Automotive Habitat Laboratory: a facility for automotive co-design

Abstract

Owing to the growing sophistication of digital technologies and the increasing complexity of modern social behaviours, the 21st century automobile can no longer be considered as an environment solely characterised by the performance of the driving task. In order to address the opportunities introduced by the increasingly dynamic and socially interactive environment of the modern day automobile, from a Human Centred Design perspective, a series of expert interviews and business discussions were held with motor industry professionals. From discussions of modern design tools which would be helpful in support of motor industry, the concept of a design-driven lab emerged. The Automotive Habitat Laboratory assists the discovery of experiential, psychological, sociological, behavioural and ethical aspects of new automotive product and service concepts. This paper discusses the results of the expert interviews and the preliminary definition of the Automotive Habitat Laboratory in terms of the specification of the human behaviour monitoring technologies, communication protocols and working methods that will allow for creative real-time dialogue between designers and people in automobiles.