An exploration UX Automotive in the 5G era: New interaction processes through gesture control and haptic feedback.

Cars are becoming smart devices with intelligent interfaces that fit into the smart driving environment, able to connect and coordinate with each other to ensure seamless user adoption. This is the context for the BASE5G project, a multidisciplinary project that aims to harness the potential of 5G connectivity to design adaptive urban environments in which cars are part of complex, infrastructure-integrated systems. The proposed work recounts the experience of designing the interior of a shared self driving vehicle, with a focus on interface design. The interface design explores a touchless user interaction model involving a gesture-based control system implemented by haptic feedback. The project aims to explore a design scenario for an experiential car interface and interior that considers new visualisation and interaction paradigms in future mobility

User-centred car design and the role of feedback in driving

This thesis was submitted for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy and awarded by Brunel University.A survey of car manufacturers reveals an impressive list of upcoming technologies, the combined effect of which is likely to have a profound impact upon feedback to the driver. Feedback is information that the situation provides back to the driver and is specified with reference to content, source, and timing. Feedback quality is achieved when the information requirements of the task, derived from a new task analysis of driving, are matched to the sources, content, and timing of feedback provided by the environment and the vehicle. An exploratory on-road study begins by observing that better quality feedback is implicated in increasing driver's situational awareness (even though drivers have little self awareness of this fact), and optimising mental workload. The exploratory level of analysis builds into the experimental, whereby a highly controlled simulator study replicates and builds upon these findings. Feedback is again seen to positively influence situational awareness, where changes in driver's confidence ratings as to the presence or absence of feedback information in the simulation were observed, according to the modality of feedback presented. This was achieved with a probe recall paradigm, and using psychophysical techniques as a useful extension to the Situational awareness Global Assessment Technique (SAGAI). Similarly, an analysis of mental workload via the NASA TLX self report questionnaire demonstrates that a combination of visual, steering force feedback and auditory feedback gives rise to lower mental workload, lower driver frustration, and lower, though possibly more realistic self ratings of performance. This knowledge can be discussed with reference to a feedback framework of driving that provides the theoretical backdrop to the key psychological variables implicated in driving task performance. Overall, the findings contribute to knowledge in terms of new and imaginative ways of designing future vehicle technologies in order to maximise safety, efficiency, and enjoyment.This research is funded by the Hamilton Research Studentship

Capturing ergonomics requirements in the global automotive industry

This thesis examines the issues surrounding the collection and dissemination of customer ergonomics requirements in the automotive industry. The aim of the research is to develop a Toolset of methods, known as the Lifestyle Scenario Toolset, for gathering customer requirements in overseas markets, and for presenting the information collected to design teams, taking a user-centred design approach. The Toolset was developed and evaluated with the co-operation of employees from a major UK automotive company. Four studies were conducted, the first comprised a series of interviews to establish the needs of both the data gatherers and data users for a Toolset of methods to collect and communicate overseas customer information. The data gatherers were drawn from the company's Market Researchers, Ergonomists and people responsible for the company's overseas operations. The data users were the design team responsible for the development of the company's next generation 4X4 vehicle. Results showed that the data collection tools which formed part I of the Toolset should be quick to use, require no ergonomics expertise to implement and be cost effective to use. The interviews with data users identified the need for tools which could communicate customer ergonomics requirements to them in a way which fitted in with their current working practices. In addition the tools needed to communicate information in language which was familiar to the design team, and be visually based where possible. The second study explored the development of suitable data collection tools for inclusion in the Lifestyle Scenario Toolset. Building on the needs identified in the first study together with information from the current literature a number of data collection tools were developed for inclusion in part I of the Lifestyle Scenario Toolset. These tools were a questionnaire, driving diary and photographs, focus group, ergonomics audit and background information tool. The tools were designed to collect a range of different data types, e.g. qualitative, quantitative, pictorial and customer verbatims, to provide a rich picture of users and their activities. The tools were used in a field trial to collect data from overseas customers about their ergonomics requirements and the tasks they carried out using their vehicle, in the context of their lifestyle. The third study focused on the development of a set of tools to communicate the data collected in part 1 of the Toolset, to the design team who would use it in their work. The data communication tools were developed to provide information to design teams at a number of levels, enabling them to use the data at an appropriate level for their needs. High level summaries of each of the tools were developed and scenarios presented on storyboards were used to integrate information from all of the data collection tools to provide detailed information about customers' ergonomics requirements and lifestyle. The data communication tools also used a variety of data types and presentation mediums, such as pictures, graphs and customer quotes to increase the richness of the data presented. The fourth study involved the evaluation of the suitability of the Toolset for collecting and communicating overseas customer ergonomics requirements. The data gatherers, and data users (design team) carried out a field trial using the Toolset to establish its usefulness to them in their work. The results of the evaluation showed that the data gatherers found the Toolset easy to implement and were able to use it to pick up overseas customers ergonomics requirements. The communication tools were able to provide the design team with new and useful customer ergonomics information, in a range of formats which they felt comfortable using in their work. The implementation of a user-centred design approach to the development of methods for collecting and communicating overseas customer ergonomics requirements enabled the creation of a Toolset which met the needs of the people who will use it. This increased its acceptance by people in the company and thus the likelihood of the Lifestyle Scenario Toolset's continued use within the company

