Voice-controlled in-vehicle infotainment system

Abstract. Speech is a form of a human to human communication that can convey information in a context-rich way that is natural to humans. The naturalness enables us to speak while doing other things, such as driving a vehicle. With the advancement of computing technologies, more and more personal services are introduced for the in-vehicle environment. A limiting factor for these advancements is the impact they cause towards driver distraction with the increased cognitive stress load. This has led to developing in-vehicle devices and applications with a heightened focus on lessening distraction. Amazon Alexa is a natural language processing system that enables its users to receive information and operate smart devices with their voices. This Master’s thesis aims to demonstrate how Alexa could be utilized when operating the in-vehicle infotainment (IVI) systems. This research was conducted by utilizing the design science research methodology. The feasibility of voice-based interaction was assessed by implementing the system as a demonstrable use-case in collaboration with the APPSTACLE project. Prior research was gathered by conducting a literature review on voice-based interaction and its integration to the vehicular domain. The system was designed by applying existing theories together with the requirements of the application domain. The designed system utilized the Amazon Alexa ecosystem and AWS services to provide the vehicular environment with new functionalities. Access to cloud-based speech processing and decision-making makes it possible to design an extendable speech interface where the driver can carry out secondary tasks by using their voice, such as requesting navigation information. The evaluation was done by comparing the system’s performance against the derived requirements. With the results of the evaluation process, the feasibility of the system could be assessed against the objectives of the study: The resulting artefact enables the user to operate the in-vehicle infotainment system while focusing on a separate task. The research proved that speech interfaces with modern technology can improve the handling of secondary tasks while driving, and the resulting system was operable without introducing additional distractions to the driver. The resulting artefact can be integrated into similar systems and used as a base tool for future research on voice-controlled interfaces

From Manual Driving to Automated Driving: A Review of 10 Years of AutoUI

This paper gives an overview of the ten-year devel- opment of the papers presented at the International ACM Conference on Automotive User Interfaces and Interactive Vehicular Applications (AutoUI) from 2009 to 2018. We categorize the topics into two main groups, namely, manual driving-related research and automated driving-related re- search. Within manual driving, we mainly focus on studies on user interfaces (UIs), driver states, augmented reality and head-up displays, and methodology; Within automated driv- ing, we discuss topics, such as takeover, acceptance and trust, interacting with road users, UIs, and methodology. We also discuss the main challenges and future directions for AutoUI and offer a roadmap for the research in this area.https://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/153959/1/From Manual Driving to Automated Driving: A Review of 10 Years of AutoUI.pdfDescription of From Manual Driving to Automated Driving: A Review of 10 Years of AutoUI.pdf : Main articl

Connected Car: technologies, issues, future trends

The connected car -a vehicle capable of accessing to the Internet, of communicating with smart devices as well as other cars and road infrastructures, and of collecting real-time data from multiple sources- is likely to play a fundamental role in the foreseeable Internet Of Things. In a context ruled by very strong competitive forces, a significant amount of car manufacturers and software and hardware developers have already embraced the challenge of providing innovative solutions for new generation vehicles. Today’s cars are asked to relieve drivers from the most stressful operations needed for driving, providing them with interesting and updated entertainment functions. In the meantime, they have to comply to the increasingly stringent standards about safety and reliability. The aim of this paper is to provide an overview of the possibilities offered by connected functionalities on cars and the associated technological issues and problems, as well as to enumerate the currently available hardware and software solutions and their main features

Is Europe in the Driver's Seat? The Competitiveness of the European Automotive Embedded Systems Industry

