Infotainment System w/ AI assistant for Self-Driving Cabs

Screen Recording 2024-12-12 at 6.24.21 PM.mov

Quick Demo

Self-driving technology is the future of the automotive industry and the major form of transportation. However, digital systems in vehicles nowadays are still heavily designed for drivers, not passengers. Here, a passenger-centric AI Infotainment system is designed for passengers to use in full self-driving cars.

A Quick Demo is showcased here, which provides a high-level view of the landing page, navigation, and main tabs. You can directly view all prototypes and more video demos in the later sections.

*This a group project for UW HCDE518 User-Centered Design. My primary responsibilities are competitive analysis, market research, PRDs, evaluation plans, wireframing, and user testing.

Competitive Analysis

Examined user review videos of Waymo by Alphabet (USA) and Apollo by Baidu (PRC), the top 2 self-driving services
Conducted in-depth research on user flow, including UI interactions, authentication methods, and physical and digital layout.

Link to competitive analysis Excel: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/14UjgLNKUcWTAy6w8ufLxevHJ99vQuc1X/edit?gid=1310975666#gid=131097566

User Research

Surveys: We conducted qualitative research online and created multiple-choice questions to gather insights from potential users. Using Google Forms, we received over 50+ responses from real users, including students, professionals, and frequent ride-hailers.
Interviews: 10 potential users, a mix of frequent business travelers, casual vacationers, and commuters. This range was chosen to capture diverse perspectives on how they might use ride-hailing and self-driving systems in different contexts.

Persona #1 via User Research

Persona #2 via User Research

3 main user flows

User Onboarding for 1st time users
Navigation & Map related features
Other Primary in-vehicle features

Wireframes

Initial Wireframe: produced based on competitive analysis and current infotainment systems in automobiles (i.e., Tesla, NIO, General Motors) and navigation-map-based applications (i.e., Google Map, Uber, Waze).

UI Design: Unlike driver-centered systems that need more consideration for low cognitive effort and quick access, our system's UI layout emphasizes on simplicity, distinct features, and big visuals for passengers.

Evaluation Plan

Details of feature list + corresponding evaluation plans (link): https://docs.google.com/document/d/1JJMB8jJAQNNv-LO4aqQMerb45Lw7UamtjvX7NuOwAxA/edit?usp=sharing

Prototypes

I. Landing Page

The landing page will be the UI that passengers spend the most time looking at, or default stay at. This landing page includes a map and navigation view with live-time trip information (Distance, Speedometer, Time to Destination, Current Time, and Trip Progress Indicator). Dark Mode is supported for passengers who ride after sunset to ensure smooth interactivity and viewing experience.

II. Ride & Discovery

There are 2 primary use cases for this feature:

Users who have spare time to explore the cities based on 6 categories (1) Food & Drink; (2) Art & Culture; (3) Picture Spots; (4) Historic Sites; (5) Architecture; (6) Party.
Passengers who are visiting a city and wish to explore a variety of spots - users can pick the spots in the above 6 categories, and edit destinations or add spots along their way as they desire.

Integrated 3rd-party app: TripAdvisor. Top picks recommendations and reservations systems are integrated with TripAdvisor's exploration features, providing the most suited recommendations for a passenger.

III. Media Entertainment

The Media Entertainment section allows users to play music, watch videos, and take selfies.

Essential Feature Considerations: Music and Video playing are the most common features that passengers are going to use based on user research data.
Integrating 3rd party apps (i.e., Spotify for Music; and Netflix for videos) is the best implementation. The UI largely aligns with the mainstream music and video apps to ensure smooth integration.

IV/V. AC & HVAC controls (Left) / Seat Adjustments (Right)

Climate Controls: Both AC & HVAC are implemented. The design was made straightforward given test subjects feedback during evaluation. Most users stated that they prefer the simple + and - signs as controls, rather than a scrolling bar, or other more dynamically interactive buttons.
Seat Adjustments: 7-way adjustable seat reclining to ensure passenger comfort, heated & cooled seats considering the relevant hardware are implemented.
Climate Controls and Seat Adjustments are the most fundamental control of any automotive system, and the concept here is "keep it functional and intuitive".

VI. Contact Support

Live-Support: Human customer service is available for live consulting, and takeover of vehicles under customer inquiry.
Important Emergency Consideration: Under necessary conditions, passengers can choose to make the autonomous vehicle pull over to the side of the road for any safety-related reason (i.e., ambulance in front, road closure).

VII. About this Vehicle

Showcase vehicle details. current battery levels and reviews to inform passengers about the vehicle's service history and current conditions.

Personalized AI Assistant

Act like an in-vehicle "Siri", assisting the passengers when they don't want to interact with the UI, or simply prefer voice interactions.
All features above can be used by voice activating the AI assistant.
Text-to-speech & Speech-to-Text implemented for optimal interactive illustrations.
Accessibility considerations: visual-impairment or other people with disabilities, who are still able to use their voice, can also perfectly interact with the infotainment features.

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