Trend report 2019

The Transportation Interior

Trend report 2019

English

By Dominic Simon Mayer; 19th of April 2018

What foreseeable and likely trends will affect our means of transportation and how we treat them? Let's take a look at the technological changes we can expect in the future and how these technologies will affect future vehicle interiors and mobility concepts. Based on technological innovations from a wide variety of industries and sectors, the following theses read which scenarios are expected in these fields.

Artificial intelligence / natural voice control

Speak instead of touch

Due to the constant improvement of artificial intelligence and the resulting natural voice control, a new era of human-machine interaction is breaking. In 2007, Apple revolutionized the use of technology with the iPhone: the Internet became mobile, and the human learned swiping. However, there are many signs that we face another interface revolution that will create a new, simpler and more intuitive way to interact with technology. The central role will be played by language.

The framework for this development is the increasingly comprehensive networking and the smartification of our living environments. The Internet of Things is taking shape, our environment is being successively equipped with sensors - and this enormous increase in complexity also arouses the need for more intuitive interfaces that open up new potential for simplexity: easy-to-use interfaces that open up complex application possibilities.

An indication of this is the development in the field of machine learning: The most recent advances have been in speech recognition, the perception and recognition of patterns and spoken words. The search engine of the future will be talkative and more and more able to take on individual tasks.

One of the biggest challenges in the future will be the speed of data transmission, as the end-user experiences minimal usability disaster delays in the connection to the cloud. The hope here rests on super processors who no longer need a cloud connection.

Another advantage is provided by voice interfaces in mobile contexts, because they enable an enormous increase in traffic safety. Voice-activated head-up displays (HUDs) in cars allow people to have their hands on the wheel and their eyes on the road instead of being distracted by displays. For example, the recently introduced MBUX user interface from Mercedes Benz has natural voice control. With the keyword "Hey Mercedes" the system is activated - two words are enough, and the vehicle listens. Thanks to the new revolutionary voice control can be controlled from the navigation system via the radio to the air conditioner many functions simply by voice. According to Daimler, voice control is capable of learning: on the one hand, it adapts to the user and his voice, and he also understands non-native speakers better and better; on the other hand, the software models on the server learn over time new buzz words or a changed language usage. In addition, the system no longer responds stereotypically, but also varies in the dialog output.

By means of a prediction function, MBUX anticipates what the user would like next. If, for example, the navigation system recognizes a more frequently traveled route, the navigation to this destination is started in the background. Through this use of artificial intelligence, the car develops into the personal assistant of the driver.

The learned personal information should remain in the memory of the vehicle and not reach the cloud via other systems. The manufacturer has no access to the data. If the car is sold, the owner can secure the information on a USB stick and transfer it to his new Mercedes.

Because the principle of "speaking instead of typing" is safer, more accurate and above all simpler, voice-based human-machine interactions become more relevant and screens become technological peripherals: screens, keyboards and touchscreens will in the future only be one interface among many. Thus, the artificial intelligence and the resulting voice interfaces have a major impact on the architecture and design of the automotive or mobile interior. The combination of technical components and materiality enables a highly customizable architecture. A mix of sensors and molding materials could be seamlessly integrated into knit smart materials. In the interior, these technologies enable intelligent environments that create a new level of responsiveness. Smart materials could become the most important aesthetic and structural element in the vehicle interior. Their superior functional properties are further enhanced by the integration of sensors. Similar to artificial central nervous systems, multi-channel sensor networks could be the future of Big Data. The collection of interconnected data is the key to building and training neural networks, which are an important pillar of artificially intelligent systems. As a result, the interaction spaces in the vehicle interior will adapt to enable the best possible data collection from their occupants.

Whether Mercedes has really revolutionized the cockpit, and the upcoming A-Class to extend the digital lives of their drivers and passengers, the users have to decide. For them it should be important that they can retrieve the usual functions of their mobile devices in the vehicle unrestricted. In any case, the OEM has succeeded in setting a new standard in the compact segment. And perhaps we will look back to the early 21st century as a strange epoch of the thumbs and lowered heads: a time before the hands were freed - and the verbal language empowered.

Autonomous driving

I can see what you cannot see

Car literally means self-driving. But automobiles do not drive themselves, a driver controls them. That should change: in the future, cars should really drive themselves. Google is pursuing a rather revolutionary concept with its bullet cars compared to BMW, Audi or Daimler. The German manufacturers, however, rely on a gradual evolution of their model range. So it is no wonder that the German top-class manufacturers tinkering with their own concepts and trying to bring their own models in a few years on the market. Gradually, more and more assistance functions are to be installed in the cars, which in the long term could completely relieve the driver of driving.

