Associate Professor Rafael Gomez
Associate Professor Rafael Gomez
Associate Professor Rafael Gomez, Fellow of the Design Institute of Australia, is an Industrial Designer, researcher and was Program Lead for Design for Future Mobility at the QUT Design Lab. His research focuses on the future of mobility and transportation, with particular interests in accessible and inclusive autonomous vehicles, human-machine interaction, emerging technologies, robotics, electric mobility and future transport and mobility systems.
Rafael is Founder and Lead of the BMW Group + QUT Design Academy, an award-winning research, education and R&D partnership exploring emerging technologies and future mobility through collaborations with BMW Group globally. His broader mobility research brings together design, engineering, psychology, and health to real-world industry partnerships including collaborations with Queensland Department of Transport and Main Roads (TMR), idealworks GmbH, Alstom, Sime Darby Motors, Beam Mobility and RACQ, to name a few.
A major focus of his research is the application of human-centred and systems-oriented design to emerging transportation challenges. This includes a long-term collaboration with TMR developing design principles for accessible autonomous vehicles, electric-vehicle interior UI/UX research, future automotive HMI, micromobility and emerging mobility ecosystems. Rafael is also involved in the Advanced Air Mobility Cooperative Research Centre (AAM CRC) application and is undertaking Olympic Mobility design research exploring future transportation for the Brisbane 2032 Olympic and Paralympic Games. Through this work, he seeks to demonstrate how design research can help shape transportation systems that are more accessible, inclusive, enjoyable, technologically responsive and centred on future human needs.