AudiEVOLVE: Transforming the Journey into the Destination

Audi Evolve consisted of a combined team of mechanical and electrical engineers, product designers, industrial designers and business school students from Stanford University and Aalto University in Finland. The team envisioned a future where cabin space designs of autonomous cars will have transformed the journey into the destination. The aim was to offer a solution for 2035 where drivers can easily work and enjoy their free time, while maintaining the pleasure of driving. This made it important to focus on the issue of transitioning between various activities and driving.

This document shows the various stages of development to the team's final solution. The important areas that were identified in the design space are psychological, physical and experiential. The team went through several stages of prototyping to explore the design space. The initial focus was on a safe transition from autonomous to manual driving mode. The main idea tested was that of the steps involved in a safe transfer of control to the user. The turning point for this project came with a prototype exploring a reconfigurable cabin space design in cars. It was after this prototype that the focus shifted on the actual experience of the transition.

The final solution focused on the users who would adopt this technology as people who would still want to drive along with perform other activities in the cabin space during autonomous mode. They will multi-task a lot and always stay connected, therefore changing positions frequently. The final solution consisted of a smart chair and a retractable steering wheel. While the steering wheel is retracted and locked for autonomous mode, the tablet is enabled so that the user can interact with the windshield. When the steering wheel is not retracted it is free to rotate so that the driver can have manual control of the car. There are three different interactions with the system – Mode Initiators (MI) are intentional actions within reach like pulling the steering wheel to go into manual driving mode and pushing on the steering wheel to make it retract. The user can also use Intentional Body Commands (IBC) like leaning back to tilt the seat. The chair can also give Adaptive Chair Reactions (ACR) to movements of the users like rotating slightly when they reach for something at the back of the car.