EXPLORING SONIC INTERFACES
FOR SELF-DRIVING CARS
A design team at [Large automobile enterprise] was looking into alternative user interfaces, preparing for the autonomous future of their cars. As sound, i.e. sonic interfaces, emerged as a viable option, I was established as an external designer to perform a fast track of their upcoming project to provide early insight.
The project was set for six months working by myself but with tremendous help of my three supervisors. André and Jörgen from Luleå University of technology (LTU) and Johan from Research Institute of Sweden (RISE). It was planned as a four staged design process.
CONTEXT
DEFINE "SONIC INTERFACE"
RELEVANT INFORMATION ELEMENTS USING A CAR
(based on a benchmark, a series of interviews and theory)
CUSTOMER JOURNEY
(based on a benchmark, a series of interviews and theory)
Three passenger personas, each representing one of three found key issues
(based on a benchmark, a series of interviews and theory)
CREATE
DESIGN CONCEPT 1: REDUCING INFO OVERLOAD WITH SOUND
> By representing some of the information channels using intuitive sound mats.
DESIGN CONCEPT 2: INCREASING TRUST WITH SOUND
> Having multiple "sound profiles" to allow better match to passenger's personality.
DESIGN CONCEPT 3: REDUCING MOTION SICKNESS WITH SOUND
> Articulating the motion with sound:
PROTOTYPE
A CONCEPTUAL SONIC INTERFACE
A sound designer at RISE helped develop an interface based on DESIGN CONCEPT 2 (Trust). The interface profile was matched to the personality of the persona (Inger, 79).
A VIDEO VERSION OF THE CUSTOMER JOURNEY
30 TEST PARTICIPANTS WERE PUT IN FRONT OF THE VIDEO TWO TIMES; ONE WITHOUT THE SONIC INTERFACE AND ONE WITH IT.
DURING THE TEST THEY WERE ALLOWED TO SCORE THE DIFFERENT SCENARIOS.
RESULTS
SELF-REPORTED REACTIONS TO THE CONCEPTUAL INTERFACE
A FREQUENCY WORD CLOUD FROM FREE TEXT RESPONSES
(To allow for impressions not represented by the score system)
CONCLUSIONS
Three main conclusions were derived from this project that I saw relevant to the main project and to my own exploration:
1. Three common issues regarding self-driving cars (Too much information, Difficult to trust and Motion sickness).
2. Sonic interfaces can support a passenger but it is a delicate and complicated matter (the effect could easily be the opposite if not careful).
3. The sense of support is most likely measurable indicated by this study.