This report is one of a series resulting from a project entitled ¿Competitiveness by Leveraging Emerging Technologies Economically¿ (COMPLETE), carried out by JRC-IPTS. Each of the COMPLETE studies illustrates in its own right that European companies are active on many fronts of emerging and disruptive ICT technologies and are supplying the market with relevant products and services. Nevertheless, the studies also show that the creation and growth of high tech companies is still very complex and difficult in Europe, and too many economic opportunities seem to escape European initiatives and ownership. COMPLETE helps to illustrate some of the difficulties experienced in different segments of the ICT industry and by growing potential global players. This report reflects the findings of a study conducted by Egil Juliussen and Richard Robinson, two senior experts from iSuppli Corporation on the Competitiveness of the European Automotive Embedded Software industry. The report starts by introducing the market, its trends, the technologies, their characteristics and their potential economic impact, before moving to an analysis of the competitiveness of the corresponding European industry. It concludes by suggesting policy options. The research, initially based on internal expertise and literature reviews, was complemented with further desk research, expert interviews, expert workshops and company visits. The results were ultimately reviewed by experts and also in a dedicated workshop. The report concludes that currently ICT innovation in the automotive industry is a key competence in Europe, with very little ICT innovation from outside the EU finding its way into EU automotive companies. A major benefit of a strong automotive ICT industry is the resulting large and valuable employment base. But future maintenance of automotive ICT jobs within the EU will only be possible if the EU continues to have high levels of product innovation.JRC.DDG.J.4-Information Societ