Autonomous driving: are we ready to accept it? A study about information influences on technology acceptance

In this era of technology we live in, transportation is the subject of rapid developments with brands racing, with a focus on becoming the pioneer in launching a stand-alone car. The planned dates for public release are close, however today there are only prototypes in test with level of automation 4. Being a recent subject, little information exists for both consumers or companies, so the study proposes to identify the information and technology that can influence opinion on these cars. The Innovation Adoption in Robotics (IAR) model was selected as the study’s theorical reference to study the intention of adopting autonomous vehicles, to determine the variables and construct a questionnaire to collect opinions and quantify other variables related to car acceptance. This model is based on the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM), developed by Davis (1989) and the Diffusion of Innovations Model (DIM) developed by Rogers' (1983). It is noted through the study that the subject is known the inquirers, although information about it is scarce, being evoked by them the need to obtain further progress in technology, to experiment and to obtain more information. Only by mitigating the abovementioned faults, uncertainties as to the reliability of the system and the advantages could be better clarified. Absence of information currently available about this technology and uncertainties regarding price, preparation of countries’ preparation and of the population itself, together with the impossibility of experiencing the car make these technology’s acceptance difficult.Nesta era de tecnologia em que nos encontramos os transportes são alvo de rápidos desenvolvimentos e corridas à inovação pelas marcas, com o foco de se tornarem pioneiros no lançamento de um carro autónomo. As datas previstas para lançamento ao público estão próximas, ainda que hoje apenas existam ainda protótipos em teste com nível de automação 4. Sendo este um tema recente, pouca informação existe tanto para os consumidores ou empresas, assim este estudo propõe-se a identificar a informação e tecnologia atuais que podem influenciar a opinião sobre estes carros. Foi selecionado o modelo Innovation Adoption in Robotics (IAR) como referencial teórico, uma vez que este estuda a intenção de adoção de veículos autónomos, para determinação das variáveis. Optou-se pela construção de um questionário, de forma a permitir recolher opiniões e medir quantitativamente outras variáveis relacionadas com a aceitação do carro. Este modelo é baseado no Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) desenvolvido por Davis (1989) e no Diffusion of Innovations Model (DIM) desenvolvido por Rogers’ (1983). Afere-se através do estudo que o tema é conhecido, embora de acordo com os inquiridos a informação sobre este é pouca, sendo evocado por estes a necessidade de obter maior progresso na tecnologia, de experimentar e de obter mais informação. Apenas mitigando as faltas referidas anteriormente, as incertezas quanto à fiabilidade do sistema e as vantagens que poderiam ser melhor esclarecidas. Ausência de informação disponível atualmente sobre este tipo de tecnologia e as incertezas em relação ao preço, preparação dos países e da própria população, em conjunto com a impossibilidade de experienciar, o carro tornam a sua aceitação dificultada

INQUIRIES IN INTELLIGENT INFORMATION SYSTEMS: NEW TRAJECTORIES AND PARADIGMS

Rapid Digital transformation drives organizations to continually revitalize their business models so organizations can excel in such aggressive global competition. Intelligent Information Systems (IIS) have enabled organizations to achieve many strategic and market leverages. Despite the increasing intelligence competencies offered by IIS, they are still limited in many cognitive functions. Elevating the cognitive competencies offered by IIS would impact the organizational strategic positions. With the advent of Deep Learning (DL), IoT, and Edge Computing, IISs has witnessed a leap in their intelligence competencies. DL has been applied to many business areas and many industries such as real estate and manufacturing. Moreover, despite the complexity of DL models, many research dedicated efforts to apply DL to limited computational devices, such as IoTs. Applying deep learning for IoTs will turn everyday devices into intelligent interactive assistants. IISs suffer from many challenges that affect their service quality, process quality, and information quality. These challenges affected, in turn, user acceptance in terms of satisfaction, use, and trust. Moreover, Information Systems (IS) has conducted very little research on IIS development and the foreseeable contribution for the new paradigms to address IIS challenges. Therefore, this research aims to investigate how the employment of new AI paradigms would enhance the overall quality and consequently user acceptance of IIS. This research employs different AI paradigms to develop two different IIS. The first system uses deep learning, edge computing, and IoT to develop scene-aware ridesharing mentoring. The first developed system enhances the efficiency, privacy, and responsiveness of current ridesharing monitoring solutions. The second system aims to enhance the real estate searching process by formulating the search problem as a Multi-criteria decision. The system also allows users to filter properties based on their degree of damage, where a deep learning network allocates damages in 12 each real estate image. The system enhances real-estate website service quality by enhancing flexibility, relevancy, and efficiency. The research contributes to the Information Systems research by developing two Design Science artifacts. Both artifacts are adding to the IS knowledge base in terms of integrating different components, measurements, and techniques coherently and logically to effectively address important issues in IIS. The research also adds to the IS environment by addressing important business requirements that current methodologies and paradigms are not fulfilled. The research also highlights that most IIS overlook important design guidelines due to the lack of relevant evaluation metrics for different business problems