Rosenverse

Log in or create a free Rosenverse account to watch this video.

Log in Create free account

100s of community videos are available to free members. Conference talks are generally available to Gold members.

The Basics of Automotive UX & Why Phones Are a Part of That Future
Thursday, July 25, 2024 • Rosenfeld Community
Share the love for this talk
The Basics of Automotive UX & Why Phones Are a Part of That Future
Speakers: James Rampton
Link:

Summary

In this session with James Rampton, dive into the automotive UX industry, the types of screens that go into cars, and the impact that tech companies like Apple and Google have had on the industry with products like Apple CarPlay and Android Auto. Discover the role phones play in shaping the strategy for companies designing software-defined vehicles. Learn what to call that screen in front of you while you're driving and why car companies struggle to make good experiences. Plus, James speculates why Apple gave up making a car and guesses what future experiences will look like for both everyday drivers and those who can afford to have the car drive itself.

Key Insights

  • Automotive UX is rapidly shifting from physical controls to complex digital interfaces greatly influenced by smartphone experiences.

  • Over-the-air (OTA) updates allow vehicles to improve features and UI post-purchase, extending their lifecycle and user satisfaction.

  • The hardware-software merger in vehicles is significantly more complicated than in phones, involving dozens of cameras and powerful CPUs.

  • Tech companies like Apple and Google dominate in-car digital ecosystems, but some automakers like Rivian reject phone projection in favor of proprietary OS.

  • Simplicity in physical controls was recommended by McKinsey to reduce vehicle manufacturing costs and streamline UX.

  • Design systems and component libraries in automotive UX are crucial and align brand identity with in-vehicle digital and physical experiences.

  • Projected experiences like Apple CarPlay essentially project a phone’s OS onto the car, disconnecting the vehicle’s native OS from the user.

  • Automakers are experimenting with manufacturing phones that double as vehicle extensions, especially some Chinese brands and Polestar.

  • User research in automotive UX involves simulators, human factors, driver distraction studies, and collaboration between academia and industry.

  • Frequent UI updates pose safety risks if not handled well; user-initiated downloads help mitigate distractions associated with unexpected changes.

Notable Quotes

"It’s almost as if the mechanical aspects of the car are subservient to the digital aspects."

"The challenge is the merger of hardware and software in a product that typically takes roughly four years to develop."

"Volkswagen is investing $5 billion into Rivian to help develop software-defined vehicles."

"Each hard control button can cost anywhere between 50 cents and $10 per unit, which adds up over millions of vehicles."

"Automotive UX is a balancing act between preserving hard controls for durability and going fully digital for flexibility."

"Tesla has about 150 million lines of code in their vehicles, which they’re now reducing using AI to replace some code."

"Projected experiences like Apple CarPlay detach the vehicle OS from the customer and automakers can’t get user data."

"Rivian does not allow Apple CarPlay or Android Auto; they opt for their own optimized EV native system."

"Design systems in automotive are some of the coolest I’ve seen because they have to align both the marketing and the in-vehicle user experience."

"Don’t forget cars are fun; if you’re not having fun behind the wheel, you’re not doing it right."

Ask the Rosenbot
Kristin Skinner
Theme 2: Introduction and Provocation
2024 • DesignOps Summit 2020
Gold
Ryan Rumsey
Business Influence Without Losing Your Soul (Videoconference)
2021 • Enterprise Community
Jodi Forlizzi
Design and AI innovation
2024 • Designing with AI 2024
Gold
Peter Van Dijck
Coffee with Lou #4: Taking a Peek Under the Rosenbot's Hood (Videoconference)
2024 • Rosenfeld Community
Devon Powers
Imagining Better Futures
2022 • Advancing Research 2022
Gold
Tutti Taygerly
Make Space to Lead
2021 • Design at Scale 2021
Gold
Megan Blocker
A Selectively Scrappy Approach to ResearchOps
2018 • DesignOps Summit 2018
Gold
Noel Lamb
Cultivating Business Partnerships to Grow Research Ops (Videoconference)
2022 • Advancing Research Community
Séamus Byrne
Aligning Teams with Choreography
2024 • Enterprise Experience 2020
Gold
Exploring DesignOps as a Business Strategic Function
2025 • DesignOps Community
Panel Discussion: Communicating the Value of DesignOps
2018 • DesignOps Summit 2018
Gold
Rusha Sopariwala
Remote, Together: Craft and Collaboration Across Disciplines, Borders, Time Zones, and a Design Org of 170+
2022 • Design at Scale 2022
Gold
Lija Hogan
Doing more with more: Lessons from the Front Lines of Democratization
2022 • Advancing Research 2022
Gold
Maria Taylor
Knowledge is Power: Managing the Lifeblood of the Design Org
2023 • DesignOps Summit 2023
Gold
Leisa Reichelt
The Five Dysfunctions of Democratized Research at Scale
2020 • Advancing Research 2020
Gold
David Cronin
Discussion
2015 • Enterprise UX 2015
Gold

More Videos

"If design didn’t move the needle, we wouldn’t be having this conversation."

Standardizing Product Merits for Leaders, Designers, and Everyone

June 15, 2018

Simon Wardley

"Space has meaning in a map—if you move components around without reason, it’s no longer a map."

Simon Wardley

Maps and Topographical Intelligence (Videoconference)

January 31, 2019

Sandra Camacho

"There’s a gap between intentions and impact; humility is needed to close it."

Sandra Camacho

Creating More Bias-Proof Designs

January 22, 2025

Darian Davis

"I felt on edge around Jeff and physically depleted after our interactions."

Darian Davis

Lessons from a Toxic Work Relationship

January 8, 2024

Fisayo Osilaja

"After each interview, I input the transcript into ChatGPT and ask for three key takeaways that I can quickly share with stakeholders."

Fisayo Osilaja

[Demo] The AI edge: From researcher to strategist

June 4, 2024

Uday Gajendar

"Nobody wants to buy or use a sloppy product, especially when enterprise users engage daily for hours."

Uday Gajendar

The Wicked Craft of Enterprise UX

May 13, 2015

Davis Neable

"We formed a small core task force empowered to make decisions to avoid delays from formal reviews."

Davis Neable Guy Segal

How to Drive a Design Project When you Don’t Have a Design Team

June 10, 2021

Eniola Oluwole

"We stopped talking about patterns and consistency and started talking about scalability and speed to connect with stakeholders."

Eniola Oluwole

Lessons From the DesignOps Journey of the World's Largest Travel Site

October 24, 2019

Aurobinda Pradhan

"Our two-way Jira integration allows you to link design activities directly with epics, user stories, and tasks."

Aurobinda Pradhan Shashank Deshpande

Introduction to Collaborative DesignOps using Cubyts

September 9, 2022