Project Urbano

Originally created for a contest, I've decided to keep the video here to share with the automotive UX community.

I hope to continue development on this idea and potentially build an actual physical working version of it.  The UI is fully interactive today, and the concept would rely on a rear projected DLP with curved panel to display all information to the user.

The concept also features a capacitive touchscreen on the steering wheel which will allow for easy access to commonly used controls for climate, music, and phone.

This concept is driven by a fully-functional state machine and interactivity.  It is literally ready to put in a car today if I chose to display the cluster on a traditional 1920 x 720 automotive grade TFT display.

The 'Project Urbano' state machine built with UI Composer Architect

More information:

This concept explores the possibility of switching between autonomous (self driving) mode and traditional drive mode. I've been reflecting lately that although the future belongs to the autonomous vehicle, there is still a desire to experience the thrill or pure enjoyment of driving as well. This idea gives the driver both options!

In this final iteration, I decided that having an all-electric car of the future is fine, but almost expected. So my updated proposed concept of the future demonstrates an all-electric powered vehicle that shows speed and range, but also shows how the user can interactively switch to autonomous mode at any time so that other operations can be performed in the vehicle.

In autonomous mode, the driver can search for a new destination on the navigation screen, change music source input, adjust climate controls, or just sit back and relax while the car takes the occupant to the destination.

In this concept, the curved dashboard display is a combination of rear projection and flexible OLED screens. A thin film covers the dash to help blend any seams that would otherwise be noticeable but also allows for light to pass through. This would create a homogeneous surface that makes it appear as though it was one large display.

The steering wheel display is a standard capacitive touchscreen with haptic feedback.

I hope I have achieved a design that removes complexity, provides easy access to controls for the driver and offers a unique visual style.

'Project Urbano' as seen in UI Composer Studio

The Urbano Concept is one that can evolve over time and keep pace with future artistic sensibilities and tastes. This video is a capture of a fully interactive application built using UI Composer Studio and screen recorded with Fraps software.

All interactivity is backed by a state machine complete with events and visual slide changes. Mouse click events on the application control the menu system on the steering wheel as well as the driving modes (autonomous and traditional drive mode).