Audi innovative solutions and future trends at the driver's workplace (Part 9)

Press Release

AUDI AG

Dr. Werner Hamberger, Operating Concepts Project Manager

 

The complex range of functions within a single system necessitates a simple, transparent and intuitive operating concept for the user. The outcome of the development process described below is not simply the Audi MMI, which first became available as standard equipment in 2002 in the A8. All the derivative versions based on it, from various suppliers and using various sizes and resolutions of display, that have been or will be gradually adopted in many other Audi models, benefit considerably from its consistent design and uniform menu principles.

 

This operating concept was an in-house development created by the interdisciplinary MMI team in close, purposeful cooperation with the Design, Ergonomics and Electronics areas at AUDI AG. Within the electronics area "Infotainment", a distinct "Operating Concepts" team was responsible for the definition and specification of the menu structure and operating logic.

 

One of the fundamental requirements for successful partnership within the MMI team was effective communication between software developers, designers and ergonomics specialists. The particular challenge stemmed from the fact that no coherent specifications existed.

 

Whereas designers express themselves predominantly through graphics and animations that are constantly being further developed and refined, ergonomics specialists submit largely abstract requirements with regard to conformity with expectations and the transparency of systems. Software developers represent the opposite extreme, demanding precise sequencing logic and hard-and-fast menu specifications in order to develop and implement the software architecture. The solution is a new, independent specifications landscape for the specifications for graphics and menus.

 

This process made it possible to develop various devices for the various different Audi car lines using a single, consistent operating logic. This operating logic - which can now justifiably be regarded as an element of Audi's brand identity - is found utterly as a matter of course in the MMI high and MMI basic, but has equally been implemented in the navigation system plus and, from this autumn, in a new basic navigation unit for the A3, A4 and TT.

 

Adopting the MMI operating concept in all car lines guarantees that every Audi driver can be offered a very simple, intuitively operated infotainment unit. This consistency is particularly registered as a positive asset when a customer changes their car model within the Audi range.

 

New models - new functions - new challenges

 

One particular strength of the Audi MMI is that it integrates a large number of functions in a single, neat system. The level of functional integration achieved reduces the driver's workload, as they do not need to operate the various different units in different ways. The aim is to follow the same approach for future refinements in the vehicle's interior.

 

For example, the Audi MMI will likewise be available in our new Q7, again with new functionalities that are available for the first time in an Audi. Special features in the Audi Q7 in the area of infotainment include the Bluetooth car phone, the entire operating procedure for the external phone book, the higher-level address book with automated import function and the DAB data services.

 

In the area of driver assistance systems, there are the Rear View Camera, the optical parking aid, Audi lane assist and Audi side assist, and finally the air suspension menu with status display, a feature that is particularly important when driving an SUV-class vehicle in off-road conditions.

 

Our aim was to make it possible to operate these new functions intuitively and with familiar ease, and therefore to make the vehicle as a whole even more customer-friendly. It should be made clear at this point that further enhancing user friendliness and ease of operation does not mean that all functions are now to be operated solely via the MMI.

 

Irrespective of this, however, the aim is to render it possible to operate all systems fitted to the vehicle intuitively. This presents both new challenges and new opportunities for the uniform consideration of all operating procedures in the vehicle, irrespective of the mode of operation and the way the actual operating and display units are technically realised.

 

New areas of activity with great potential for innovation

 

Above all new concepts of interaction between all users, in other words the driver, the front and rear passengers and the vehicle, with all its operating options, need to be considered in greater depth. These range from basic functions such as how to start the engine, to complex supplementary tasks such as conducting a phone conversation with several parties simultaneously, and with correspondingly modified input and output options.

 

For example, when inputting destinations in the navigation system a touchpad with handwriting recognition offers immense advantages for entering free texts in terms of the number of operating stages and times the driver needs to look at it, compared with input by means of a conventional speller. This advantage is particularly apparent when one considers the special features of the Chinese market: whereas it has until now only been possible to enter Chinese characters into the vehicle system by converting them into a phonetic notation, Pinyin, using the Latin alphabet, the introduction of a touchpad with handwriting recognition offers scope for making the entire input process faster, more convenient and safer for the user.

 

Sensor buttons offer similar advantages for the user, as it is not necessary to establish eye contact with the controls in order to select the desired buttons. Sensor buttons are capable of registering and signalling contact between the user's hand and the button. If this signalling of the hand's position is provided e.g. by means of a display in the user's primary field of view, it is possible for the driver to operate it without taking their eyes off the traffic. Sensor buttons furthermore make it possible to realise new concepts of user support by means of a context-specific help function.

 

Here is one example: if the user's finger dwells on a button for some time without pressing it, a help text on the functions that are carried out with that button and details of how to operate them appear in the display or, better still, are indicated acoustically.

