Connected Cars: From the Mobile Screen to a Service-Driven Consumer Environment
Today, there are connected cars. Tomorrow, there will be self-driving cars. Together, they are redefining the user experience in the automotive environment. The car is rapidly becoming an intersection where tech giants, startups, and innovators experiment on the future of the mediascape. The interior of the car, in fact, has become a playground for integrating old practices and testing new ideas in user interface and experience design. As such, the car acts as the next frontier for brands to engage and connect with consumers in the digital transition.
The core foundation of this development is the rise of smartphones and the mobile screen as connective consumer devices. Similar to their role in shaping next-gen smart TVs, they are now driving the evolution of the user interface revolution in cars. The use of smartphones as the central UI of the car underscores the value ascribed to apps as central media points. The words of Apple CEO Tim Cook accordingly resonate through the interior of the car: “We Believe the Future (of TV) Is Apps.” In this regard, is the car just another shiny canvas for the app economy, or does our driverless future offer other navigation practices that go beyond touch screens?
The evolution of UI/UX design is rapidly becoming a major concern for brands trying to reach and engage consumers across the platform economy. Consumer behavior within the car is already evolving due to mobile technology and artificial intelligence applications. It is vital for brands, of all verticals, to better understand these developments in order to seamlessly connect with consumers through context-relevant content or services. Instructive insights for this can be drawn from Microsoft and Amazon given their respective approach to cross-platform car universes.
This year’s CES saw the ongoing convergence of the car industry with Silicon Valley. Multiple automotive leaders joined forces with tech giants — this relationship goes far beyond Apple CarPlay and Android Auto “dashboard” systems. In particular, Amazon’s Alexa integration with Ford emphasizes the value of cars as new media hubs. This new form of UX design effectively transplants the navigation features of media consumption into the car space which makes our universal media layer ever more immersive. The car essentially acts as an extension of our mediascape — branded integration is a natural part of it.
The investment in the automotive sector is a major asset in the fundamental evolution of platforms such as Amazon, Google and Apple to provide vertically-integrated services in an increasingly fragmented media landscape. As such, they no longer offer siloed services that rely on third-party developers, but cross-platform touchpoints that keep consumers engaged throughout multiple stages of an experience. They have grown into full-scale ecosystems that integrate a variety of connected business verticals. Brands need to understand the logistics of these systems to find points of entry that ensure advanced levels of exposure and engagement.
The current media focus of the car is the dashboard which raises certain questions about the larger opportunity provided by the car as a whole. Given the ongoing discussion about screens and the vision of projecting oneself into a (semi) self-driving environment, the windshield should theoretically attract more interest, especially in light of recent developments in augmented and mixed reality. As Werner Struth, CEO of Bosch, has correctly stated, “The windshield will become the next major display area.” Brands can benefit from more expansive space and as more direct line to the consumer.
As augmented reality has become more advanced, the virtual windshield is no longer just a concept, but a functional interface. WayRay, for example, developed a system that enables drivers to see the road without being distracted by the enhanced, virtually modified, windshield. This technology, called Navion, runs on holographic images that make engaging with added virtual assets not only possible, but seamless and engaging. Brands need to think beyond existing in-car entertainment systems and analyze the opportunity the windshield represents as a display case.
Moving beyond entertainment, the future of the car may lie in the workplace. “When a driver is no longer needed for the driving task, he can be productive,” says Lars Eggenstein, project manager at IAV Automotive engineering. IAV recently signed a deal with Microsoft to turn the car into a functional workspace, similar to the conceptual vision in sci-fi films like Steven Spielberg’s Minority Report (2001). Microsoft is scaling this technology with multiple automotive partners, including Volvo, Nissan, Toyota, and Ford — here, the car is an extension of the professional world. The concept of work is being redefined and brands have an opportunity to lead this revolution through engaging content formats.
The core foundation of the car as workspace is the integration of Microsoft Office 365. Through a collaboration with automotive design firm Harman, Microsoft is bringing office capabilities to Harman’s infotainment systems which includes software to schedule meetings, hear and respond to emails, and automatically join conference calls. To enable drivers to fully focus on their work, Microsoft also increased its investments in voice-enabled navigation systems (competing with Apple, Google, and Amazon). They announced a deal with Volvo that uses Microsoft’s Band 2 as a voice-control mechanism for the car. This is the future of the car, a transplated office.
The connected car is no longer an illusion even though its current state represents an early stage of development. It is nevertheless likely to attract substantial degrees of attention given its provenance. The connected, self-driving car is a vision of the future made reality. Its enhanced functionality makes it more than a simple gimmick from the past.
The Jetsons had them in the 1960s. They were the defining element of ‘Knight Rider’ in the 1980s: cars that drive themselves. By Hollywood standards, they are so normal we don’t even notice them. What if you could buy one today? — Sebastian Thrun, Stanford Artificial Intelligence Lab
The future of the smart car heavily relies on the way it will resonate within the larger consumer landscape. To this end, the use of artificial intelligence mechanisms will be front and center. The experience within the car will evolve in correlation with consumer behavior. Personalization and customization will be key in building bridges with consumers. Third-party developers are likely to drive new innovations in this space, and brands need to keep track of their work to remain at the forefront of this development.
For now, it is vital to think about the core function of the car: the focus on location. By engineering services that combine consumer behavior, context, and location, the car can evolve into an environment that provides meaningful connections for consumers in their evolving mediascape. Media companies, publishers, and brands can act as the organic layer between consumers and the connected car. Rather than the smartphone’s mobile screen, they can be the connective device.
18Hubs is the innovation research facility of Havas Media, headquartered in Paris, with offices in Los Angeles, Seoul, and Tel Aviv. Together, we are building a satellite network of innovation hubs to be 18 months ahead of new developments in the converging industries of media, culture, technology, and data science. In each office, we connect with established market leaders, first-rate universities, and startups.
Written by Thomas Jorion
