Conception and Experience of Non-driving Related Activities in Semi-autonomous Vehicles

While semi-autonomous driving (SAE level 3 & 4) is already partially a reality, the driver still needs to take over driving upon notice. Hence, the cockpit cannot be designed freely to accommodate spaces for non-driving related activities. In the following Use Case, a mobile workplace is created by integrating a translucent acrylic glass pane into the cockpit and introducing joystick steering of the car. By using the technology Virtual Desktop 1, which is a software layer, any desktop application can be represented freely transformable on arbitrary physical and virtual surfaces. Thus, a complete Windows environment can be distributed across all curved and flat surfaces of an interior. The concept is further enhanced by a voice-driven generative AI which helps to summarize documents. A physical and a virtual demonstrator are created to experience and assess the mobile workspace, the well-being of the driver, influences, and psychological aspects. The physical demonstrator is a 1:1 partial interior mockup with projection-based interactive surfaces. The virtual demonstrator represents the same interior model using the technology TRONIS® and is perceptible through virtual reality (Apple Vision Pro). TRONIS® is a prototyping, scenario creation, and simulation tool for developing and testing functions in the context of highly automated driving. The demonstrators allow for a user-centered design process and facilitate the creation of innovative designs. The technological concepts can also be adapted for other non-driving related activities such as relaxation and entertainment, allowing for the application of many use cases and a broad variety of potential users.