Collaborative experience prototyping of automotive interior in VR with 3D sketching and haptic helpers

Abstract

Technological advances and socioeconomic disruptions such as self-driving cars, car-sharing services and artificial intelligence assistance may fundamentally alter interactions inside the future car. However, existing design tools and processes geared toward static physical authoring are illequipped for such interaction design. We propose a new design workflow that combines experience prototyping methods typically used by the user interface and product design communities with 3D sketching and haptic helper techniques to help automotive designers ideate, prototype, experience and evaluate multi-sensory interactions in a collaborative manner. Using our workflow, designers use 3D sketching to quickly and expressively author 3D shape and motion ideas in space; augment them with tactile and other sensory feedback through physical proxies and other available gadgets; and immediately enact and immersively experience them to progressively explore and develop them.