Astonishingly fast, drivers get used to the fact that the car itself flashes, the lane changes, overtakes and automatically slides over the highway. So, are autonomous cars already normal in the streets in a few years? Despite the hype about Google cars and the attempts of many manufacturers are still many hurdles to overcome. Not only technical, but also political and legal. Today's assistance systems can keep or park speed, distance and lane. Technically, production vehicles such as the new Audi A8 could even drive highly automated with a stowage pilot, and the driver could read newspapers at speeds of up to 60 km / h. Legally, this is not allowed in Europe.

 There was a first update of the Vienna Convention last year. "This makes it legally permissible to use reliable driver assistance systems," said the Federal Ministry of Transport. However, such driver assistance systems as the adaptive cruise control or the lane departure warning system have been around for some time. The regulation was long overdue. But still applies: The driver must always keep his hands on the steering wheel and always be able to take control. Such systems are called semi-automated.

Basically, it does not matter if it's assisted, semi-automatic, highly automated, fully automated or autonomous driving. The technology will have one of the biggest influences on the design and design of future interiors as well as the complete infrastructure of mobility. In the interiors, components such as steering wheels, shifters or center consoles with buttons that we know today are gradually being reduced or replaced. They will disintegrate into interactive surfaces and structures that only become visible when needed.

Here the design has the difficult task and the responsibility to build the trust and the acceptance into the technology autonomous driving and to receive with value-stable solutions.

Display technology 4.0

Representation in the changing times

The display generally describes in the art an apparatus for optically signaling variable information (states and values), particularly measurements. In work systems, displays are the interface between humans and a technical process.

What used to be known as the dashboard can today more than ever be called a cockpit. Drivers no longer need to watch out for mechanical instruments to find out how fast they are traveling, check their engine speed or collect other relevant information, as displays can provide a convenient overview of all this information.

With the complexity of the user interface, the change in operation in the vehicle also begins. Buttons and switches become menu-based operating and display systems with remote control elements made of rotary and push buttons to organize the numerous contents and interactions. Display and controls can no longer be strictly separated and should be considered as a closed system. Technological advancements and increasingly small components have allowed the ergonomics and positioning of the display and controls to be steadily improved and rearranged, but remain bound to physical and regulatory frameworks. Even the most modern and innovative displays and operating systems today remain a compromise and must be limited in field of view, gripping spaces and the usability of the menu structure.

The display and control system of the future could have free-form, almost organic forms that meet the expectations of designers and drivers. It will be possible to display brilliant display quality on semi-transparent surfaces or to project driving-relevant content onto the (complete) windscreen. These new technologies have the potential to completely change the driving experience.

The overview is significantly enhanced by innovative and custom-tailored concepts that inspire designers and leading automotive suppliers. We will move on rolling office space in the future. Self-propelled vehicles that give drivers time to work and entertain while driving.

Extended interface

Fusion of realities

Extended reality (mixed reality, augmented reality, AR) is the computer-aided extension of the perception of reality. This information can appeal to all human sensory modalities. Often, however, augmented reality is understood to mean only the visual representation of information, ie the supplementation of images or videos with computer-generated additional information or virtual objects by means of fade-in or overlay. Augmented reality is a new form of human-technology interaction. The digital information merges with the user's environment; this allows the user to get the most important information right at the place where he needs it.

Augmented reality enables a multitude of new applications, the benefits of which are above all a fusion with reality. On the one hand, entertainment-oriented applications can increase the fun of using the application through greater involvement of the user, on the other hand, information can be selectively displayed where it is needed. This results firstly in cost and time savings and secondly in customer contact in improving the service and thus also in a more positive innovative perception of the product and the company. Augmented reality will be increasingly used in everyday life in the coming years. First, the AR applications in the smartphone will increase. In the future, AR glasses and contact lenses will gradually "expand" our environment. More people get access to Social VR like Facebook Spaces, VRChat or High Fidelity. Computer-generated add-on objects will be so ingeniously displayed that the user will no longer be aware that immersion in an enriched reality is taking place.

In addition to the potential and benefits of augmented reality, there are also concerns and conflicts over innovative technology. In addition to Motion Sickness, a form of nausea that occurs when immersing in a computer-generated environment, acceptance and fears are the biggest hurdles to overcome. Any new technology must initially struggle with reservations and critical concerns. Criticism is important because it can point out any undesirable developments and serve to holistically view and improve things. Human fear and technological progress have always been contrary. Nevertheless, all concerns should be considered with high priority and included in the process.

Through gesture and voice input, as well as AI-optimized biometric tracking, the interaction will focus on a specific space rather than on switches and displays, greatly impacting the way we interact with our virtual assistants.

The interior design experiences the highest design freedom through augmented interfaces.

This mixed reality will be the medium through which we can enter the virtual world of the Internet of Things. Brands, their services, content and users will populate this space and create new markets and business models - similar to today's app stores. Providing an expanded virtual world with a wealth of information and services, while being physically embedded in a mobility solution, will be a groundbreaking exploratory experience. As a result, the passenger experience is more attractive than the actual driving experience.