Design of Adaptive In-Vehicle Human-Machine Interfaces

Situation

Adaptivity and personalization can already be found in everyday areas, such as many smartphone applications. The increasing use of sensor technology and artificial intelligence in modern vehicles offers the possibility to bring situational and user-centered adaptivity into the car. As the number of in-car functions grows, this has the potential to make interactions between the driver and the vehicle more efficient and safer, for example by proactively suggesting functions or reducing interaction steps. However, the design of intelligent user interfaces comes up with various challenges. For example, they are often criticized for violating established design principles, such as consistency. Inadequate design of these systems can lead to reduced usability and a lack of acceptance and trust within its users. Therefore, the question will arise how adaptive systems can be designed in order to meet the demanding usage situations in the vehicle and to avoid undesirable effects.

Ziele

The focus of this research project lies on the design and evaluation of adaptive in-vehicle human-machine interfaces. For this purpose, interaction concepts will be developed, prototyped, and tested in user studies. The goal is to find out how users perceive adaptive functions and which factors may have an influence on that. In addition, the question arises whether different vehicle functions can have different levels of adaptivity and how this affects the users’ perception. Finally, the question of what needs to be considered when designing human-machine interfaces of adaptive systems in the vehicle will be answered.