High-End Design Concept for Connected Car-Sharing Solution
If there were a definition of a next-gen human-machine interface app, this would be it!
Owning a car can be great — until you get stuck in congestion, get a bill from your mechanic, or suffer from exhaust fumes. What starts as a source of comfort turns into a daily challenge for commuters. City streets are quickly getting cluttered with stalled traffic, causing delays. We’re losing our health to carbon emissions that are hitting record highs. Add to that the overhead of car maintenance, insurance, parking, tolls — and the list goes on.
On average, privately owned cars sit idle 95% of the time. The idea that short-term leasing might be better than owning is rapidly catching on. However, most car rental services leave much to be desired in terms of quality. Plus, waiting for a cab can take ages, or taxi drivers may be too picky and turn you down if you need a ride to a far-off destination.
In the world where time and mobility are everything, traditional services and ownership models are being redefined and a new transportation concept is taking off. It’s called car-sharing.
Car-sharing is caring for the city’s health, your pocket, and your time
With the arrival of connected vehicles, the car-sharing economy will soon become an inevitable part of the urban fabric. As car-sharing offers on-demand mobility and cost savings, more and more people are opting out of car ownership. This will lead to fewer cars on the roads and consequently minimize air pollution. Smart mobility is also poised to fundamentally alter the way cities are built. We can expect major infrastructure changes, resulting in even the most remote and underdeveloped spots flourishing, road capacity increasing multifold, and parking no longer being stressful.
Once you get a subscription with a car-sharing service, you can have the car you want, whenever you want, and for as long as you want without actually owning it. And it all happens in no time! Well, almost. For any car-sharing service to win the hearts of users, it needs to build an outstanding and personalized customer experience based on advanced connected car solutions. Consumers simply won’t put up with merely okay services and glitchy apps.
At Intellias, we’ve drawn on our deep expertise in automotive software to design Intellicar, a concept for an upscale connected car-sharing application that brings a smooth, hassle-free, and enjoyable experience to its users. You can check out our project presentation on Behance to get a sense of its look and feel.
Here’s how we did it.
On the mission for a hyper-connected sharing-driven world
We kicked off with a research phase, where we explored existing connected car-sharing solutions and the challenges that come along with them. As it turned out, many of those using car-sharing services have experienced the nightmares of filthy car interiors, multiple charges for one order, nagging and sidetracking questions by the system, navigation failures, and unavailable support centers. So we came up with a more viable alternative that would add value for users and bring the concept of car-sharing to a whole new level.
Our goal was to improve the service experience, so our product needed to offer much more than just designer bells and whistles. We wanted to focus on the functionality and human-machine interface (HMI) to give users the comfort and convenience they need to stay safe and feel a little more laidback during the ride. We made the dashboard intuitive to support easy decision-making. We also removed all distractions from the HMI — after all, too much is at stake. Another thing we focused on is predictability. You don’t want a luxury car that’s crawling along when you’re late for an important meeting. This needs to be a timely service.
Buyer personas
Once we were done with our research and had set our goals, we moved to outlining our key buyer personas to understand our customers better and best serve their needs.
- Businessperson
For someone who makes multiple business trips a month, Intellicar is a godsend. Not only does the app take you places, but it also synchronizes new events with your schedule, recalculates routes, finds parking, and guides you to the office.
2. Frequent traveler
Whether you’re a dedicated nomad or just an occasional explorer, car-sharing should be your thing. It fills the gaps where public transport fails and taxis overcharge like crazy. Intellicar builds a scenic route for you and provides you with useful information on hotels, food, shopping, and more.
3. Urban mobility forerunner
Global initiatives to raise environmental awareness have had a big impact on younger generations, who are now opting for greener ways to travel and get around the city. Many car-sharing services take an eco-friendly stance and encourage a shift to electric vehicles. Intellicar adds recharging stations to your route so you can rest assured your battery won’t die in the middle of the road.
Human-machine interaction flowcharts
At the prototyping stage, we worked out flowcharts that demonstrate the invisible interactions between the user and the system. Here’s an example of a flowchart for the route planner.
Hitting the road
Our connected car-sharing concept now consists of a mobile app and an app for an automotive head unit, including a dashboard, a calendar, a route, navigation, an infotainment system, and car settings.
To get a ride, start by choosing a car with your smartphone, setting the start point and destination, and picking the time and date. When you get into the car, your favorite music will already be playing and the seats and climate control will be adjusted for your comfort. Planned waypoints can be synchronized with your calendar, and you can add new waypoints to edit the route.
Connected cars can exchange data on the move, so the system will alert you about driving events en route and build a new one. You can then preview the route and accept or reject it.
At the end of the journey, the app suggests available parking options and the nearest recharging stations for electric cars.
Payments are charged automatically once you’re done driving or when you pass a toll gate. It’s as simple as that.
The way forward
As already densely populated cities continue to grow, the day-to-day challenges of commuters will increasingly drive innovation, transforming the urban landscape. This car-sharing app concept by Intellias demonstrates our firm commitment to making urban environments greener and the driving experience safer and more delightful.
If you’re looking for a mature technology partner, contact Intellias. One of the leading Tier 2 companies, we’ve been developing software products for over 17 years, helping businesses around the world craft solutions for a variety of industries, including automotive.
