[R U X] Corner
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Michelle, Caroline, Brandon, and Carmen are graduate researchers in the Research in User eXperience (RUX) Lab in the Department of Human Factors and Behavioral Neurobiology. RUX investigates the usability and user experience of technology in our everyday world. This is a regular column that reports on current research from Embry-Riddle’s EcoCAR EV Challenge Human-Machine Interface/User Experience team.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Modern Vehicle Design is a Disease: Is There a Cure?
ARTICLE BY: Michelle Aros, Caroline Deck, Brandon Dreslin, AND Carmen Van Ommen PHOTOS BY: Brandon Dreslin, David Massey, AND ARENAEV DESIGN BY: Rachael Tran / News Editor A disease is a ‘disorder of structure or function’ inside living entities. But what if these disorders also occur outside these entities and within the environment and systems they interact with? Imagine this: you and your friends are taking a road trip and need to rent a vehicle to fit everyone’s luggage. The rental company gives you the keys to a brand-new Cadillac LYRIQ, the latest all-electric utility vehicle from General Motors. As you admire the car’s sleek styling, you quickly encounter challenges. From struggling to open the driver’s door to grappling with the curved 33-inch touchscreen infotainment system and engaging the semi-autonomous driving capabilities, frustration sets in. Even your friends share your struggles, unable to connect to Bluetooth or adjust the music volume. It becomes apparent that the structures and functions of this vehicle are very different from any you’ve experienced before. Although the scenario above seems fictitious, it represents participant experiences from user testing with the 2023 Cadillac LYRIQ as part of Embry-Riddle’s involvement in the EcoCAR Electric Vehicle (EV) Challenge. The EcoCAR EV Challenge is a four-year competition engaging 15 universities in the Advanced Vehicle Technology Competition series. This competition focuses on enhancing the LYRIQ in advanced propulsion systems, connected and automated vehicle technologies, as well as human-machine interfaces and user experience (HMI/UX). Embry-Riddle’s HMI/UX team has partnered with Bethune-Cookman University (BCU) to understand how users interact with the vehicle, identify potential issues, and design new systems that improve the user experience
Every Disease Has Its Symptoms (Brandon & Michelle’s POV) Currently, the vehicle testing working group is exploring the concept of ‘environmental diseases,’ disorders that form during poor interactions between humans, their environment, and the systems within it. To discover how this topic relates to modern vehicle design, our team conducted static and dynamic vehicle user testing with several participants. During static testing, participants were instructed to configure the LYRIQ’s interior features according to their preferences, like they would with any vehicle they drive for the first time. During dynamic testing, two members of the research team drove the car along predefined routes and tested several advanced driver assistance systems. For both static and dynamic testing, we asked participants to discuss their thoughts and feelings while completing each task to gain insight into their behaviors while interacting with the vehicle. Through our testing, we identified two possible environmental diseases: poor inclusivity/accessibility and inadequate mental models of vehicle systems. Inclusivity/accessibility refers to ensuring all people can use and access the vehicle, regardless of disabilities or individual differences. Mental models are like internal maps or blueprints that people use to help them understand different things, like systems, objects, or how processes work. Our initial results suggest that insufficient consideration of user needs, exclusion of underrepresented populations, not meeting expectations, and unfamiliarity are underlying symptoms that contribute to these diseases of modern vehicle design. Page 24
Treating the Symptoms (Caroline’s POV) The lessons learned from vehicle testing help the rest of the HMI/UX team fix the symptoms mentioned previously by kickstarting the system design/interface prototyping process. Our multimodal alerts group is looking at how to best use sound and haptic, or vibration alerts to enhance navigation, safety, and assistance in advanced maneuvers such as semiautonomous driving. This semester, our research will examine various touchpoints for haptic alerts to improve safety and provide a more dynamic driving experience. For example, bringing in the same technology used by video game developers may shape the future use of haptics in cars. Additionally, the team is researching which sounds to use for auditory alerts that can accompany visual alerts, which could make the driving experience more engaging, interactive, and safe for all user populations. The symbology group is dedicated to optimizing the symbology, i.e., icons, used for vehicle functions, feedback, and alerts. Currently, we are discussing how to apply our work to design symbology for an augmented reality (AR) windshield head-up display. This display might show vehicle information in real time while the car is moving to help drivers learn about various onboard systems. Future projects will approach the issue of mental models by experimenting with the implementation of artificial intelligence (AI) technologies in our designs; examples might include gesture recognition, personalized user profiles, and predictive analytics. For all the projects in each of our working groups, BCU’s HMI team will contribute their computer science and programming expertise to develop more lifelike prototypes that will allow our teams to refine ideas through more user testing.