Mobility NanoLab

Near-Future Interaction in Public Transportation

An international team of designers, artists and creative technologists who are challenging the traditional boundaries of human-machine interaction.

In this project we have been conceptualising a new set of gestures, imagining a new rapport between autonomous vehicles (AVs) and humans in the near future when (AVs) will enter the public space. Our proposal relies on existing patterns of communication, patterns we consider as a language to be adopted in this field; this language could instil trust in humans who share the public space with AVs, be they passengers, pedestrians, drivers, or other road users. Beyond ensuring that safety is maintained, we aspire to counter alienation by taking a holistic approach to these forms of communication, considering aspects such as human attention and road conditions. The communication patterns we are developing rely on technologies applied as an add-on shield on top of an existing autonomous public shuttle.  We would like to reimagine the communication with the AV, employing potential modalities such as light, motion and sound.

It is our goal to create a playful and engaging multimodal experience, one that centres on human needs, and to stretch the boundaries of non-verbal, cross-cultural communication which we deem to be essential for the near future.

Ideation session in a design sprint

Team members 

Ben Lev
Interaction Designer and Bezalel Lecturer at the Visual Communication B.Des and Industrial Design M.Des depts

Guy Blander
Interaction designer and Bezalel Lecturer at Industrial Design M.Des dept

Naomi Slaney
Artist and design researcher, projects manager at Lab 212 & Bezalel X

Ronel Mor
Interaction Designer and Senior lecturer at Bezalel at the Visual Communication B.Des + Industrial Design M.Des depts

Tom Reznikov
Interaction Designer, Head of Design at Riskified

Yuri Klebanov
Research Associate @ U-Tokyo DLX Design Lab