The cockpit for the 21st century

Interactive surfaces are a growing trend in many domains. As one possible manifestation of Mark Weiser’s vision of ubiquitous and disappearing computers in everywhere objects, we see touchsensitive screens in many kinds of devices, such as smartphones, tablet computers and interactive tabletops. More advanced concepts of these have been an active research topic for many years. This has also influenced automotive cockpit development: concept cars and recent market releases show integrated touchscreens, growing in size. To meet the increasing information and interaction needs, interactive surfaces offer context-dependent functionality in combination with a direct input paradigm. However, interfaces in the car need to be operable while driving. Distraction, especially visual distraction from the driving task, can lead to critical situations if the sum of attentional demand emerging from both primary and secondary task overextends the available resources. So far, a touchscreen requires a lot of visual attention since its flat surface does not provide any haptic feedback. There have been approaches to make direct touch interaction accessible while driving for simple tasks. Outside the automotive domain, for example in office environments, concepts for sophisticated handling of large displays have already been introduced. Moreover, technological advances lead to new characteristics for interactive surfaces by enabling arbitrary surface shapes. In cars, two main characteristics for upcoming interactive surfaces are largeness and shape. On the one hand, spatial extension is not only increasing through larger displays, but also by taking objects in the surrounding into account for interaction. On the other hand, the flatness inherent in current screens can be overcome by upcoming technologies, and interactive surfaces can therefore provide haptically distinguishable surfaces. This thesis describes the systematic exploration of large and shaped interactive surfaces and analyzes their potential for interaction while driving. Therefore, different prototypes for each characteristic have been developed and evaluated in test settings suitable for their maturity level. Those prototypes were used to obtain subjective user feedback and objective data, to investigate effects on driving and glance behavior as well as usability and user experience. As a contribution, this thesis provides an analysis of the development of interactive surfaces in the car. Two characteristics, largeness and shape, are identified that can improve the interaction compared to conventional touchscreens. The presented studies show that large interactive surfaces can provide new and improved ways of interaction both in driver-only and driver-passenger situations. Furthermore, studies indicate a positive effect on visual distraction when additional static haptic feedback is provided by shaped interactive surfaces. Overall, various, non-exclusively applicable, interaction concepts prove the potential of interactive surfaces for the use in automotive cockpits, which is expected to be beneficial also in further environments where visual attention needs to be focused on additional tasks.Der Einsatz von interaktiven Oberflächen weitet sich mehr und mehr auf die unterschiedlichsten Lebensbereiche aus. Damit sind sie eine mögliche Ausprägung von Mark Weisers Vision der allgegenwärtigen Computer, die aus unserer direkten Wahrnehmung verschwinden. Bei einer Vielzahl von technischen Geräten des täglichen Lebens, wie Smartphones, Tablets oder interaktiven Tischen, sind berührungsempfindliche Oberflächen bereits heute in Benutzung. Schon seit vielen Jahren arbeiten Forscher an einer Weiterentwicklung der Technik, um ihre Vorteile auch in anderen Bereichen, wie beispielsweise der Interaktion zwischen Mensch und Automobil, nutzbar zu machen. Und das mit Erfolg: Interaktive Benutzeroberflächen werden mittlerweile serienmäßig in vielen Fahrzeugen eingesetzt. Der Einbau von immer größeren, in das Cockpit integrierten Touchscreens in Konzeptfahrzeuge zeigt, dass sich diese Entwicklung weiter in vollem Gange befindet. Interaktive Oberflächen ermöglichen das flexible Anzeigen von kontextsensitiven Inhalten und machen eine direkte Interaktion mit den Bildschirminhalten möglich. Auf diese Weise erfüllen sie die sich wandelnden Informations- und Interaktionsbedürfnisse in besonderem Maße. Beim Einsatz von Bedienschnittstellen im Fahrzeug ist die gefahrlose Benutzbarkeit während der Fahrt von besonderer Bedeutung. Insbesondere visuelle Ablenkung von der Fahraufgabe kann zu kritischen Situationen führen, wenn Primär- und Sekundäraufgaben mehr als die insgesamt verfügbare Aufmerksamkeit des Fahrers beanspruchen. Herkömmliche Touchscreens stellen dem Fahrer bisher lediglich eine flache Oberfläche bereit, die keinerlei haptische Rückmeldung bietet, weshalb deren Bedienung besonders viel visuelle Aufmerksamkeit erfordert. Verschiedene Ansätze ermöglichen dem Fahrer, direkte Touchinteraktion für einfache Aufgaben während der Fahrt zu nutzen. Außerhalb der Automobilindustrie, zum Beispiel für Büroarbeitsplätze, wurden bereits verschiedene Konzepte für eine komplexere Bedienung großer Bildschirme vorgestellt. Darüber hinaus führt der technologische Fortschritt zu neuen möglichen Ausprägungen interaktiver Oberflächen und erlaubt, diese beliebig zu formen. Für die nächste Generation von interaktiven Oberflächen im Fahrzeug wird vor allem an der Modifikation der Kategorien Größe und Form gearbeitet. Die Bedienschnittstelle wird nicht nur durch größere Bildschirme erweitert, sondern auch dadurch, dass Objekte wie Dekorleisten in die Interaktion einbezogen werden können. Andererseits heben aktuelle Technologieentwicklungen die Restriktion auf flache Oberflächen auf, so dass Touchscreens künftig ertastbare Strukturen aufweisen können. Diese Dissertation beschreibt die systematische Untersuchung großer und nicht-flacher interaktiver Oberflächen und analysiert ihr Potential für die Interaktion während der Fahrt. Dazu wurden für jede Charakteristik verschiedene Prototypen entwickelt und in Testumgebungen entsprechend ihres Reifegrads evaluiert. Auf diese Weise konnten subjektives Nutzerfeedback und objektive Daten erhoben, und die Effekte auf Fahr- und Blickverhalten sowie Nutzbarkeit untersucht werden. Diese Dissertation leistet den Beitrag einer Analyse der Entwicklung von interaktiven Oberflächen im Automobilbereich. Weiterhin werden die Aspekte Größe und Form untersucht, um mit ihrer Hilfe die Interaktion im Vergleich zu herkömmlichen Touchscreens zu verbessern. Die durchgeführten Studien belegen, dass große Flächen neue und verbesserte Bedienmöglichkeiten bieten können. Außerdem zeigt sich ein positiver Effekt auf die visuelle Ablenkung, wenn zusätzliches statisches, haptisches Feedback durch nicht-flache Oberflächen bereitgestellt wird. Zusammenfassend zeigen verschiedene, untereinander kombinierbare Interaktionskonzepte das Potential interaktiver Oberflächen für den automotiven Einsatz. Zudem können die Ergebnisse auch in anderen Bereichen Anwendung finden, in denen visuelle Aufmerksamkeit für andere Aufgaben benötigt wird

Car Infotainment: An early analysis of driver perceptions towards apps in the car

