Design Techniques for Exploring Automotive Interaction in the Drive towards Automation

Automotive interaction design is undergoing a major shift due to the disruptive forces of automation and information technology. This paper reviews current challenges in human vehicle interaction design and argues that these challenges demand that interaction become a primary consideration in designing automotive user experiences. We survey exploratory interaction design techniques for human vehicle interactions, showing examples from our research of each technique in action. The techniques are enactments, contextual inquiry, scale scenarios, Wizard of Oz, field experiments and video and animation proto-typing. We reflect upon our experiences with these methods, and discuss as yet unmet needs in interaction design for the road ahead.