The AUDI AICON is a Level 5 fully autonomous long distance lounge. In other words, it has no wheel and/or any pedals for steering.
My main job was to design the full Interface concept (UI/UX/Interaction), providing enough specs and framework to make it fully operational for the International Motorshow in Frankfurt (IAA) 2017.
Interface Highlights include:
- Black Panel Interior Wrap-Around with LED strip
- Eye-Tracking Interface
- Voice Control Interface
- Artificial Intelligence Visualization + Behaviour & Speech Patterns
- Widescreen Head-Up Display
- Seemless integration with Green House concept
At its core the interface consists of an AI (Artificial Intelligence) called PIA (Personal Intelligence Assist). She (or he respectively) is the "soul" of the AICON and at the same time the operating system, that you carry around on your personal device and bring into the car whenever you enter the AICON.
PIA is being visualised in the front section of the interior via an avatar and is interacting with the passenger(s) via speech.
Depending on her character settings (which you can change via slider in the touch-panels on each side of the interior) PIA acts more proactively like an entertainer ("extrovert"), taking over various operating actions, or like a butler ("introvert"), withdrawn and waiting for you commands.
If you don't feel like operating via speech (maybe because a passenger next to you is sleeping) you can open the manual interface via "double-tap" on the wooden panel on top.
PIA then transforms into a main menu which you then control via Eye-Tracking technology. Simply look at the item you want to select and "tap" wood panel (see video below).
Below the wood panel is a Proximity-Touch-Interface displayed for each passenger sitting in the vehicle. It displays every active function in the car, as well as, various quick-option menus like the Privacy- and Volume-controls, PIA-character setting and seat layout options.
Each Touch-Interface moves back with the seat along the black panel and, therefore, always keeping ideal proximity to the passenger.
In case you want to watch a movie or face-time with a friend, you can use the Widescreen Head-Up-Display (HUD) in the windshield.
Check out this video below for more information and some real-time interface action!
Big shutout to my supervisor, Sophie Severin, for taking over when I wasn't available to talk to the press :)
