Traffic is an unavoidable non-productive activity that every driver/passenger bears. The project explores ways in which the automotive infotainment unit can engage users according to the current traffic condition type by recommending alternatives and assist in completion of tasks which are otherwise restricted for driver when in normal driving mode.
The concept was showcased at Consumer Electronics Show (CES-2015) and has a related patent titled : US20170370741 | Infotainment system for recommending a task during a traffic transit time.
Problem
Traffic was an unanimous problem voiced out by all participants in various ideation sessions outlining automotive experiences.
Drivers in the ten most traffic-jammed cities of U.S, spent on average - 42 hours - more than a typical working week, behind the wheels each year.
In 2011, Americans spent 5.5 billion hours sitting in traffic, wasting $121 billion in gas and personal time.
The statistics range from 45 mins for 3km and upto 3hrs for 12kms across Asian countries.
UX Painpoint
Available navigation assistance apps/devices gave various ways of reporting traffic and delay associated but not means of engaging user when he is amidst congestion. Therefore drivers can only resort to using their mobile phone to either perform some chores over calls or play games or access/post social updates or simply listen to radio/music from their vehicle infotainment unit. While reaching out to their smartphones to perform intended activities seems like a easy option it comes with the following hassles – to alternate between mobile interaction and driving controls counts for heavy distraction, lack of knowledge of whether an initiated task on mobile can be completed without data loss or repetitive data entry.
Driver Expectations
Based on a study conducted on effects of traffic conditions on attitudes towards in-vehicle agents (instructive Vs informative) -
Only in the context of light traffic participants preferred an instructive agent
Agents that help drivers’ performance by e.g. providing preparatory information when approaching stressful situations might be appreciated more than agents interfering with driving decisions 'on the spot‘
Providing preparatory information can decrease stress reactions and increase perceived control, self-efficacy and performance
What does FLUX denote ?
Move or progress freely as if in a stream || Transcend from ‘stuck’ to ‘progress’ mindset in driver
Become liquid or fluid when heated || Transform UI with content according to traffic + user context
Mix together different elements || Translate data from navigation apps + V2V/V2X*+ADAS* to information
* Vehicle to Vehicle | Vehicle to Infrastructure | Advanced Driver Assistance Systems
UX Touchpoints
FLUX utilizes predicted/measured traffic type and duration as triggers for the in-vehicle infotainment unit to recommend context relevant content to driver/user and facilitate safe interaction by eliminating the need to reach out to their smartphones. The recommendations vary based on the idle time that current traffic type would give the user as well as the cognitive load that user can handle at that time.
An experience map below illustrates different UX touch-points along with the current Vs proposed user experience.
Interface Design
Demo sequence was prepared to include varied destination types and wait- times to showcase versatilility of recommendations even for a single user
Wireframes were developed for -
Cluster Display - Impending traffic details such as expected wait-time, arrival time are shown for at-a-glance reference by the driver. When wait-time is a few seconds, snippets of information are shown relevant to driver interests as customised via mobile app.
Infotainment Display - Depending on time of the day, traffic duration and destination, driver is shown suitable tasks to act upon.
Mobile Controller - Help the demo facilitator with switching different scenarios for demo.
CLUSTER DISPLAY
Impending traffic details such as expected wait-time, arrival time are shown for at-a-glance reference for the driver. When wait-time is a few seconds, snippets of information are shown relevant to driver interests as customised via mobile app.
MOBILE CONTROLLER
Demo facilitator shifts between various wait-time/destination combos to trigger relevant data for display on infotainment unit.
INFOTAINMENT DISPLAY
Driver can pay his bills or track his stock performance. This space is for recommending tasks based on the traffic wait-time + interests as customised by user.
