The UX interface between yesterday’s and tomorrow’s cars
Yesterday’s interfaces :
I still remember the trips of my childhood in my mother’s ax citroen where the dashboard seemed to me incredibly complicated or even futuristic, I realize today that it simply goes to the essentials for the driver. At this time the security was questionable, the word interface was then still unknown to tell you.
The “interface” dashboard was entirely physicalThe “interface” dashboard was entirely physical. I didn’t understand the buttons and icons used, thinking about it today it was surprisingly well thought out. The most important thing, the essential was there with even warning lights that are not even present on my car today (oil temperature and battery status).
Today’s interfaces :
Today’s cars are surprisingly similar to those of 30 years ago, there’s a clear evolution in performance, technology, etc. However, small things have changed, some of which I felt very comfortable with and others that for me didn’t require an upgrade.
First of all, the steering wheel, the tool that used to steer the car, is now an essential interface.
Indeed, with the multiplication of functionalities in today’s vehicles, it had become difficult and even dangerous to control them from the dashboard.
In most vehicles you now have access to more than 20 functions from the steering wheel. Most of these functions are also available on the dashboard. Radio tuning, speed limiter and cruise control… The multiplication of its buttons, functions are supposed to make driving easier but they can also complicate it. I don’t use my speed limiter very often, so I had a hard time to find it when I wanted to activate it. In the end I had to take my eyes off the road many times.
Secondely with the introduction of other elements in the car user interface, such as smartphone integration, Bluetooth and Wi-Fi connectivity, autonomous driving and touch screens. The combined effect of the trend towards car user interface design could not keep pace with digital technology, dashboards became increasingly complex, and the car user interface became increasingly cluttered. It should not be forgotten that driving is a dangerous activity and all these new features are starting to distract the driver more and more. I think a change is needed! With the increasing number of functionalities that the car can offer, the trend towards manual control must be abandoned and alternative solutions such as autonomous driving, voice assistant, a controle with large gestures for the most important actions… must be considered.
Tomorrow’s interfaces :
Before the user interface becomes yesterday’s news and a car’s passengers are able to have separate, meaningful relationships with its HMI. But while touchscreens are commonplace, from phones to fridges, they’re not especially suited to automotive applications once you take bumps in the road into account. So how do you get around it?
Gesture control :
A new method to control the interface or the dashboard of the car could be the use of gestures. This would signal the return of direct control of the vehicle’s functionality.
Detecting 3D gesture data is becoming progressively easier, not only thanks to inexpensive sensors and processors.
Today AIs can detect physical characteristics such as head nods, facial position and hand gestures, but also micro changes such as eye movements, a process already well established with the Driving Sleep Detector. Tomorrow they could go much further, the driver (or passengers) could control the main functions of the car with natural hand gestures ranging from entertainment to navigation. With simple hand gestures, this future system would allow users to :
- Control the climate by temperature and fan speed
- Control the music by track selection and volume
- Manage navigation/maps, including defining a new route
- Answering/rejecting phone calls
-Switch between functions via a menu system
AR on windscreens :
You and I have already seen or heard about augmented reality on windscreens Augmented reality uses your windshield as a display screen to project information important to the driver, with heads-up displays (HUD) offering dashboard readouts such as speed, RPMs and gas mileage as well as weather reports and lane departure warnings. “It will display different symbols on your windshield regarding the road So if you need to make a right-hand turn in a quarter mile, it will overlay on the windshield a green arrow on the road.. In my opinion, in the future with the democratisation of autonomous driving, the dashboard will display much more information such as the time, maps, that may be Facebook and instagram feeds etc. It will no longer be just a dashboard, but a duplication of your mobile’s screen.
Voice assistant :
With road safety in mind, voice will stop drivers glancing at their smartphones and in-car screens, and they’ll instinctively choose to converse with their navigation system to provide the guidance, information and entertainment needed. Those screens that used to constantly take the eyes away from the road ahead will soon seem redundant in comparison.
Autonomous cars equipped with voice technologies to inform, control and secure driving. It goes without saying that being at the wheel of a car can be dangerous, as can everything around the driver: passengers, other motorists, bad weather…. In addition to reducing the use of the phone while driving, voice assistants, in conjunction with other applications in the car, will have to provide practical information that is crucial (location of the nearest parking lot, imminent danger spotted…).
