Week 5

G.uts Exhibition

The objective of the exhibition was to use the gallery as an experimental space to create an experience one might have in one of the proposed interior concepts. A number of touch points were considered at this point which are under development for this project, such as - interactive display, feature controls (Temperature, windows and seats) and vehicle command buttons (Start/Stop ride, support). To achieve the same, 1:1 scale mock-ups (Prototypes) were created out of cardboard to test the placement, dimensions, reach and interaction within the space for one of the ideated seating layouts. Each participant was requested to interact with these prototypes to obtain feedback regarding what is working and what might be missing.

Further, this activity helped collect input/feedback from my peers towards the concept. Once each mock-up is interacted with, each participant was requested to rank them from 1→5 based on two key aspects aimed for this design at the point, named - Privacy and Accessibility for the vehicle interior.

Inputs for the Exhibition

The inputs for this exhibition included 2 cardboard mock-ups to be attached to two separate chairs to create a very early prototype of the vehicle seats. The first mock-up (Fig.1) was of a Display + Feature Control Interface which sits at the back of each seat and the second mock-up (Fig.2) focused towards creating a Headrest, aimed to facilitate a sense of privacy.

Further, post-it notes were used with written prompts about the digital interface on the screen with an intent to provoke conversations around what addition and improvements could be made to the interface as well as the overall design. This feedback will contribute towards the concept development of the vehicle for which the chosen method at this point in the semester was sketching and prototyping.

Early Prototypes used for interaction and generating a sense of scale for the vehicle interior.

Fig.01 Prototype 01 (Display and Feature Controls)

Prototype 01 (Post-It notes: Prompts and Interface)

Fig.02 Prototype 02 (Headrest + Blinds)

Final Prototype (1+2)

Seating Layout Iterations using Cardboard

In addition to the cardboard mock-ups and Post-it notes, 8 seating layouts (Fig.5) were printed out and put on display with the intention to be ranked out of 5 under previously mentioned two categories - Privacy and Accessibility.

outcome

I realised that having a physical ‘object’ to talk to provoked a lot of conversations, participants can now talk about scale, reach and experiences they have while interacting with this mock-up. Before exhibiting my work, I had a few key questions in my mind related to privacy and accessibility to be delivered while the participants interacted with the mock-up and read through the post-it notes. Due to lack of a strictly defined script for the overall experiment, it was difficult to keep track of time. Although not having a strict script had both positive and few negative outcomes.

For instance, it did allow room for a natural flow of conversation between the participants and myself where few good insights were pointed out, these were recorded in a video format. At the same time, it also made it difficult to keep track of each individual aspect of design being discussed and at times discussions drifted broadly rather than converge towards the design elements which are in scope for this project. This made it difficult to allocate equal time and importance to different elements of the exhibition. It was observed post-exhibition a greater amount of time and consideration was given to the interaction, privacy and display elements. Based on these interactions few inputs were made to the design using post-it notes which turned out to be very useful but this compromised the time left for the ranking activity for the seating layouts put on display.

What Worked

The post-it notes were used with the intent to show interaction prompts which will be present for the digital interface and also used for making suggestions and feedback for the design. The post-it notes turned out to be a success - they were not only used to make suggestions for the digital interface but also were iterated on the spot and acted as a communication tool for the participants. They allowed each participant to contribute and comment towards the overall design considerations showcased with this mock-up. This allowed room to obtain valuable feedback which will contribute towards the design development for both - physical and digital aspects of the design. Following is a table which shows the post-it responses. These responses were categorised under experience and function based inputs for the design:-

Moreover, in addition to the interaction and experience, the prototype also helped scoping the dimensions and distance between the seats. It allowed independent placement for the chairs at different lengths as to experiment with passenger reach (for the display) and comfort (leg space) at 1:1 scale. At this point I consider this a very useful insight as I will help calculate the dimensions for the vehicle in relation to the legally defined size for a vehicle and pick a layout which fits best to user needs.

The ranking sheet above indicates the recorded responses during the exhibition and highlights the highest and lowest scoring seating layouts against the two core needs. This was useful in converging towards the layouts to be taken into consideration for the ideation stage. The display mock-up especially helped to iterate the details for the functional interface design in physical form and rethink what can accommodate multiple features within a single form during the making process. This resulted in development of dual-dials for control, not totally radical in design yet capable of serving the purpose for this project. Ranking from 1-5 returned a more refined distinction as compared to yes or no (1-2) responses would have between each concept during the time of the exhibition. The highest scoring layouts will be visualised and worked towards generating digital sketches for the develop phase.

What did not work

As mentioned earlier, not having a strict script affected time allocation and importance given to each segment of the exhibition. This project could have benefited more with a structured timeline and defined questions to be asked at each stage of the exhibition. This could in turn have provided more clarity to the audience about the overall experimental use of the space. A script would have also allowed me to keep a track of time on each participant's interaction and response to the prototype. Although the prototype provoked meaningful questions and responses for the physical and digital aspects of the design, it did struggle to communicate the more complex parts attached to this project such as safety within the interior, wheelchair access, route change touchpoints and security. Post-exhibition, this led to a question - How could we create a sense of safety within interior space and what options are available in case of an emergency apart from an emergency button.

conclusion

Overall the exhibition went according to plan and returned useful insights which will contribute towards the product development. Being at an early stage of the Develop phase of the double diamond at the time of the exhibition - using it as an experimental space will help shape digital sketches and concepts majorly for vehicle interior while keeping in mind the system design the vehicle will operate on. Few of the key reasons to use the gallery as an experimental space at this point in the semester was - First, I wanted to feel a sense of scale for the vehicle interior which can help define the overall size of the AV to accommodate for space required for luggage, cargo, personal belongings, leg space and so on. This was really important to define the proportions for the design when sketching. Second, it helped imagine and showcase how different touchpoints such as buttons, dials, knob and display can accommodate different functions for the passenger. The exhibition was really useful in both - generating participatory inputs as well as in generating insights through the making process. Lastly, the overall activity helped converge down to 3 layouts based on the two core user needs with the help of a voting activity of 1-5.

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