Redefining Safety Travel in Autonomous Vehicles

Redefines the journey experience in self-driving vehicles by integrating an intelligent, real-time assistant system

Project overview

The "Smart Brook" redefines the journey experience in self-driving vehicles by integrating an intelligent, real-time assistant designed to personalize and enhance passenger interactions.
This advanced system not only empowers passengers to highly customize their travel experience—such as city exploration, entertainment, and parking control—but also enhances passenger awareness of decisions made by the car. By offering open, real-time, multimodal agent support, the AI Companion fosters a stronger sense of control and safety, elevating trust and comfort in autonomous transportation.

Design goals

  • Empowered Customization: Enable passengers to tailor their travel experiences, including exploring cities, selecting entertainment.
  • Multimodal Support: Provide seamless, real-time interaction through voice, touch, and visual interfaces to ensure accessibility and ease of use.
  • Transparency & Awareness: Enhance passenger understanding of the vehicle's autonomous decision-making process to build trust and reduce anxiety.
  • Safety & Control: Deliver features that give passengers a sense of control, such as real-time feedback on the car's operations and the ability to adjust preferences during the journey.

Design Problem

How Might We redesign smart passenger experience to improve their sense of control and safety without strengthen stereotypes of AI system?

Information

Type
Product Design
Platform
HMI screens
My Role
Product Designer+Researcher
Other Members in My Team
Shreya, Yuan, Will
Design Methods
User-Centered Design | Interaction Design  | Prototyping | Scenario-Based Design | User Interviews | Competitive Analysis | Behavioral Observation | Surveys | Usability Testing

Final Design

Product Advertisement Video

Research

01 Quantitative Survey

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.

02 Qualitative User Interview

We interviewed 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.

03 Competitor Analysis

Feature Understanding
We want to understand what in-vehicle features these companies are providing to their passengers.
POV Video Analysis
POV videos are the primary source, categorized as behavioral recordings. All videos selected for understanding in-vehicle features and passenger experience are unedited, or minimally edited documentation of an entire ride.
Competitive Analysis Chart
From each video, action steps were logged as annotations. The Excel chart is a combined list of steps that users took from booking a ride to exiting the vehicle, with all features that users can choose to use.

04 Define Stakeholders

Based on both the Quantitative and Qualitative research outcomes, we decided to defone two user personas to represent our target audience.

05 Design Planning

01 Specification Design Requirements

Our Team prioritized a user-centric, engaging experience with key features like customizable routes, entertainment, and car controls. Transparency is ensured through real-time updates and clear explanations of autonomous decisions. Multimodal interfaces—voice, touch, and visual—enhance accessibility, while integrated feedback systems boost safety and passenger confidence. Local exploration features enrich travel by highlighting nearby attractions and points of interest.

02 Main Feature Plan

03 Screen Wireframe

06 Concrete User Flow (3 parts)

Onboarding Experience
Map + Infotainment
Key Card Features

Design Solutions

01 Onboarding Process for First-time Passengers

We designed a seamless onboarding process for first-time users, combining a conversational voice assistant with a natural, friendly tone and visually guided instructions. This approach ensures that new passengers are introduced to key features of the in-car system in an intuitive and engaging way, helping them feel comfortable and confident from the start of their journey.

02 Main Design Challenges and Solutions

Solution01 : Simple Layout with Different status

Solution02 : Scrollable Function Cards

Solution01 : Route-based Recommendations with Seamless Route Edit

Solution02 : AI-powered In-car Entertainment

Solution03 : Smart Infotainment Control

Air Control

Seat Adjustment

Travel Modes

Solution01 : Increase Awareness of Autonomous Decision

Solution02 : Real-time Notification for Safety

Solution03 : 7*24 Multi-format Agent Support + Car Information

Design System

Information Poster

Post Project

Next Steps
  • Companion Mobile App Design: Design the mobile product to fullfill the product circle.
  • Accessibility and Inclusivity Improvements: Further develop features ensuring compliance with accessibility standards, making the system usable for passengers with diverse abilities.
  • Integration of Advanced Technologies: Explore implementing NFC, QR codes, and voice recognition systems for secure and efficient passenger interactions.Incorporate adaptive infotainment options that personalize in-ride experiences based on user preferences.
  • Testing and Validation: Conduct usability testing across diverse user groups to validate the effectiveness of features, particularly in safety and accessibility.Test real-time tracking and communication systems under varying conditions to ensure reliability.
Takeaways
  • Designing an intuitive and accessible(User-Centric) system is critical to building user trust and adoption, particularly in autonomous technologies.
  • Real-time communication and tracking systems foster a smoother passenger experience while enhancing trust and safety.