Autonomous Vehicle Interface Design
Timeline
March 2020 - April 2020
My Role
UX Researcher + Designer
Tools
Figma, Miro, Photoshop
Overview
Self-driving cars are soon to be the future. However, in order to design a car interface for a self-driving car, it is essential to understand some of the pre-existing issues that a driver faces while using a current, modern interface. This project was dedicated to crafting an enhanced user experience for a future self-driving car.
Process
Research
In the first phase of this project, I conducted a brainstorming session with my classmates to discuss some initial ideas about what we believed an autonomous vehicle would look like. We listed out the essential features a car must have as well as some ideas for luxury, innovative features we would like to see in a future self-driving car.
Car Deconstruction
I started with deconstructing the interfaces of two vehicles, the Tesla Model X and Audi e-tron. I listed all the features and laid out the navigation hierarchy of each vehicles’ interface in a UI flowchart. As a new user myself, I also documented the positive and negative experiences I encountered while using each interface.
Flowchart: Tesla Model X & Audi e-tron
UI Asset Inventory: Tesla Model X & Audi e-tron
Survey & user interviews (n=53)
I developed a questionnaire and collected a total of 53 survey responses. The main takeaways included:
Demographics (age, occupation)
Primary use of driving
Likes & dislikes regarding EVs
Things that are important to them to consider when purchasing an EV
Activities that they engage in when not driving a car
iPhone/Android user
To quickly visualize the user’s needs, I created an empathy map. I used my findings from the questionnaire to create an overview of user needs and preferences, including what the user was thinking, feeling, doing, seeing, and hearing.
A user persona for Jen was developed based on the questionnaire data I collected. This gave me a better understanding of the target audience and how to design for their needs.
I developed a user journey map to create a timeline of all touch points between the user and the self-driving vehicle we were designing. This allowed me to examine how a potential driver may interact with the car interface, based on his/her unique motivations and goals.
User Interface
UI Flowchart
In the second phase of this project, I laid out a UI flowchart to help me visually map out and sequence the steps the user would take to use different features of my car.
The following use case scenarios were developed to illustrate how a driver would utilize different features of the car. Due to the time constraints of this project, I focused solely on Scenario 03 for the development of my car UI.
Design
Design Iterations
Based on the persona generation and results of the user survey, I decided to focus on designing an interface that would allow the user to multitask. The design of my interface allows for seamless integration of the user’s phone with the car via facial recognition upon login. Additionally, a self-parking feature is designed into the car’s UI. This notifies the user when she is near her destination, allowing her to turn on the auto-park mode and select the nearest parking structure in the area.
