A connected vehicle experience
- back to the future
The challenge
Once we have the infrastructure in our cities, that will be smart enough to support connected cars for everyday use. Our project aimed to design an experience for "the autonomous car" of the future that people trust enough for everyday use.
Desktop study
Our economies are briskly changing, all initiated by developments in emerging markets, New technologies, changing consumer preferences, Increased automation, and Digitization.
New and innovative business models are revolutionizing the way we think about ownership in all industries, and the automotive industry is no exception.
All these put together are disrupting the automotive industry with Technology-driven trends like Diverse Mobility, Autonomous Driving, Electrification, and connectivity.
Ecosystem map (click to enlarge)
Field case Study
We did a case study of Tesla Model X and Acura MDX to understand the current autonomous driving experience and gain insights about the interaction design trends for such vehicles.
Design process
We created a persona and drafted a task analysis to identify all the necessary steps a user has to go through to commute from home to work in an existing scenario.
Then we came up with a "What if, in the future," a car becomes an entirely autonomous situation and created a task analysis for that scenario. Deriving from the framework exercise used earlier, we performed the task analysis of the current and future scenarios.
Information Architecture
After a few discussions and a couple of iterations, We decided on the main aspects necessary to make this physical experience work digitally in a seamless way.
– The most crucial aspect that would facilitate this experience is the ability to call/summon the car to pick you up in front of the door.
– The car will be able to park itself on the sidewalk and be able to look for parking once you get off the car at your destination.
– Once the car becomes autonomous, The need for knobs and buttons inside the vehicle will be replaced with led displays. Perhaps we could control/set the ambiance even before we get into the car.
– If we don't need to hold the steering to drive anymore – you could always use the time you will need to commute to do other productive work, Watch movies, attend calls, check email, etc.
Wireframes
Mapping the User flow
Entice > Enter > Engage > Exit > Extend
Using the framework of the compelling experience (The five E's) helped us identify and compare the user's activities and interaction with a vehicle in the current scenario, and how their interactions might change in the future to perform the same activities in a smart vehicle.
User testing & Co-Creation
User Study:
Three individuals from different backgrounds (a car owner, a commuter, and an occasional driver) were invited to participate. We provided them with a low fidelity prototype of a driverless car interior and a virtual conversational assistant. Their task was to interact with the prototype individually and in groups and provide feedback.
The experiment helped us to understand:
User expectations regarding the functionality of an intelligent vehicle as well as usability and modes of interaction.
Change in user behavior and interaction with the system when alone versus with other people on-board.
Concerns about privacy while sharing and viewing data on the vehicle's system and the effect of another individual's presence.
“I want an application on my phone/tab, which helps me interact with my vehicle. I wish it could replace my car keys.”
storyboard - The future experience
We created several personas to analyze the different scenarios and use cases of an automated vehicle. Finally, we used the persona of 'Matt' for our storyboard.
It’s the year 2025, Matt is in his late 30s works in a Tech company in the state of California and has a fully automatic car and uses it to commute from home to work on a daily basis. His usual travel time is two hours and prefers to leave early from home to avoid traffic. Like most other people he’s always in a rush in the morning. He usually travels alone and prefers to do some of his daily chores on his way to work and back home.
