The evening was introduced by HOLM managing director Michael Kadow, curator and head of collection and research at the Historisches Museum Frankfurt Prof. Dr. Nina Gorgus and a keynote speech by urban geographer and futurologist Dr. Stefan Carsten. Moderated by senior innovation and network manager at HOLM Dr. Franziska Wouters, in the subsequent panel discussion Dr. Stefan Carsten, Ulrich Chiellino (head of transport policy at ADAC), Thorsten Möginger (head of new mobility at rms GmbH) and Nina Theobald, research associate in the “Human-Machine Interaction and Mobility” research group at our institute, discussed the opportunities and challenges of autonomous mobility. Despite different professional perspectives, there was agreement that the future belongs to autonomous vehicles – and the decisive factor is how it is designed.

In her contributions, Nina Theobald emphasized the central role of communication for the social acceptance of autonomous vehicles – both in public dialogue and in direct interaction between humans and machines. Public discussion events such as this evening, which offer interested citizens the opportunity to inform themselves, ask questions and talk to experts, are essential to reduce uncertainty and build trust. Equally important is the opportunity to get hands-on experience of the technology – for example, as part of test drives or user studies that the “Human-Machine Interaction and Mobility” research group at the IAD conducts as part of its research. She also emphasized how crucial the design of communication between users and autonomous vehicles is for their acceptance – the key topic of her research. Whether passengers, pedestrians or workers: Everyone needs to feel understood, safe and comfortable when interacting with autonomous vehicles. Research and funding projects such as Campus FreeCity and STADT:up, in which she was and is involved, make an important contribution to this.

Anyone who wants to take a closer look at the mobility of yesterday, today and tomorrow should not miss the worthwhile special exhibition “Bewegung! Frankfurt and Mobility” at the Historisches Museum Frankfurt. It has been extended until 01.02.2026. Further information can be found at: https://lnkd.in/eKbhM_a4

Many thanks to the HOLM and the Historisches Museum Frankfurt for inviting us to this exciting discourse – a topic that drives us and to which we dedicate ourselves with expertise and enthusiasm.