USDOT releases RFI for ‘Inclusive Design Challenge’

A Request for Information (RFI) for the Inclusive Design Challenge has been published by the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT), according to an announcement from Transportation Secretary Elaine L. Chao at the Access and Mobility for All Summit.  

“The department will award $5 million to aid the development of innovative new solutions that increase the availability and accessibility and reduce the cost of technologies of light-duty passenger vehicles,” said Secretary Chao. 

The Inclusive Design Challenge will solicit solutions addressing obstacles faced by persons with physical, sensory, and/or cognitive disabilities. The goal of the Inclusive Design Challenge is to inspire inclusive designs for automated vehicles (AVs) as they are developed, as well as to increase access to the conventional vehicles of today. 

USDOT says it recognizes the potential mobility benefits that AVs could bring to persons with disabilities. The wide diversity of disabilities and resulting needs for inclusive vehicle designs increase the complexity of the engineering challenge. Designers will aim to address this issue and compete for an overall prize purse of up to $5,000,000 through this dual-stage Inclusive Design Challenge. 

Through the RFI, USDOT is soliciting feedback from academia, research laboratories, industry, government agencies and other stakeholders on the scope and evaluation criteria for the Inclusive Design Challenge. The RFI is designed to obtain information that will further frame the Inclusive Design Challenge topic, design and evaluation criteria, and will be open for 30 days. 

The RFI was posted on the USDOT website on Dec. 31, 2019, and will be published in the Federal Register.