Interface Interior Concept
From c,mm,n
The following text is the summary of a graduation thesis by Caroline Klop. She graduated in june 2007 on this study about a future interface of the c,mm,n car interior at the Delft University of Technology. The full PDF will be downloadable soon.
Abstract
This graduation project describes the design of a future interface of the c,mm,n car interior. C,mm,n is a car designed for the 3TU and the Netherlands Society for Nature and Environment’s project ‘A Car in the Future’.
This interior is designed using the ViP method (Hekkert, P.P.M. and Dijk, M. van, 2004) and is focused on future possibilities, interaction and context.
Current car interiors have become quite incoherent products: a lot of features are added, but not taken away. Another aspect of the interior is, that people tend to isolate themselves in it, in order to withdraw from their hectic lives.
The product concept is based on a vision especially designed for this project: we want people to cooperate in mobility through improved communication by supporting, and providing insight into, their mindsets; clarifying the strength of the individual in relation to the group on that moment within the community and on the road through non verbal communication.
In this interior concept the user’s orientation, posture and movements will express the user’s mindset to the interior. The interior responds and provides the user with the information and the amount of control suitable to his mindset.
The interface design consists of a dashboard, steering wheel, slider and rear window display. All these components work closely together to form one coherent interface: an interface which suits the user’s mindsets.
A preliminary research is done in order to discuss the product interpretations of the mindsets, with future users. The main recommendation derived from this research is that in order to let the mindsets fit every user, the interior must get to know the user. An intelligent system must be added, that learns the exact content of the user’s mindsets.
