The CASE (Connected, Autonomous, Shared, and Electric) mobility megatrends are progressively transforming the automotive industry. These megatrends are driving a passel of new technologies and creating new car use cases in resonance with what is happening in the increasingly digital and electronic greater environment surrounding us at home, at work, and everywhere else.
Consumer behaviors, choices, and value are also shifting from ownership-based to service-by-subscrip- tion models.
Far from being exempt, automotive interiors are in fact being progressively redefined with a focus on user experience in the new reality. Optimized UX (user experience) is becoming the target, the lens through which the whole transportation sequence is viewed, and the standard by which it is adjudged.
Of course, this doesn’t mean privately-owned cars are going to disappear any time soon. They’ll be with us for the foreseeable future, but new HMI (human-machine interface) or UI (user interface) technology will create a new level of collaboration between driver and machine for greater safety, more comfort, and a better overall experience.
The driver—supervised, supported, and monitored by driver assistance systems—will become less of an operator and more of a passenger. This “passenging” experience is where interior, ADAS (advanced driver assistance systems) and AD (autonomous driving) technology are increasingly crucial, making car interiors a central new product differentiator and allowing occupants to do a whole new set of activities: relaxing, working, phoning, reading, watching movies…the car becomes a mobile lounge.
The in-car environment, then, must mirror the one at home and at the office: a people-centric place of comfort and connectivity, designed and configured to minimize annoyance, deprivation, boredom, and constraint.
HMI has become the true keystone of the interior, making the link between the vehicle’s technology and its occupants—all of them, for control functions are no longer limited to just the driver. There’s also a great deal of design and style involved in today’s and tomorrow’s HMI/UI configurations to create the best UX, and to fit with the maker’s brand and model identity with sleek and elegant æsthetics.
One concept rapidly rising in prominence is the digital cockpit, which replaces traditional controls and displays with digital screens. A wide range of multiple-screen configurations is possible with elements including digital instrument clusters, head-up displays, infotainment system control screens, passenger screens, digital assistants, and more.
After two years of DVN Interior news and views, we reckon it’s about time we zoom out and take a broad look at the status of automotive interior evolution, and this report is exactly that.