Master Proposal: The development of an improved remote vehicle interface using direct manipulation in order to increase the ease of use and learnability.

Proposal

08. December 2020 | 19.00 Uhr

Meeting-ID: 993-9423-4075 | Meeting-Password: 9Y7kJX

1. Supervisor: Prof. Steffi Hußlein

2. Supervisor: Prof. Dominik Schumacher

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Context

Remote vehicle interfaces allow car owners to interact with their vehicles from a distance, making it possible to retrieve and send vehicle information, collect and compare real time driver statistics and control vehicle functions remotely at any desired moment. The spread of RVIs has been fueled by the digital transformation, particularly by ubiquitous computing, seamless connectivity and the widespread adoption of smartphones upon consumers [1] making RVIs an important touchpoint upon the customer journey throughout the entire vehicle’s lifecycle. As smartphones have been around for over a decade and mobile application interfaces have continuously matured over time, consumer expectations have increased and RVIs are no longer an exclusive niche between pioneering premium car manufacturers and tech savvy customers.

Challenge

Today’s RVIs are rather seen as a commodity with the potential to shape a pleasant and long-lasting dynamic user experience that may evolve over time and unlock future vehicle functionalities and upgrades over the air. As consumer expectations have increased and RVIs become a substantial component of the customer relationship throughout the entire vehicle lifecycle. Making RVIs the etiquette of every car manufacturer, which must therefore meet the highest demands regarding their functionality and potential to excite and attract new users while being both easy to understand and use.

Objective

Drivers in today’s digital age expect the same level of connectivity from their vehicles that they get from their smartphones, tablets, and tech wearables. That level of connectivity involves everything from high-quality infotainment systems for passengers to assisted driving and parking with payment from the dashboard. This level of digitalization has the potential to recast how customers interact with car manufacturers.[2] My master thesis aims to benchmark the current status quo of remote vehicle interfaces in terms of their usability, desirability and learnability along with a proposed and refined design that makes use of direct manipulation allowing novice users to build quick and intuitive mental models[3] [4] improving the ease of use and the learnability of remote vehicle interfaces. The proposed design will feature a functional prototype programmed in unity and the Ionic cross platform app development framework and will also feature a 3D vehicle visualization. The proposed design and the current status quo solution will be the object of a study that aims to measure the ease of use and the learnability of both systems across a time span of one month.

Question of Research

Can an improved information architecture with the use of direct manipulation increase the ease of use and the learnability of remote vehicle interfaces over a time span of one month?

Methodology

The practical part of the thesis will be routed in the design process taking stakeholder feedback into account and working together with potential users from an early stage validating and testing ideas in an iterative design process. The competing design solutions will be the object of a study that aims to measure the ease of use and the learnability of both systems across a time span of one month using the “System Usability Scale” along with the “Single Ease Questionnaire” and “Usability Performance Metrics”[5] documenting the ease of use and the learnability of both interfaces.