Independent Mobility with Yume
Yume is a mobility service platform that uses secure child-vehicle matching, parent-defined travel boundaries, and real-time oversight to enable supervised independence—reducing family transportation stress while building confidence.
B2C
Service Design
App
Contribution
Defining Opportunity, Experience Mapping, User Archetypes, Design Concept, Wireframing, Prototyping
Team
E. Pacenti, Mentor
S. Bertelsen, Partner
P. Chandra, Partner
Timeline
8 weeks, Summer 2025
I led Yume’s concept development, bridging children’s independence with parent peace of mind through autonomous mobility.
From researching declining youth mobility and family transportation stress to defining the service vision, I developed user personas for parents and children, mapped end-to-end journeys across touchpoints, and designed core features that enable supervised independence while reducing family anxiety.
OVERVIEW
Problem
Kids today have far less independent mobility than previous generations. Parents face mounting pressure balancing safety concerns with their children's need for autonomy, while children lack safe, reliable ways to travel independently—creating a cycle of family transportation stress, missed developmental opportunities, and constant dependence on parent availability.
How Might We?
Enable children's safe, independent travel while maintaining parental oversight and control, reducing family transportation burdens and fostering confidence through supervised autonomy?
Solution
Yume is a service layer on autonomous vehicle platforms that gives children safe, independent travel while keeping parents connected through real-time visibility and control, reducing family stress, fostering confidence, and enabling age-appropriate growth toward independence.
BACKGROUND
Primary & Secondary Research
Transportation is a major source of family stress. Parents face significant time burdens—30% spend over 30 minutes daily driving kids to school, and 62% miss work due to childcare coordination. Meanwhile, children's independent mobility has plummeted, with only 15% walking or biking to school today compared to 50% in 1969.
Safety concerns and inadequate infrastructure have created a cycle where environmental risks push families toward over-supervised solutions, limiting the independent exploration critical for healthy child development.
Learn More
SOLUTION
yume
Introducing
Japanese word for ‘dream,’ but also ‘you’ and ‘me’ in the name–representing the mutual understanding between parents and kids that makes independence possible.
EXPERIENCE
Archetype A
Parent (Laura) who needs dependable solution that fits into their child’s routine.
They manage all family logistics and rarely delegate and want to prioritize routine to avoid disruptions.
Archetype B
Kid (Maya) reliant on parent often misses activities due to transport limits.
They follow a fixed daily routine set by parents: attend school, extracurricular activities, and playdates when rides are arranged.
How it works
An intelligent service layer for autonomous vehicles that grows with families. Parents start with complete control—setting boundaries, approving trips, staying informed. As children demonstrate readiness and confidence builds naturally, independence expands. It's guided autonomy that evolves from full oversight to empowered freedom.
Select area to mark it as safe or unsafe zones
Safe zones
Unsafe zones
Select area to mark it as safe or unsafe zones
Safe zones
Unsafe zones
7:30 PM
Peace of mind with
safety zones
Parents can set geographic boundaries by drawing street-level perimeters or setting radius-based areas around familiar locations. Green zones mark approved areas while red zones indicate off-limits locations, expanding gradually as children prove responsible.
BEFORE TRIP
DURING TRIP
AFTER TRIP
BEFORE TRIP
DURING TRIP
END TRIP
Wednesday
06 Aug 2025
Laura
7 AM
8 AM
9 AM
11 AM
10 AM
9 AM
Maya’s singing class
1011 Shotwell St
Pasta making session
1090 Dr Maya Angelou
7:30 PM
Journey simplified with
AI agent
Yume proactively suggests rides by integrating with family and school calendars, automatically identifying transportation needs and proposing optimized routes. Parents can review and approve with a single tap–shifting the mental load from parents to the system.
Time for Maya’s singing class
Trip details:
Yume number :
ABC0123
ETA :
40 mins
Destination :
1011 Shotwell St
Show route
Approve Yume
Deny, change of plans
BEFORE TRIP
DURING TRIP
END TRIP
6:40 AM
Board confidently with
secure verification
Yume combines face scanning and PIN authentication to verify each child's identity before boarding. This dual-layer security ensures only authorized riders can access the vehicle, providing parents peace of mind while enabling independent entry.
BEFORE TRIP
DURING TRIP
END TRIP
3 min
9:41
9:41
Arriving in
3 min
ABC0123
Arriving in 3 minutes
145 Hoopers St
80 Crestline Dr
6:43 AM
Stay informed with
live activity
Yume proactively suggests rides by integrating with family and school calendars, automatically identifying transportation needs and proposing optimized routes. Parents can review and approve with a single tap–shifting the mental load from parents to the system.
BEFORE TRIP
DURING TRIP
END TRIP
6:55 AM
See and hear with
connect
Yume provides live video feed and two-way communication, allowing parents to check in whenever needed. This on-demand safety net offers peace of mind while enabling independence, with usage naturally decreasing as trust builds over time.
Maya is currently on her way to violin class
ETA : 04 mins
Live
Inside car
Outside car
Maya is currently on her way to violin class
ETA : 04 mins
Live
Inside car
Outside car
Trip Complete
Desti nation: 145 Hooper St
Time: 4:30 PM
6:58 AM
Arrive safely with
smart exits
Every exit is protected as the vehicle watches for approaching bikes and traffic. The moment passenger arrives to the destination, an instant photo confirmation is sent to the parent—transforming complex coordination into effortless peace of mind.
BEFORE TRIP
DURING TRIP
END TRIP
FUTURE FORESEIGHT
Introduction
The future of mobility is service-based, autonomous, and integrated into urban infrastructure. Yume is part of the future where mobility empowers the next generation rather than replacing their agency.
Transportation as-a-service
Yume embodies the shift from ownership to service—shared mobility accessible to all families without the costs and burdens of owning vehicles.
Vibrant community spaces
Neighborhoods are designed for people, not just cars. When families aren’t trapped in the driving cycle, communities become more engaged and connected.
Safe independence
Children navigate their environment confidently and autonomously, moving through their world without parental escort while families maintain connection and oversight.
Thank you
for exploring.
Want to
know more?
Let’s
chat.
© 2025 Sayya Dushanbieva