Customer perception of switch-feel in luxury sports utility vehicles

Successful new product introduction requires that product characteristics relate to the customer on functional, emotional, aesthetic and cultural levels. As a part of research into automotive human machine interfaces (HMI), this paper describes holistic customer research carried out to investigate how the haptics of switches in luxury sports utility vehicles (SUVs) are perceived by customers. The application of these techniques, including an initial proposal for objective specifications, is addressed within the broader new product introduction context, and benefits described. One-hundred and one customers of SUVs assessed the feel of automotive push switches, completing the tasks both in, and out of vehicles to investigate the effect of context. Using the semantic differential technique, hedonic testing, and content analysis of customers’ verbatim comments, a holistic picture has been built up of what influences the haptic experience. It was found that customers were able to partially discriminate differences in switch-feel, alongside considerations of visual appearance, image, and usability. Three factors named ‘Affective’, ‘Robustness and Precision’, and ‘Silkiness’ explained 61% of the variance in a principle components analysis. Correlations of the factors with acceptance scores were 0.505, 0.371, and 0.168, respectively

A microbased shared virtual world prototype

Virtual reality (VR) allows sensory immersion and interaction with a computer-generated environment. The user adopts a physical interface with the computer, through Input/Output devices such as a head-mounted display, data glove, mouse, keyboard, or monitor, to experience an alternate universe. What this means is that the computer generates an environment which, in its ultimate extension, becomes indistinguishable from the real world. 'Imagine a wraparound television with three-dimensional programs, including three-dimensional sound, and solid objects that you can pick up and manipulate, even feel with your fingers and hands.... 'Imagine that you are the creator as well as the consumer of your artificial experience, with the power to use a gesture or word to remold the world you see and hear and feel. That part is not fiction... three-dimensional computer graphics, input/output devices, computer models that constitute a VR system make it possible, today, to immerse yourself in an artificial world and to reach in and reshape it.' Our research's goal was to propose a feasibility experiment in the construction of a networked virtual reality system, making use of current personal computer (PC) technology. The prototype was built using Borland C compiler, running on an IBM 486 33 MHz and a 386 33 MHz. Each game currently is represented as an IPX client on a non-dedicated Novell server. We initially posed the two questions: (1) Is there a need for networked virtual reality? (2) In what ways can the technology be made available to the most people possible

Synchrotron FTIR characterisation of automotive primer surfacer paint coatings for forensic purposes

Synchrotron FTIR microspectroscopy was used to characterise and assess the chemical diversity of electrocoat primer, primer surfacer and basecoats of automotive paint samples from 75 vehicles representing a range of international car manufacturers. Significant diversity was found in the synchrotron FTIR data from the primer surfacer coats. Classification using principal component analysis revealed 14 discrete groups, which could be associated with the country of manufacture, the specific manufacturer and manufacturing plant, the year of manufacture of the vehicle and in some instances the number of layers in the paint system. The model generated from the primer surfacer was significantly more discriminating than a previous model generated from FTIR analysis of clear coats of the same vehicles. Analysis of the primer surfacer also avoids issues of possible environmental degradation and component migration seen with FTIR analysis of automotive clear coats. Providing such information concerning vehicle origin would aid in the development of investigative leads from the analysis of questioned automotive paint samples located at the scene of a crime or on the body/clothing of a hit and run victim

Cross-cultural differences in automotive HMI design : a comparative study between UK and Indian users’ design preferences

This paper presents a research study examining the importance of understanding automotive users’ cultural values and their individual preferences for human machine interface (HMI) design features and functionalities. The goal of this research was to explore how a cultural model can be applied in the development of automotive HMI solutions and future design localization. To meet this goal, it was necessary to (a) identify the characteristics of the Hofstede cultural model, (b) identify the differences in cultural values using the model, and (c) identify regional differences in HMI design needs and preferences across drivers from India and the UK. The results highlighted differences in expectations for HMI systems between the groups, suggesting an influence of culture on the perception of vehicle user interface technology. This led to the conclusion that an understanding of cultural biases can influence design localization and support development strategies. In addition, two main categories of further research have arisen as a result of this project. The first category focuses on identifying methodologies to establish relationships between culture and regional drivers’ HMI design preferences. The second category comprises new research questions on tools and processes to deal with cultural influences

Catalytic Role for Water in the Atmospheric Production of ClNO

High level ab initio calculations of clusters comprised of water, HCl, and ON-ONO2 are used to study nitrosyl chloride (ClNO) formation in gas phase water clusters, which are also mimics for thin water films present at environmental interfaces. Two pathways are considered, direct formation from the reaction of gaseous HCl with ON-ONO2 and an indirect pathway involving the hydrolysis of ON-ONO2 to form HONO, followed by the reaction of HONO with HCl to form ClNO. Surprisingly, direct formation of ClNO is found to be the dominant channel in the presence of water despite the possibility of a competing hydrolysis of ON-ONO2 to form HONO. A single water molecule effectively catalyzes the ON-ONO2 + HCl reaction, and in the presence of two or more water molecules the reaction to form ClNO becomes spontaneous. Direct formation of ClNO is fast at room and ice temperatures, indicating the possible significance of this pathway for chlorine activation chemistry in both the polar and midlatitude troposphere, in volcanic plumes and indoors. The reaction enthalpies, activation energies, and rate constants for all studied reactions are reported. The results are discussed in light of recent experiments

Characterisation of chemical component migration in automotive paint by synchrotron infrared imaging

Synchrotron infrared chemical imaging was employed to examine and assess the extent of interlayer component migration within multilayer automotive paint samples, with a particular emphasis on the cross-linking additive melamine. Two dimensional infrared chemical images revealed that melamine consistently diffuses in select paint samples from the underlying basecoat into the outermost clear coat layer. Pigments from the basecoat were also found to migrate into the adjoining layers. This is significant as the relative abundance of both melamine and pigments will vary greatly depending upon the region of the layer analysed. This component migration will undoubtedly impact the information gleaned from a questioned sample via library searching software or multivariate statistics. As a result, appropriate analytical protocols will need to be utilised to mitigate the effects of interlayer pigment and melamine diffusion, so as to afford a true representation of the composition of the coating for forensic identification purposes