COLLABORATION CAR

An AI-involved driver-car system

Speculative design | Group Work | 2022

0. Overview

This project provides a vision of a future driver-car collaboration system. Our team, with the client Ford, practice an explorative prototyping design approach through developing interactive artefacts while exploring future possibilities.

Through making decisions together, the commercial car and driver are collaborating on how and where to drive, which helps to produce a sustainable and trustworthy driving experience.

Sustainbility & Trustworthy

1. AI vehicle

detecting inside & outside enviorment

collecting vehicle data

Flexible driving & other activities

Context

Arrange routes& destination

Trustworthy

With the development of automated driving and more AI technology engaging in the driving experience, the technology help drivers and passengers solve specific tasks in their daily activities. While there are concerns how to make the technology truely make sense and benefit users life.

How can we make sure that the technology not become creepy and doesn’t feel like surveillance? How can we make sure that it doesn’t fall into the social media trap of reinforcing existing behaviours and provoking any kind of engagement, but rather supports thoughtful and beneficial changes for all concerned.

2. Design vision

To explore the agency between AI and the the driver , we developed 3 concepted in different aspects and used metaphors to help explain them.

Concept 1: Movement | Embodiment | physical collaboration

Metaphor: run together

Turn left

Go straight

Turn right

Car

Driver

Left movement

No movement

Right movement

Drivers using more body movement to control the car instead of just using hands to hold the steering wheel.
Physical movement is interesting. It mobilizes the person's maximum body movement, and the human's sense of control over the body is transferred to the driving experience.

Concept 2: Breaking the bubble | translating the environment to the driver

Metaphor: The car is like a bubble to seperate the outside and inside enviorment

The driver allows uncontrollable environmental factors to come in and build collaborative relationships .
Car language is an interesting way for both outside and inside people to communicate. Unlike traditional car indication language, such as light indications, car language better attracts attention like a human language and achieve a better harmony in the environment.
Give more clear meaning to show intentions to make it more understandable for both outside and inside.

Concept 3: Negotiation | sustainable collaboration

A direct collaboration between car and driver to together drive most efficiently considering speed, driver’s willing, safety and other underlying influence.
We give the car kind of agency to act and react to the driver and the environment.

✔

User consideration

Car consideration

Metaphor: Negotiating

Final metaphor

AI-driving feels like tides.

The AI-driving experience feel like walking or swimming in the tides.
AI have super power but should be used a acceptable way.
In this system, drivers want to autonomous to move themselves, but they can also be prodded by AI vehicle.

Key Challenge

How can cars help drivers make sustainable decisions in a trustworthy way?

Sub-Challenge

In the world full of data,how to ensure AI vehicles responsible data access and avoid excessive utilization?
How to make use of the AI vehicle superpower?
How to make the human feel in control in their driving?

3. Design concept

CO // MOVE

The embodied side board provides tactile nudge to the driver, which can convey information & data influencing the driver's decisions and actions.

A movable ball as the handle povide a co//move experience with the car.

Driver agree to share the data with the car and touch the ball.
"A road line" emerging indicated to start a collaboration journey.

1. Share the data

2. Co-decide the mode

When drivers chose more sustainable options, they can move the ball smoothly.
When drivers chose less sustainable options, the ball gives resistance.

3. Agreement

Resistance and power from the ball helps driver agree the more sustainable decisions.

The driver and the car co-decided and co-move together.

Solution

3. Prototype & Iteration

A range of prototypes were build in a real car context. User can go into the car and experience the co//moving.

The testing through a exhibition inviting client and participants experiencing.

Findings

The experience is smooth and intuitive. People can try the driving and decision system in a nature way.
People feel safe in "talking" with the car. They feel control of the situaton
It help people to think how to use their car/technology in a better way. They discuss energy consumption which would also be a goal to achieve as a driver.

Conclusion

Non-Humanized Technology

incorporates physical movement and tactile feedback. Technology should not be humanized.

Alternative Collaboration

It suggestsa more direct and visceral connection between the user and the car.

Efficiency Over Convenience

Rather than prioritizing convenience, the concept aims to maximize energy efficiency.

Futuristic Sustainability

The vision balance using and generating energy, which hints at a holistic view of environmental responsibility.

4. Reflecting

Our approach is really using a metaphor understanding the human-agent interation. The metaphor helps to translate a future vision into a normal thing that everyone can understand and discuss it, which also facilitate the user testing.
Human-agent collaboration qualities help the design. Potential starting points for designers to address the design considerations for steering our concept into a Human-agent collaboration.
The future vision of automated vehivle gives us a lot of opportunities to work with the body of the driver. Due to drivers don’t have to use a clutch and gear stick anymore, there are more flexible for other movements.