 

There is also scope for innovation in the way information is represented. A head-up display showing selected information is one candidate. It could be used as a supplement or an alternative to the instrument cluster and thereby extend the range of information that can be seen by the driver without looking away from the road.

 

The third area that can be exploited by means of an extended interaction concept is speech input and output (speech dialog system SDS). Its systematic refinement into a multi-purpose operating system can pave the way for controlling even complex systems on the basis of the prevailing situation in the vehicle. This multi-modality between the SDS and other input and output devices is to be achieved in the future by means of specific design principles:

-          Speak what you see means that every menu command visually displayed can also be spoken.

-          Various user modes are intended to reflect varying needs for feedback depending on the user's experience in using the system.

-          Situation-based feedback means that feedback is modified e.g. according to the driving situation.

-          Whole-word input of navigation destinations, radio stations and address book entries increases scope for natural-speech inputs and avoids the need for tiresome spelling.

-          Text-to-speech increases the number of spoken system outputs, as all written texts can also be spoken without these first needing to be recorded in all system languages by actual speakers.

-          Barge-in enables the user to react directly to a spoken output by speaking further commands without needing to wait until the system has completed its speech output. A further contribution towards making dialogue more natural and user-friendly.

 

Customer requests for unrestricted use of consumer equipment in the vehicle represents a further task area. Such equipment includes mobile phones, PDAs, iPods and many others. The heart of the problem is that such devices are not developed for use and operation in a moving motor vehicle. They can consequently neither be readily operated in the sense of exhibiting classic ergonomic principles, e.g. large keys on a mobile phone, nor use ergonomics that are cognitive, in other words easily understood.

 

One example is the fact that a mobile phone reverts directly to the start menu after a certain time has elapsed. This function is not conducive to the safe handling of a vehicle, as the user will be encouraged to conclude inputs that have already been started in order not to lose them, instead of devoting sufficient attention to the traffic. A solution to this conflict between customer wishes and ease of operation can be achieved by means of improved networking (connectivity) or compatibility between the vehicle and additional devices. The Bluetooth standard currently offers the best prospects for development. Devices thus integrated into the vehicle can then be operated using the vehicle's own input and output devices in the same way, and consequently operated using a uniform logic, like the one the customer is familiar with from operating the vehicle itself.

 

In addition to optimising operation, such connecting of external devices to internal systems can then be used for listening to externally saved MP3 files (including with surround sound), and permitting the full functionality of a PDA address book or use of your own mobile phone inside the vehicle with most functions.

 

New requirements necessitate new development tools

 

The requirements that car manufacturers need to meet have risen: as well as demanding a user-friendly design for the functions of the infotainment system, the entire vehicle interior with the many functions provided must be very simple and intuitive to operate. To satisfy this requirement, the development methods used also need to be modified. The common "language" needed for all disciplines involved in designing the MMI is laid down along with the introduction of new evaluation and usability engineering methods.  

 

New software tools thus offer scope for evaluating operating functions through simulations of graphics and menu guidance procedures, e.g. of an instrument cluster display, in 3D optics linked up to a physical multifunction steering wheel.

 

There is a further tool for specifying operating procedures with the option of rapidly obtaining a simulation. The special feature is that the graphically specified operating procedures are used directly for creating the software for the eventual application.

 

The use of a driving simulator means that the entire vehicle interior can be considered. Whole driving sequences with any sequence of primary and secondary operating tasks can be investigated systematically. The focus of this work is on scientifically researching the impact of display and operating concept variants on the driving performance and the driver. This is why particular importance was attached to fully functioning operation of all infotainment features and scope for monitoring them by means of eye movement tracking when the concept for the driving simulator was drafted. All infotainment functions, such as radio and TV, and access to the local mobile phone network are available. Linking a navigation simulator to a driving simulator for the first time permits not only the realistic operation of a navigation function, but also route guidance that reflects driving behaviour, using the familiar arrow symbols in the instrument cluster, map displays and spoken instructions.

 

This is the perfect simulation of the real world in the laboratory.

Audi Customers and electronics (Part 1)

Audi Electronics Centre as a process-chain building (Part 2)

Audi quality as the basis for success (Part 3)

Audi Electronics Venture GmbH (Part 4)

Audi Electronics Research Laboratory - Research in Silicon Valley (Part 5)

Audi Connectivity: integration and interfaces for multimedia (Part 6)

Audi transformation of the car into a mobile concert hall (Part 7)

Audi A8 Bang & Olufsen Advanced Sound System (Part 8)

Audi innovative solutions and future trends at the driver's workplace (Part 9)

Audi Driver Assistance (Part 10)