Episode 20

First Responders and Robotaxis with Chris Dodge

Published on: 2nd June, 2026

As robotaxis flood public roads, many groups continue to voice safety concerns. One ongoing challenge relates to how driverless cars interact with fire engines, ambulances, and law enforcement. In this special episode, Derek and Chris put on their “researcher hats” to moderate an interview / participatory design session with Christopher Dodge (a firefighter, EMT, and former UX researcher!) on best practices for robotaxis and first responders.

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About the Podcast

UX Soup
Bite-sized human-centered design insights
Join Chris Schreiner, Derek Viita, and Lisa Schreiner from User Driven Strategies as they discuss the latest developments impacting the user experience, whether in the car, at home, or on the go. Examine the state of the UX and human factors professions, listen to interviews from leading practitioners in industry and academia, and hear the team discuss the latest products and services from a human-centered design perspective.

About your hosts

Chris Schreiner

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Chris has 25 years of experience in automotive HF and UX, working for automotive OEMs, suppliers, academic research institutions, and consultancies, providing objective and actionable guidance impacting design.

Chris has over 20 years of experience in UX and human factors research, and has successfully led projects globally for clients in the automotive and wireless industries.

Derek Viita

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Derek is a human factors expert who helps tech companies, research orgs, and consultancies build safe and useful things. His passion is automotive UX, with 2 decades of specialized expertise. Beyond cars, his work has spanned mobile devices, physical workstations, virtual telecom platforms, mobile payment, and more.

Derek has produced live research, workshops, and conference presentations on 3 continents, and is a named author on over a dozen peer-reviewed papers and technical reports.