Older adults will tell you that losing their driving license is like getting a death sentence. In her unstoppable journey to empower seniors, Dr. Sherrilene Classen, a professor and chair of the Department of Occupational Therapy in the UF College of Public Health and Health Professions, is getting older adults comfortable with autonomous vehicle technology as well as conducting research to develop autonomous transit resources to promote their independence and safety.
The Department of Occupational Therapy’s Institute for Mobility, Activity, and Participation team is collaborating with the Department of Industrial and Systems Engineering to assess younger and older drivers’ trust, attention, mental workload, and driving performance when using adaptive cruise control (ACC). Furthermore, younger and older drivers’ knowledge of ACC will be assessed before and after being exposed to this automated vehicle technology. Findings will inform researchers and vehicle manufacturers to develop educational material to train drivers to safely use ACC.
The Department of Occupational Therapy’s Institute for Mobility, Activity, and Participation team is collaborating with the University of Alabama at Birmingham and the City of Gainesville to better understand how younger and middle-aged drivers’ perceptions change after exposure to automated vehicle technology. Similar to the Phase I study, which assessed older adults’ perceptions of automated vehicles, participants will be exposed to the autonomous mode of driving simulator and an automated -shuttle operating in downtown Gainesville. Findings will inform policymakers, industry and rehabilitation scientists on perceptions of pre and exposure of this population.
The Department of Occupational Therapy’s Institute for Mobility, Activity, and Participation (I-MAP) team is working in collaboration with the University of Alabama at Birmingham and the City of Gainesville to better understand the perception, values, beliefs and attitudes of drivers 65 years and older as it relates to emerging autonomous vehicle technology.
Have you considered using UF’s full-car-cab high fidelity driving simulator in your research? Dr. Sherrilene Classen, editor of a new book on driving simulators for health care professionals, will discuss clinical applications of the simulators for medically-at-risk populations. Researchers have used simulators, including the full-car cab at the Smart House…
Tuesday, Oct. 10, 2017 3:30 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. Clinical and Translational Research Building 2004 Mowry Road Room 2161 (second floor) By Sherrilene Classen, PhD, MPH, OTR/L , FAOTA, FGSA Professor and Chair, Department of Occupational Therapy Director: Institute for Mobility, Activity and Participation…
We would like to acknowledge funding support from the following University of Florida units: the Office of Research, the Herbert Wertheim College of Engineering, the Engineering School of Sustainable Infrastructure and the Environment, the Department of Occupational Therapy and the College of Public Health and Health Professions. We would also…
An interdisciplinary group of researchers at the University of Florida (UF) has joined forces to enhance one of its driving simulators with up-to-date technology to study the human-vehicle interactions. Such studies aspire to potentially keep people safe, improve their driving performance, quality of life, or help them adapt to new…
Classen, Sherrilene; Monahan, Miriam; and Brown, Kiah (2014) "Indicators of Simulated Driving Skills in Adolescents with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder," The Open Journal of Occupational Therapy: Vol. 2: Iss. 1, Article 3.
