Shani Jayant

Head of Inclusive Design, Volkswagen Group of America

308 - Cars of the Future: New Technologies and New Opportunities

Shani Jayant is the head of the Inclusive Mobility Initiative at Volkswagen Group of America. Her work focuses on the design of future autonomous mobility for all people, including those with disabilities, through technology, design, policy, and social change.

Prior to joining Volkswagen, Dr. Jayant was a UX Researcher and Interaction Designer at the Perceptual Computing Group at Intel, working on creating experiences using 3D camera technologies for mobile, wearables, smart spaces, and augmented and virtual reality. She has worked extensively with the blind and low-vision community, and wrote her Ph.D. thesis at the University of Washington on non-visual mobile device interactions and blind photography. Dr. Jayant received her BS in mathematics, computer science, and music from New York University. She has been a radio dj for various stations around the country, including WNYU in New York, KEXP in Seattle, and KALX in Berkeley.