What’s Next for Car Interfaces?
While everyone is talking about the transformation of the automotive industry (and rightly so), Incari Founder and CEO Osman Dumbuya has mainly been keeping an eye on the new ideas in the car itself — the interfaces connecting the driver and the car. Here are his highlights in no particular order.
In terms of human-machine interaction (HMI), the automotive industry has always faced the challenge that no one wants to have a keyboard on their lap while driving. They always had to come up with ideas to allow drivers to easily control their entertainment system while driving. And now (or at least in the next couple of years), semi-autonomous and autonomous cars in particular will radically change the interfaces. On top of that, with smartphones and tablets getting people used to a new way of interacting with a machine, the car has to adapt accordingly.
So, what have the manufacturers come up with?
ID.Life
The ID.Life has dominated the headlines as a concept for an electric car that’s suitable for the masses due to its affordability. The interior shows what the interface design principles currently are: usability, connectivity and aesthetics are key. The design is strikingly minimalist, and the driver’s own smartphone or tablet can be integrated into the control system for navigation, for example. Essential driving functions are controlled via a touch control panel on the hexagonal, open-top steering wheel. Let’s wait and see if the steering wheel will really look like this in the future, or if it’s just an image of the future we’re used to seeing in movies.
More exciting is the setup for new driving situations as soon as our car drives us through the city by itself. What do you do in that time? The VW designers think: gaming. In no time at all, the ID.Life can be converted into a cinema or gaming lounge, for example. A game console and projector are on board. A projection screen extends from the dashboard when needed. However, do we really need more screen time, even in our cars?
Digital detox as a feature — Audi Grandsphere Concept
By no means should there be more screen time, according to the Audi designers that came up with the interfaces for the Audi Grandsphere concept car. In autonomous driving mode, the interior turns into a spacious experience without a steering wheel, pedals or displays. No black screens for virtual display concepts are visible before activating the driving functions. Digital detox when the car is driving and information only when the driver is driving himself. An exciting thought!
A giant slab of kryptonite — the BMW iVision Circular
The interface of BMW’s eco concept car is designed quite differently. Instead of screens, the interior is dominated by what looks like a giant slab of kryptonite on the dashboard that uses light effects to show the car’s brain at work, as some media reports have noted. The cabin ditches a conventional gauge setup for a head-up display at the base of the windshield. It’s a concept for a sustainable car and yet has radical ideas in the interior. Without any screens, how will you control your car? With only your voice?
Porsche Mission R
The racetrack has always been the testing ground for the road — as demonstrated at the IAA by the Porsche Mission R. The all-electric GT racing car shows what sustainable motorsports could look like in the future. The cockpit is inspired by one central guiding principle: full focus on the racer. The key displays and controls are located along the same axis. This reduces distraction and helps the driver to improve performance by speeding up their reaction time. A beautiful antithesis to the autonomous future.
Top priority is given to the six-inch multifunction OLED racing display that sits directly between the steering wheel controls and is therefore placed in the driver’s immediate field of vision. A second screen is mounted on the steering column behind it. This is where the images from the two exterior cameras are combined into a single image. Through this digital rear-view mirror, the driver can see what’s happening on both sides and behind the racing car. To the right of the driver, angled towards them, is a control panel with buttons and an integrated screen. This is where the driver’s biometric data is displayed, so that his pit crew knows what’s up.
Who will be the first to make the concepts reality?
There were some exciting ideas on display, but a concept is still a concept. It will be fascinating to see to see which manufacturer will actually be the first to put their bold ideas into their cars — and give people new ways to interact with their cars. It’s not just about imagining the future, but actually shaping it and bringing it to life!
Good design should make people’s lives easier — at Incari we are convinced of this. We are a Berlin-based software provider that creates the HMI development platform Incari Studio. We create the required tools and technologies necessary for developing future-based HMI systems in various industries. InterFaces is a platform to explore what such systems can or will look like at some point in the future. Follow us on Twitter: Incari_HMI, Follow us on Instagram: Incari_HMI, Follow us on LinkedIn: Incari HMI Development.
