Innovations in human-machine interfaces (HMI) are shaping a new era of driving. From voice recognition and gesture control to futuristic touch screens and connected technologies, the car of the future is here. It’s making driving safer, more convenient, and more delightful than ever.
For automakers and OEMs, overcoming the complexities of innovating the driver experience is no guarantee. Collaborating with a trusted development partner like intive can help car companies implement cutting-edge technologies to exceed driver expectations – and ensure ROI in the process.
In today’s dynamic landscape, carmakers are challenged with quickly and effectively building HMIs that delight drivers. While in the past, it took five to six years to develop an infotainment system, customers now expect to see progress in these systems every two years.
As a development partner, our job is to help automakers adapt to these changing market conditions, especially through tech scouting to keep our finger on the pulse of the evolving automotive landscape.
We both improve existing operating processes as well as bring new functions into the vehicle, taking care that the system still feels intuitive – even with innovations that may be new for the driver. With intive as a partner, our customers draw on decades of experience supporting leading carmakers and a team that’s committed to pioneering innovation in the auto industry.
Among the innovations that our in-house AI and ML experts leverage is computer vision (CV) technology, powering driver assistance systems that identify and evaluate objects. Whether there's a vehicle in the lane ahead or a pedestrian crossing the road, these systems can classify almost everything in traffic and implement corresponding behaviors or functions.
CV can also support safety by recognizing driver actions and behaviors. Is the driver facing backward? Or perhaps they’re distracted by their cell phone? Are they tired and prone to dozing off? These are just a few examples of how CV-powered driver assistance can act as an intelligent co-pilot.
Meanwhile, AI can distinguish a child from an adult and react accordingly in an emergency, such as by altering the way an airbag inflates in the case of a collision. Conversational AI assistants can provide multimodal interactions thanks to intelligent speech and gesture recognition.
At intive, we have developed reusable components for speech and handwriting recognition – a less distracting input method compared with typing – as well as gaze recognition, which measures when the driver is distracted and for how long.
This is only the beginning when it comes to the potential of AI for automotive. We expect to see countless more applications as the technologies continue to develop.
Here at intive, we’ve also been working hard to integrate XR environments, encompassing virtual reality (VR), augmented reality (AR), and mixed reality (MR), into various stages of development.
This virtual world allows our customers to experience different car models from the driver’s seat without being in the physical vehicle, as well as infotainment systems and functionalities before they’ve been fully built.
The customer can interact with the virtual simulation, evaluate the usability of the elements being developed, and even try out scenarios that would be too dangerous or impossible to mimic in real life. And the promise of virtual worlds doesn’t stop there – the end customer could also leverage VR to configure their vehicle and experience different features before they purchase it – something no website can offer.
All in all, XR enables us to avoid the high costs involved with hardware setups and physical simulations and create truly immersive experiences that support better decision-making for our clients.
Any innovation or functionality we bring into a vehicle always starts with a sketch on a napkin, metaphorically speaking – a rough idea. We loosely define the layout and the operating sequences, and from this rough idea, we move to the individual functions, such as media or navigation, and evaluate whether they work or require revision.
This is an iterative process that moves from the rough to the refined. In practice, it looks like starting with simple click dummies that develop into a wireframe simulation until it reaches a certain level of complexity. These simulations serve as support for the developers, as well as a tool for decision-making at the management level.
The next step is to establish the functions and individual components. We conduct studies with test subjects for evaluation, which can take place on a table, in a seat box, in a driving simulator, or even in a real vehicle. This is where third-party components come into play, such as new displays, whose touch is connected to the simulation. Even in a simulator, our team has to connect the many signals from the hardware to the simulated infotainment system. Here we rely on reusable components, helping us speed up development.
As development progresses, it becomes important for the content of the solution to be as realistic as possible – for example, by showing a list of stations in a radio menu or being able to search for a destination within a navigation system. Here we also opt for reusable components.
We then define the specifications to begin the series development, using the results of the simulation and the insights we gained. In addition to usability, it’s also vital that we ensure compliance with different guidelines such as those of the National Highway Traffic Security Administration (NHTSA) or Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers (AAM) at this phase.
At intive, we pride ourselves on our deep domain expertise, hyper-agile approach to development, and commitment to building truly innovative solutions for our automotive clients.
If you’re seeking to stay ahead of the automotive curve and push the boundaries of what’s possible in the modern car, get in touch with a member of our team.
And if you’re also planning to attend Car.HMI, don’t hesitate to reach out and book a slot with one of our experts.