Today, writing a message, consulting the news, controlling music/radio is possible from the voice interface of the car. Tomorrow’s voice assistant will have to do much more, be able to change destination, modify the cruise control, control the driver’s state of fatigue …. Finally, voice UX specific to voice assistants is a crucial issue, on the one hand because it must take into account the safety issues linked to driving, and on the other hand the user experience must be as simple and quick as possible, so as not to distract the driver.
Giant dashboards and mirrors:
The dashboard could be divided into three screens: a standard screen for the driver, a central screen and a screen that the front passenger can manipulate.
Digital side mirrors could be integrated with a return on the dashboard. They could be linked to speed cameras and sensors that detect the environment, which would make it possible to generate contextual alerts on the screen as soon as a danger arises.
The dashboard could be divided into three screens: a standard screen for the driver, a central screen and a screen that the front passenger can manipulate.
Digital side mirrors could be integrated with a return on the dashboard. They could be linked to speed cameras and sensors that detect the environment, which would make it possible to generate contextual alerts on the screen as soon as a danger arises.
On-board computer and Human-Machine -Interface(HMI):
To power and guide these new fully digital interfaces, the cars of tomorrow will have to be equipped with ever more powerful and technologically advanced on HMI.
It is conceivable that the HMI could be used as a device for the automatic emergency services that warn the ambulance and fire brigade if the airbag has deployed.
Or location-based services: This is obvious and could include, among others, refuelling and restaurants.
And delivery by car, today delivery services are an integral part of our lives. Car-to-car communication: The HBI in each vehicle could communicate with each other to provide information on road conditions.
Even mirrors can become new interfaces, for example they can project a wider view from the rear camera become obsolete. The new mirrors will be able to incorporate a gesture control, for example, the driver will be able to choose between the standard rear view or that of a trailer camera. Blind spot camera views could even be incorporated into part of the screen when the indicator is applied.
Car companies don’t have the billions of dollars to spend on UX, and have a lot of other difficulties like ensuring their systems can last for more than a decade and run reliably no matter what. This isn’t to rag on car companies — your iPhone will be obsolete in three or four years, while that your new car will need to last at least 20. But it also makes you wonder why those tech companies don’t just make an in-car infotainment system. A trend that I forecast in the near future would be that HMIs will become standard and automobile companies would offer, an android-based system or an Apple-based system to customers. I foresee this for a specific reason of standardization in a connected world and there could be a time when customers could choose brands of cars based on the experience of its Human-Machine-Interface.
Don’t forget Design can be functional and beautiful
A great car has function and it has beauty, and should excel in both.
Indeed, the beauty of a car is often favoured over its functionality.
It is not enough that we build products that function, that are understandable and usable, we also need to build products that bring joy and excitement, pleasure and fun, and, yes, beauty to people’s lives.
Why not bring the beauty of the car into the HMI, blurring the lines between the car’s exterior and interior design with that of the UI to create one unified piece of design? A UI can be a part of the form of the entire car, not just a simple module or an island of interactivity in the interior.
Putting some real thinking and commitment into the beauty of the in-car UI is in itself a step forward and something we are particularly excited by.
Conclusion :
As well as AR on windscreens, voice control, gesture control… we will probably see advances in gesture control. Additionally, I imagine we will soon see a new class of discreet wearable tech allowing new methods of systems control. Even further ahead, what might be seen is the evolution of user interfaces. Might we be controlling our tech simply using the power of thought in the future? I think so. Although that sounds like science fiction, things generally are until they are made science fact.
Since the beginning of the automotive industry the user interface has been a key element in the design of a car and plays a huge role. But in my opinion it must completely abandon years of stagnation in the design principle of direct control and instead embrace the world of on-demand and personalized control, much as we have managed to move from the era of cell phones with physical buttons to the world of the touch screen. Although the future is mainly made up of purely autonomous vehicles, the possibilities we have to control our cars should be a simple, safe and enjoyable experience focused on the “now”, allowing us to focus on the present moment and enjoy it.