Overview

DreamLine is an autonomous cabin design and seating solution geared toward extending the possible travel radius. The concept is framed as a luxury transportation service through a level five autonomous vehicle.

As autonomous vehicles (AV) are moving towards level five automation, we can utilize the autonomous technology to reimagine long-distance travel, increase the feasibility and range of the trip, and create a new paradigm of time flexibility on the road.

Problem Statement

In the future, a car will not be used just to get from point A to point B, but it will deliver a holistic experience that revolves around our daily activities, desires, and whims. The use of natural interaction to enhance user experience in autonomous vehicles presents a fascinating design that provides a framework for vast opportunities in the next driving economy. Beyond human-machine interaction, the project will focus on future interaction needs of humans in the car and others in a social road and understand human natural input with multisensory integration.

Research

In order to fully dive into the future of AV solutions, the project was split up into several research segments to gather a full understanding of the playing field. These sections include; current autonomous vehicles on the market and trends, vehicle seating anthropometry, current and future navigation technologies, human sleep cycles and ergonomics, and airline and train cabin design. Through these five topics a research a comprehensive map was created of the current market landscape.

Based on current projections, level 5 autonomy begins to seriously come into play through the 2030s. Even though some cars (Tesla) have the capability to pilot the technology, serious consideration must go into the social, political, and infrastructural changes to make this technology widely deployed.

People will begin to view their cars in a new light. They will start to take on one of three different roles to people. Either it will be used as "free" or "social" time where the passenger(s) can catch up extracurricular and leisure activities to and from scheduled appointments, it may be also used a "flexible work time" where the passenger(s) can reclaim time to be productive that is otherwise lost, or it will be used for sleep.

The last possibility holds the most promise for a new interior, interaction, and strategic design.

To better understand the benefits and the actual advantages of time spent asleep in a vehicle, a quick analysis of travel times was calculated. It is important to note that all time analysis calculated was done from the perspective of a quick weekend trip. Referencing the images (above/below), a sleep-friendly AV can give the users anywhere from 8-10 hours of additional active time per trip.

To further help narrow the scale and scope of the project, several restrictions were placed on the project. First, the sleeping solution is designed for 1-2 passengers in sleep mode, and 6 in transit mode.

Understanding that this would be a new "class" of cars, this car best fits into the service model as a way to enhance the users' journey. Because of this, the project was framed as an amenity for a luxury hotel brand as a way to enhance and aid in the travel experience even before they step foot in the hotel.

Design Process

The design process was divided into two sections. The first would look at what the physical cabin design would need to be to accommodate an autonomous sleeping solution while the second focused on the user interface once the passenger was in the vehicle.

This was a design heavy process with the entire project rooted in user center design and SEVERAL iteration of user testing.

Physical Design

Looking at current SUVs on the market and car compliance guidelines for highways, relevant dimensions of the car were obtained. It is also assumed that this vehicle will be an electric vehicle with the drive system stored in the floor unit of the car. Based on this, room that is usually reserved for the engine in the hood was freed up (crunch zone was intentionally ignored).

Several rounds of ideation and concept sketches led to the final design that would be used for the first round of user testing.

In addition to an extensive user testing guide being created a physical prototype was created with the rough dimensions for the prototype. Together four main objectives were listed to be discovered by engaging with users. This included: to better understand interior space, to study user ergonomics, to acquire user insight into concept and cabin layout, and to refine design details accordingly.

After talking with users and having them interact with the physical space of the first prototype three key findings and trends emerged: users enjoyed the amount of space given for moving and for sleeping, however, felt that like it was a little too big when it came to interacting with others, and finally, were concerned about privacy both from other passengers as well as from outside observers.

Based on these concerns redesigns and further prototypes began with modified and updated size constraints, conscious storage and luggage space, as well as privacy partitions.

For the second round of prototyping, a physical space was built. Storage and wall patrons were prototyped out of foam car while the adjustable seat and bed solution was built out of wood. This was to ensure that any users brought into space could actually sit, lie down, and move around in the mock-up car.

A new user research guide was written for the updated prototype with the explicit implications of understanding; more detailed passenger ergonomics desired storage solutions and sizes, and general comfort and transitional moments from transit mode to sleep mode. At this point, the user interface team was brought in to test how best to implement controls for the car.

User Interface

The user interface design process for the cabin underwent four cycles and engaged with a total of 14 users.

Understanding the UI for this vehicle was very important and broken down into six process flows; climate control, media control, lighting, navigation, cabin function, and safety/emergency controls.

understand how the six needs for a user interface would fit together. These were then attached to a low fidelity prototype of a digital device to help frame the product to users.

The objective of the first round of prototyping was to understand feature mapping from traditional dashboard to personal control system, understanding physical vs. digital control preferences, and to identifying which features are necessary and most important. Based on testing, a clear pattern emerged. Implementing analog seat controls was needed as well as a consideration for privacy and safety controls. A better understanding of the hierarchy of the home screen and a better implementation of lighting controls was also taken into consideration for round two.

After reviewing the prototype, new objectives were proposed and insight goals were made. Is the new physical button layout effective, the user interface between a slider and a button, and finally, the user interface for the new lighting and climate control screens?

After testing the second prototype with users, several insights were obtained. First, the sleep mode in the home screen was redundant and the feature to add stops caused some confusions.

The third round of prototyping was all about the digit mockup and moving towards a medium fidelity prototype. With feedback from the past two iterations, it was time mockup a prototype that could also have digital interactions. With the higher fidelity prototype, the user testing guide was focused on finding out if the flow of the control, lighting, and climate menus had been improved, as well as validating the first round of higher fidelity prototyping.

After the user testing and feedback, it was determined that the prototype was ready to mock up in its final version and apply a level of branding to match the physical prototype and assigned branding.

Service Design Strategy

As mentioned in the research section, the application of this AV concept is framed as a luxury transportation service through a level five autonomous vehicle. The brand assigned based on need alignment was the four seasons. This provided a luxury experience that matched the market for both high-quality travel and innovative companies.

Solution

The following gallery is a comprehensive look at the solution set forward for DreamLine, an autonomous cabin design and seating solution geared toward extending the possible travel radius. This gallery features what the internal cabin space would look like as well as the physical control of the user interface.