Making Advanced Driver Assistance Systems more accessible to drivers

Why do some people use these systems, and some not? The purpose of the systems is to increase safety, but that will only happen if the driver chooses to activate them.

Car sharing services are becoming part of people’s lives, and it is likely that you will find yourself in a car that you haven’t driven before. Would you dare to activate semi-autonomous functions in an unfamiliar car?

This project explored different aspects of how to introduce advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS) to a driver in a new car. A project by four students at the master’s program Industrial Design Engineering. We were all part of the research and conceptualization phases. These illustrations are created by me.

Research question: How and when can drivers learn about Advanced Driving Assistance Systems in a new car?

Design process

This project was characterized by observations and testing of different concepts. Rapid prototyping was a useful method, along with evaluations of the different ideas. The initial tests were held in a real car, and later on wizard of oz-techniques with a combination of digital and physical prototypes helped us evaluate the concepts together with the drivers.

The result was presented as a User Journey, including several touchpoints and solutions aiming to increase the likelihood that the driver will activate the functions. Prototypes of the solutions were created along with design guidelines, a list of requirements and a written report.

Co-creation and prototyping

Six initial ideas on how to introduce ADAS to the driver were evaluated in a workshop. Creating rapid prototypes gave a deeper understanding of the different drivers’ perspectives. One thing that stood out was that the amount of information should be kept low and as efficient as possible.

The user flow

After a number of tests and evaluations, a user flow was defined, and interactive prototypes were created for the final test.

To be continued...?

The research question, “How and when can drivers learn about Advanced Driving Assistance Systems in a new car?” was investigated by using different methods and we believe that some key points have been identified.

Drivers are in need of more accessible information about these functions, and this project has the potential to contribute to a safer traffic. Contact me for more information and details!