User-Centered Approaches in Conventional and Autonomous Truck Design and Future Effects on Environmental Design
Abstract
Meeting the world’s increasing need for transportation today soon requires the development of autonomous vehicle systems. User-centered approaches in industrial design are crucial to advance technological, mechanical, and equipment specifications and provide effective driving experiences. This study analyzes conventional and new generation autonomous vehicles through user-centered design (UCD) and drivers’ experiences. Turkish company BMC and the new truck series “Tuğra” are selected. Participants are truck drivers, designers, engineers, and specialists. Observations and face-to-face interviews investigated comfort, usefulness, usability, desirability, accessibility, credibility, findability, and value from the elements of user experience design within the truck, as well as users’ awareness of UCD. Credibility and usability were among the highest-ranked principles. The participants provided valuable information for the design development of trucks, and ideas for future problems and solutions. Further multidisciplinary research that focuses on technical, as well as social and ethical issues is essential in this new and emerging area.
Keywords
Industrial design, user-centered design (UCD), autonomous vehicles, truck design, truck interiors
Thanks
This article was produced from a master's thesis, advised by Prof. Dr. Önder Küçükerman and Prof. Dr. Deniz Hasırcı, completed in the Design Studies program, Graduate School at İzmir University of Economics, and presented at the IArcSAS-2021 1st International Architectural Sciences and Applications Symposium, Isparta, Turkey held October 27-29, 2021. The article complies with national and international research and publication ethics.
This article was edited by Lecturer Pamela McArthur from the İzmir University of Economics for academic English. The authors would like to express their gratitude for her valuable contribution to the overall work.
The authors would also like to thank the BMC Company for their kind support of the study and permission for the visuals, as well as all participants who took part in the study, providing valuable feedback.
References
- BMC Otomotiv Sanayi ve Ticaret A.Ş., (2021). Available at: https://www.bmc.com.tr. ERTRAC Working Group, (2017). Connectivity and Automated Driving: Automated Driving Roadmap. Belgium: European Technology Platform.
- Ferreira, A. (2017). Universal UX Design: Building Multicultural User Experience. Cambridge: Morgan Kaufmann.
- Frost & Sullivan. (2016). ADAS, Health and Wellness, Connectivity, and Autonomous Vehicle Road Maps, 2025: Automotive Systems Face Disruption from Electrification and Cognitive Convergence. Mountain View, CA.
- Gasson, S. (2003). Human-centered vs. user-centered approaches to İnformation system design. The Journal of Information Technology Theory and Application (JITTA), 5(2), 29-46.
- Gladkiy, S. (2018). User-centered design: Process and Benefit. Available at: https://uxplanet.org/user-centered-design-process-and-benefits-fd9e431eb5a9.
- Holweg M. (2008). The Evolution of competition in the automotive İndustry. Parry G., Graves A. (eds), Build To Order (pp.13-34). London: Springer. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-84800-225-8_2
- IDEO.org. (2015). The Field Guide to Human-Centered Design. Canada: Design Kit. [Adobe Digital Editions version]. Available at: https://d1r3w4d5z5a88i.cloudfront.net/assets/guide/Field%20Guide%20to%20Human-Centered%20Design_IDEOorg_English-0f60d33bce6b870e7d80f9cc1642c8e7.pdf
- ISO, 11992-2:2014(en). (2014). Road vehicles- Interchange of digital information on electrical connections between towing and towed vehicles — Part 2: Application layer for brakes and running gear. Available at: https://www.iso.org/obp/ui/#iso:std:iso:11992:-2:ed-3:v1:en:term:3.4
- Jaafarnia, M. & Bass, A. (2011). Tracing the Evolution of Automobile design: Factors influencing the development of aesthetics in automobiles from 1885 to the present. Proceedings of the IMProVe 2011 International Conference on Innovative Methods in Product Design. Venice, Italy. 15 – 17 June 2011.
- Kirstin, H. (2013). Ucd, Ux, Usability – So What’s The Difference? Available at https://blogs.uoregon.edu/uxuo/2013/09/20/ucd-ux-usability-so-whats-the-difference/.