Rapid User-centered Design and Optimization of Lab Facilities (RUDOLF) for STEM Inclusion

The goal of the “Rapid User-centered Design and Optimization of Lab Facilities (RUDOLF) for STEM Inclusion” project is to provide students with mobility disabilities a guide for adapting lab spaces to be accessible so they may be as independent and productive as possible. The number of persons with disabilities (PWDs) in the science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) workforce is greatly underrepresented.

The lack of PWDs in the STEM workforce denies the U.S. the advantage of a wealth of lived experiences and talent of this underrepresented group. To promote the greater inclusion of persons with physical disabilities in STEM, it is critical that they can fully participate in typical lab activities. Practical lab experiences are essential in acquiring important knowledge and activity-based learning skills and consequent employment in STEM.

Unfortunately, students and scientists with physical disabilities have great difficulties in actively participating in STEM activities due to barriers in laboratory environments and developing important lab skills.

The RUDOLF project proposes innovative technical and learning research activities to develop a generative AI toolkit that rapidly and automatically produces accessible lab designs from building information modeling (BIM) plans to accommodate the active participation of students with mobility impairments. The AI toolkit will identify critical architectural barriers based on accessibility guidelines that are evident in various lab spaces and produce candidate accessible lab designs.

We will partner with the Gregory S. Fehribach Center STEM internship program that includes college students with physical disabilities from multiple colleges and universities seeking STEM. The candidate accessible lab designs will be transformed into 3-D virtual reality (VR) immersive environments for Fehribach Center interns with disabilities to interact and be assessed using human-centered design approaches.

Further adaptation of these accessible lab designs will be performed according to the specific needs of the interns with disabilities based on their unique experiences and preferences. Accommodation optimization models will be developed to consider workflow affected by the addition of coworkers and varying lab tasks. First-person interaction with 3-D VR environments in real-time will allow participants to rank and weigh accessible lab design features.

Project goals after the review process will focus on the development of this AI-based accessibility toolkit. The generative AI learning and flexibility of the RUDOLF system allows it to assess a variety of STEM lab environments from postsecondary education to the workplace. Future research can be broadened to accommodate different disabilities in various STEM fields, including labs from biomedical labs to machining workshops.

This award has been made in response to the NSF solicitation “Workplace Equity for Persons with Disabilities in STEM and STEM Education” (NSF 23-593). The project is funded by the Directorate for Engineering.

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.