Rethinking the car information system
Collaborators: Annie Ye Zhou, Chip Dong Lim, Emma Bulajewski, Hadiza Ismaila
METHODS AND SKILLS
Interaction Design, Primary research, Scenarios, Visual Design and Map Design
BACKGROUND
This was a four week group project for Foundations of Interaction Design at University of Washington Division of Design. The project brief was to design a car information system. Envisioning a few years ahead, our team focused on designing a system that would provide a more efficient driving experience. We looked at efficiency in terms of reducing number of tasks and non essential inputs and improving situational awareness as well as time efficiency.
Dynamic dashboard adapts to multiple screen sizes
System syncs destinations from calendar and texts on mobile
Simple touch gestures enable quickly adding way-points and changing routes
System detects events, closures and congestion
PROCESS
We started with researching existing technologies and future concepts in the automotive space, and visited a few car dealerships to interact with existing systems. After this initial research and talking to a few regular users, we outlined the main pain points in interactions with car information systems and came up with our experience goal of an efficient, seamlessly connected driving experience.
CONCEPT
For the interior of the car we re-imagined the dashboard as a huge dynamic display which can also be adapted as multiple combinations of left, right and central displays between the driver and the passenger. The idea is to reduce distraction while driving by enabling transfer of some controls like navigation exploration and music to the co-passenger. Adjusting screen sizes and transfer of content between driver and passenger work by simple hand gestures.
Detecting proximity, the system connects and syncs up with the drivers mobile phone. The navigation system loads destinations from the calendar and texts on the phone. Simple touch gestures enable quickly adding way-points and changing routes.
On approaching the destination, the system helps locate available parking spots and stores the parking location on the drivers phone. We also incorporated real-time situational awareness in the system to detect events or closures and reroute the car via the most efficient route when it detects a traffic jam ahead.
In the early explorations we also explored concepts of social integration like locating friends and sharing routes and status when traveling together.