Cultural cockpit design: How cars can be improved all over the world
In the past, cockpits had one primary purpose: to get drivers from A to B in a straightforward manner, with all the important functions right at their fingertips. The biggest cultural difference here was usually which side the steering wheel was on. But with the development of autonomous driving, people have the opportunity to perceive the car more as a place to spend time than just for driving.
Cultural-specific design is a way of creating more comfortable and user-friendly cockpits for everyone, based on the needs and preferences of the individual. This approach can help create more responsive and intuitive cockpits that are better suited to different cultures and demographics. This will include improved comfort, usability, safety, and the general appeal of the cockpit. Ultimately, drivers should feel at ease in every aspect of driving, no matter where they’re from. Here are four culturally influenced features to keep in mind when designing the cars of the future.
Feeling out of place: Wrong smells and materials
While many people can’t resist touching and using a new leather car seat, many Hindus would resist doing so. The doctrines of their faith teach that the cow is sacred. Seats made from material like velour, usually made from cotton or polyester, are needed here.
The same goes for some smells. Most Chinese car buyers don’t like certain new car smells the Western world tends to adore. So what’s the point of having heated seats and the perfect navigation system if you feel uncomfortable in the driver’s seat? Manufacturers have to keep in mind that not every combination of materials makes sense for every market.
In the Western world, it’s also rather unimportant where the owner of the car sits, but in China, it’s an essential part of personal status. In this case, it means that someone else drives the car while the owner can continue working or enjoying the ride in the back seat. That’s why Audi, for example, focused not only on the front cockpit for the Chinese market but also on the rear seat. This gave the vehicle’s owner control over virtually all of the equipment designed to enhance the ambiance, including an integrated massage system. In addition, the back of the cabin was fitted with extra sound insulation. The concept paid off, according to Audi, and soon after the rear seat in the Ford Kuga was also successfully overhauled for the Chinese market. Following this, Volvo introduced a model in which the front passenger seat can disappear completely, allowing more legroom for the person sitting behind it. This shows how successful manufacturers’ have been — cultural consideration pays off!
Incompatible: The importance of new technology
While there are many factors that go into designing a successful cockpit with regard to culture, one key factor is ensuring that all elements of the interface work together harmoniously to provide an enriching experience for both driver and passengers. The automotive industry must pay attention to how software and internet services can further modify user behavior and turn the car cockpit into a genuinely intelligent area as computing power and technological breakthroughs increase passenger vehicle performance and efficiency. The cockpit will be considered a more social and connected area than ever before as technology like 5G, cloud computing, Internet of Things (IoT), and self-driving start to appear in cars.
Generally, users change their smartphone to a newer model after two years at the latest. Their car has to be able to keep up. In addition, the same apps are not always used worldwide; local implementation in each market must be urgently considered for interconnectivity.
Porsche dealt with a problem of enormous fragmentation due to multiple Porsche apps. Not only did they introduce the one-for-everything MyPorsche app in Germany, but also in China, where some major differences had to be implemented. In China, it’s quite common for users not to switch between several apps, but to be able to use multi-layered apps such as WeChat. People not only chat there but also transfer money or order food. The Chinese Porsche drivers — mostly 30 years old, female, and digitally savvy — were already used to the one-app model Porsche was using. The design of the app at the front end was therefore not just a question of translation, but of a flow that felt natural to users. Also, Google services are not available in China, for example, and the data protection regulations differ in Europe and the United States, so Porsche had to resort to alternatives. Porsche and Audi will also implement Chinese-specific apps like WeChat by developing a hardware module that’s installed in the vehicle.
The cockpit design is not only a question of the side of the steering wheel, the translation and position of buttons, or the material of seats — it’s also a question of interconnectivity with the internet and smartphones, which are equally important worldwide but still very different. This is exactly where Incari comes in with its software that allows the design to be simply and individually changed without the need for extensive programming knowledge.
The cultural connection: Improving comfort and safety
There are a number of challenges in implementing culturally specific car cockpit designs, including ensuring compatibility with existing systems and hardware, as well as making sure that the layout is intuitive for drivers from various cultural backgrounds. However, with concerted efforts by industry players and researchers, these challenges can be overcome over time.
One potential downside to implementing culturally specific design features into car cockpits is that they may not be well received by those who are not accustomed to them or who find them confusing or overwhelming at first glance — something that should always be taken into account before going ahead with any such changes. Many Germans, for example, have trouble driving on the left side of the road when they first enter areas like the United Kingdom or Australia. It would be even more confusing to get off the plane in India, take a rental car and not only have to drive on the left side of the road, but to find buttons arranged completely differently and labeled in Sanskrit. The challenge here is to develop a universally understandable and considerate system that can be quickly grasped even if you come from a different culture. Programmers should avoid being biased and rashly assuming that general customs ap ply, when in fact they only apply to one gender or cultural group.
Culturally specific designs can help to improve safety for all drivers. By taking into account the unique driving habits of different cultures, car cockpits can be designed in a way that’s more comfortable and safer for everyone. Additionally, culturally specific designs can make driving more enjoyable by incorporating features such as colorful lighting or sound effects specific to certain cultures. Car manufacturers need to know their customers well in order to adapt to them, but the effort is worth it. Incari is creating the digital ecosystem to prepare cars for the future and to be able to, simply, efficiently, and economically, accommodate sensitivity to the diverse needs of international markets. Car manufacturers need to know their customers well in order to adapt to them, and this effort is worth it.
The agile-friendly workflow and modular architecture of Incari Studio support the complete UI/UX creation process. Focused on team collaboration, it unifies the work of designers, developers, and suppliers on one platform while providing improved tools for logic coding, 3D animation, technology integration, and a lot more. Subscribe to Incari Studio here.
