AVD - Your Driving Companion

Advancements in technology are continually reshaping our daily activities and interactions. This is evident in the automotive industry, where innovations like assisted driving aim to curb the rate of accidents and make driving more enjoyable. Inspired by this, I embarked on a project to design a prototype of a driving assistant called AVD. This was developed to make driving intuitive and encourage the adoption of new technology.

Through research into user concerns and perception of assisted driving, AVD was crafted to integrate seamlessly into everyday scenarios.

One of the most demanding aspects of this project was the stringent time constraint. I had 4 days to conceptualise, design and present a high-end prototype of the AVD system to the HNG team, within which I needed to thoroughly explain the rationale behind design decisions. To meet the deadline I prioritised core features that would capture the essence of the AVD system.

Communicate the mission and vision of AVD

Create a working prototype of the AVD system

Encourage users to embrace advanced tech in everyday activities

My main focus was on understanding target users within my geographical area. The demographic included individuals who were typically sceptical of advanced technology and consisted mainly of 9-to-5 workers who owned private vehicles. I conducted extensive research with 2 potential users to better understand their habits and influences. The questions were structured to uncover their routines and attitudes toward living in an increasingly automated world.

The interview sessions were accompanied by a survey which reached a larger audience. These revealed:

A prevailing distrust toward automated systems, highlighting a need to communicate trust in the design.

Concerns about the avalanche of information the system might present, suggesting the need for an intuitive and simplified user interface.

Anxiety over the cost of accessing new technology, suggesting the need to communicate the product value.

Having understood user concerns, I worked towards communicating trustworthiness and adopting an interface familiar to users to make the learning curve as flat as possible. I drew inspiration from gaming, auto and navigation interfaces. I aimed to include subtle gamification elements to encourage vast adoption from the younger demographic and increase the overall appeal of the UI.

Personalised Driver Profile: The AVD system offers a personalised driving experience through the features. Users can create a profile and save their preferred settings including mirror angles, seat positioning and other customisable functions. This syncs across every vehicle equipped with the AVD system, allowing users to maintain consistent driving settings.

When a driver logs into AVD, the system initialises saved preferences, adjusting the vehicle's configuration. This saves time by minimising the need for manual adjustments.

AVD incorporates a sophisticated Voice User Interface (VUI) that allows hands-free interaction with the system. This feature lets drivers verbally command the system to navigate to a desired destination or adjust various driving settings. Before a trip, users can change the level of control they wish to delegate to the system according to their preferences. This gives room for a broader range of driving styles, thereby making the system accessible.

Employing storyboards to demonstrate a use case of the AVD system enabled the stakeholders to understand its impact if developed. This revealed the importance of storyboards and rough sketches during conceptualisation.

I also learned prioritisation while working with a tight deadline. Knowing when to prioritise critical features is necessary especially when collaborating with a team and working with a budget.

While wireframes are necessary, it is ideal to work toward a convincing high-fidelity prototype for stakeholders to have a feel of the finished product.