Project Overview

HawkRide is an autonomous campus shuttle Human-Machine Interface (HMI) and User Experience (UX) project for Illinois Institute of Technology’s dense Chicago urban campus. Built on IIT Robotics Lab’s self-developed multimodal AI radar system and live campus datasets, the project addresses critical “last-mile” transportation challenges by transforming shuttle travel from passive commute into an intelligent, adaptive, and engaging campus experience.

The Challenge

IIT students face a persistent last-mile transportation gap, with average on-campus travel times of 15-22 minutes between transit stations and campus destinations. Beyond this logistical challenge lies a deeper design question: How can we create a human-centered autonomous mobility experience that adapts technical systems to user needs in a specific campus context? Given accurate radar mapping and environmental data from road tests, which features would genuinely enhance user experience while integrating AI operations seamlessly?

System Integration

HawkRide integrates real-time campus data streams: IIT Alert for safety notifications, campus security networks for monitoring, student portals for personalized schedules and building access, and academic calendars for traffic prediction. This transforms the shuttle into an intelligent service responding to university life rhythms.

Transparency and Trust

Our core principle makes autonomous decision-making visible and comprehensible. Adaptive visualizations reveal what the vehicle perceives—pedestrians, cyclists, obstacles, weather. When the shuttle slows, reroutes, or pauses, passengers understand why through clear explanations, transforming anxiety into confidence.

Key Features

– Information density adjusts intelligently: new riders receive detailed explanatory displays; experienced users get streamlined interfaces. During anomalies (construction, emergencies, weather), the system proactively explains deviations, maintaining trust through transparency.

– Personalized Experience:Connecting with institutional systems, HawkRide delivers services beyond basic transportation. Learning schedules, locations, and permissions enables proactive departure suggestions, optimized routing for preferred entrances, intelligent peak-period traffic management, and personalized accessibility features.

– Multi-Modal Design: Accessible interface design spans touchscreen displays with high-contrast typography, multilingual voice commands, mobile app integration, and physical controls. Interfaces adapt to environmental conditions and user contexts.

– Safety-Prioritized: Safety permeates every decision. IIT Alert integration ensures immediate emergency notifications. Multimodal AI radar continuously monitors hazards. The HMI builds confidence through intuitive visualizations showing active safety prioritization without inducing anxiety.