Driven by technological advances, the vision of a Connected Car finally becomes reality. As one of the Connected Car innovations, Car Infotainment Systems now get an internet connection. Following the example of the mobile industry, app ecosystems are about to emerge in cars. In-Vehicle technology has already become the new differentiation battleground in the automotive industry. Being technologically possible, however, does not guarantee the success of app-based Car Infotainment Systems. It is not clear whether these systems are appreciated by car drivers, seeing that apps not necessarily provide assistance for driving, but in contrast can be a source of driver distraction and thus threaten traffic safety. It was therefore the purpose of this study to explain the perceptions of car drivers towards Car Infotainment Systems that provide access to an App ecosystem and thereby determine success factors from a user’s perspective. For this reason, a research model that extends the Technology Acceptance Model with hypothetical factors has been proposed based on a literature review on driver acceptance. By analyzing data collected through an online survey, perceptions have been measured and nine hypotheses among these factors have been tested. It could be shown that drivers’ perceptions of Car Infotainment Systems are slightly positive. Task-technology-fit, usefulness, ease of use, risk and costs could be approved as being influencing factors of the behavioral intention to use Car Infotainment Systems. However, the perceived risk seems to have no direct influence. Implications for both practice and academia could be drawn from these results

Ambient hues and audible cues: An approach to automotive user interface design using multi-modal feedback

The use of touchscreen interfaces for in-vehicle information, entertainment, and for the control of comfort settings is proliferating. Moreover, using these interfaces requires the same visual and manual resources needed for safe driving. Guided by much of the prevalent research in the areas of the human visual system, attention, and multimodal redundancy the Hues and Cues design paradigm was developed to make touchscreen automotive user interfaces more suitable to use while driving. This paradigm was applied to a prototype of an automotive user interface and evaluated with respects to driver performance using the dual-task, Lane Change Test (LCT). Each level of the design paradigm was evaluated in light of possible gender differences. The results of the repeated measures experiment suggests that when compared to interfaces without both the Hues and the Cues paradigm applied, the Hues and Cues interface requires less mental effort to operate, is more usable, and is more preferred. However, the results differ in the degradation in driver performance with interfaces that only have visual feedback resulting in better task times and significant gender differences in the driving task with interfaces that only have auditory feedback. Overall, the results reported show that the presentation of multimodal feedback can be useful in design automotive interfaces, but must be flexible enough to account for individual differences

The Application of Physiological Metrics in Validating User Experience Evaluation on Automotive Human Machine Interface Systems

Automotive in-vehicle information systems have seen an era of continuous development within the industry and are recognised as a key differentiator for prospective customers. This presents a significant challenge for designers and engineers in producing effective next generation systems which are helpful, novel, exciting, safe and easy to use. The usability of any new human machine interface (HMI) has an implicit cost in terms of the perceived aesthetic perception and associated user experience. Achieving the next engaging automotive interface, not only has to address the user requirements but also has to incorporate established safety standards whilst considering new interaction technologies. An automotive (HMI) evaluation may combine a triad of physiological, subjective and performance-based measurements which are employed to provide relevant and valuable data for product evaluation. However, there is also a growing interest and appreciation that determining real-time quantitative metrics to drivers’ affective responses provide valuable user affective feedback. The aim of this research was to explore to what extent physiological metrics such as heart rate variability could be used to quantify or validate subjective testing of automotive HMIs. This research employed both objective and subjective metrics to assess user engagement during interactions with an automotive infotainment system. The mapping of both physiological and self-report scales was examined over a series of studies in order to provide a greater understanding of users’ responses. By analysing the data collected it may provide guidance within the early stages of in-vehicle design evaluation in terms of usability and user satisfaction. This research explored these metrics as an objective, quantitative, diagnostic measure of affective response, in the assessment of HMIs. Development of a robust methodology was constructed for the application and understanding of these metrics. Findings from the three studies point towards the value of using a combination of methods when examining user interaction with an in-car HMI. For the next generation of interface systems, physiological measures, such as heart rate variability may offer an additional dimension of validity when examining the complexities of the driving task that drivers perform every day. There appears to be no boundaries on technology advancements and with this, comes extra pressure for car manufacturers to produce similar interactive and connective devices to those that are already in use in homes. A successful in-car HMI system will be intuitive to use, aesthetically pleasing and possess an element of pleasure however, the design components that are needed for a highly usable HMI have to be considered within the context of the constraints of the manufacturing process and the risks associated with interacting with an in-car HMI whilst driving. The findings from the studies conducted in this research are discussed in relation to the usability and benefits of incorporating physiological measures that can assist in our understanding of driver interaction with different automotive HMIs