限制整体移动性。这些问题并不是美国老年人所独有的。出于这个原因，研究团队与日本名古屋大学的同事合作，目的是研究老年人的需求，特别是那些生活在日本和美国农村地区的老年人，他们可以从当前以及不久的将来的车辆自动化功能中受益。这些自动驾驶汽车功能的目标是通过无缝地帮助农村老年人完成驾驶任务来减轻上述问题的影响，特别是在应对可能对他们来说越来越麻烦的交通场景和条件方面。日本和美国的项目小组将探讨这一问题的类似方面，承认并适应两国之间的文化和社会差异。拟议的工作将在两个主要领域增进知识。首先，环保、辅助和自适应的车辆自动化如何帮助高级驾驶员，特别是生活在农村地区的驾驶员？然后，从这些知识中可以产生具有经验基础的系统需求，为相关的社会工作和社区参与提供基础。第二，开发这些驾驶辅助系统需要哪些技术进步？从这种理解中获得的知识可用于强调和/或激励对这些人最重要的领域的发展，这些人可能在几个方面处于弱势（即，由于与年龄有关的残疾、缺乏健全的交通基础设施和社会经济地位）。在实现这些研究目标时，该团队将采用基于社区的参与式研究方法，并利用其与车辆制造商、自动化系统提供商、老年人倡导者、部署社区（例如，老年人生活中心）和消费者。拟议的系统预计将对高级驾驶员的流动性产生重大影响，因为它允许比现有车辆更长时间地保持流动性和独立性。对这些系统的有用性和技术状态的一般了解将提供一个经验基础，以寻求行业合作伙伴的支持，进一步以人为本的开发和部署所确定的技术，以支持这种运输-该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的知识价值和更广泛的影响进行评估，被认为值得支持审查标准。

Transportation is crucial to seniors being able to access needed services and maintain overall independence. Rural seniors, particularly, may not always have ready access to good transportation options, and they are often required to travel longer or further to access critical services such as hospitals, medical and dental care, and supermarkets. Some seniors may also be exposed to increased crash risk which can lead to shifts in driving patterns and habits that can limit overall mobility. These problems are not exclusive to seniors in the United States. For that reason, the research team has partnered with colleagues at Nagoya University in Japan, with the goal of examining the needs of seniors, particularly those living in rural areas in both Japan and the United States, which could benefit from current as well as near future vehicle automation features. The goal for these automated vehicle features would be to mitigate the effects of the aforementioned issues by seamlessly aiding rural seniors in their driving tasks, especially in negotiating the traffic scenarios and conditions that may have become increasingly troublesome for them. The Japan and United States project teams will explore similar aspects of this problem, recognizing and adapting to cultural and societal differences between the two countries. The proposed work will advance knowledge in two main areas. First, how could vehicle automation that is environmentally friendly, assistive, and adaptive be helpful to senior drivers, particularly those living in rural areas? System requirements with empirical bases can then emerge from this knowledge to provide a foundation for associated social work and community engagement. Second, what technological advancements will be necessary to develop these driver-assistive systems? The knowledge emerging from such an understanding could be used to emphasize and/or incentivize development in the areas found to be most crucial for these individuals, who may be vulnerable in several ways (i.e., due to age-related disability, lack of sound transportation infrastructure, and socio-economic status). In undertaking these research goals, the team will use a community-based participatory research approach and leverage its strong partnerships with vehicle manufacturers, automated system providers, senior citizen advocates, deployment communities (e.g., senior-living centers), and consumers. The proposed systems are expected to have significant impacts on the mobility of senior drivers by allowing the retention of mobility and independence for longer than is possible with current vehicles. A general understanding of the usefulness and technological state of these systems will afford an empirical basis to solicit support from industry partners for further human-centered development and deployment of the identified technologies in support of this transportation-impoverished subset of our population.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.