FCA AI

CONCEPT

UX INTERN 2019

Expanding Automotive AI

BRIEF: The advent of Artificial Intelligence has presented a unique opportunity for the vehicle to connect with the driver in a very impactful way. How can FCA leverage one or more of its brands to use this technology to connect with its users in a meaningful way?

Fiat Chrysler Automobiles (FCA) is a global automobile company housing brands including Alfa Romeo, Dodge, Jeep, Ram and Maserati. As a UX intern tasked with inspiring their UX team I was tasked with creating a nontraditional automotive product. My final concept was presented to the FCA Design Board.

ID • UX / UI • Service • Concept Development • Research

Nio Nomi

AI needs to be a tool that users can trust.The user's privacy is top priority.

This fast paced user group has mastered this skill and will continue to utilize it in their daily lives.

Multi-Task

Designing for an Untapped User

Each user has specific needs that need to be met especially when representing themselves.

Personalized

Stage 1.

Gen Z

Behavioral Traits

Connect

Transparency

Gen Z was brought up in the age of connectivity and we must further promote connection in order to appeal to them.

Gen Z was selected as the target user due to their digitally immersive nature. They do not know a life before the internet and other game changing technologies. For them AI is very embedded in their daily experiences, used solely to enhance their day to day.

"It seems that people my age really only care about connecting with one another and setting ourselves apart from the crowd."

College Student

-Maya Martinez (20)

User Data Analysis

After conducting interviews and surveys, important underlying themes were found. These are what laid the foundation to the overall experience.

Click Here for Process Photos

Social

Personalized

Gamification

Community

Building

Connect with Other Users

User Loyalty

Discovery

Rewards

Systems

Self Building

Addictive

Competition

Higher User

Retention

Sense of

Ownership

Personalized

Hyper exposure to many forms of media and ideas has given users the opportunity to experiment and try to show their identity like never before.

Gamified

Users in this age have been influenced by game culture. Gamification truly boomed once inventions like the IPAD took off and online games were common.

Social

The ability to discover new people and be part of a community is immensely important for Gen Z. Quick access to reliable knowledge is very key to appeal to their needs.

Meaning

Accomplishment

Empowerment

Ownership

Social Influence

Scarcity

Unpredictability

Octalysis – The Complete Gamification Framework

Avoidance

*The experience I'm designing for will heavily focus on the highlighted elements.

Gamification. (Noun)

Ownership

Empowerment

Social Influence

Unpredictability

01.

Users are driven by the need to have ownership over something. When a player has a sense of ownership they immediately want to invest in the betterment of the object or themselves.

A great example of this is when a system has currency thus empowering wealth enhancement.

02.

Specifically to be empowered to creativity & feedback and users have to try a series of combinations until they figure out a solution. People need to express their creativity but, it also has to garner results.

Legos are a great in this aspect due to their ability to allow for many different possibilities while providing enough user feedback for a direction .

03.

Mentorship, acceptance, social responses, companionship, competition and envy are all social drivers in our daily lives.

Also applies to relatedness:

If you see a product that reminds you of your childhood, the sense of nostalgia would likely increase the odds of you buying the product.

04.

If you don’t know what’s going to happen, your brain is engaged and you think about it often.Your curiosity will be the drive that keeps you going and experimenting.

Watching a television series is a great example and the streaming age has allowed for a "binge culture" to appease our curiosity faster.

The application of typical elements of game playing (e.g. point scoring, competition with others, rules of play) to other areas of activity, typically as an online marketing technique to encourage engagement with a product or service.

gam·i·fi·ca·tion

/ˌɡāmifəˈkāSHən/

Stage 2.

What's Out There?

Current Available Systems only allow the opportunity space to exist within the vehicle. What if there was an experience for in and out of the vehicle? What opportunities will arise when we think of the a truly automotive digital space for the user?

Benchmarking: It was important to not only look at automotive AI but, also consumer electronics to provide a wider sample.

* Currently most of the products are limiting in terms of where they can be utilized. In a fast paced world it is important to be highly adaptable and usable in many different scenarios. These products are designed with one environment in mind either solely in the home or in the vehicle. This led me to develop a portable AI in the form of a smart watch that delves into multiple user use cases.

most of the products are limiting in terms of where they can be utilized.

This led me to develop a portable AI in the form of a smart watch

Check out the current opportunity space FCA AI in comparison to the leading competitor in the Use Case Comparison

Other automakers are also currently working on their own wearables but none go beyond basic controls and vehicle information.

Advantages of

Portable AI

Higher Accuracy

Artificial Intelligence is designed to make every day tasks easier. The only way it improves is for it to have more opportunities to learn the user.

Automotive & Beyond

The AI can accomplish tasks that aren't necessarily automotive related. Opens up the possibility for social connectivity and purchases.

Remote Access

Having an AI not limited to just the vehicle space allows for solutions where you arent near the vehicle E.G. (Autonomy)

Design Goal.

To design a portable AI device that functions more as a companion than a wearable for the user.

Moving forward, it is important to keep in mind the goals of the user and how they may vary from brand to brand under FCA.

Stage 3.

Visualizing the Future

FCA has a large and diverse portfolio of products. This allowed the opportunity to play with vastly different brand identities and conceptualize the portable AI device with both of those identities in mind. Jeep and Chrysler were selected due to the difference in how well defined each brand was. Jeep has a rich and easily identifiable history while Chrysler is in need of a reinvention of its image.

Jeep

Chrysler

Sturdy

Tactile

Art Deco

Clean

Sculptural

Overall Feel

Tomagotchi

Omnitrix

Dragon Radar

Pokedex

Visually Emotional & Informative: The interface needed to be fun and game like while still prioritizing key information about the user's vehicle when need be. Inspiration was drawn from several pop culture references that this generation could easily identify & connect with

Jeep AI = Adventure

Chrysler AI = Convenience

Jeep's AI Companion will focus on enhancing the owners overall

connection to the outdoors and people within the Jeep community.

Chrysler has defined modern convenience with the mini-van and will

continue to do so in the age of autonomy with its Waymo partnership

Stage 4.

A day with Jeep

The Jeep brand is all about adventure, discovery and connecting to a community of like minded people. It was important to capture within the AI the emotions that are reminiscent of that initial moment of excitement you get when you are presented with something new. In this scenario we follow a new college student's journey discovering his surroundings a scenario that is more near term in the technology and something the Jeep community has wanted for a very long time.

Watch Devon interact with his new found community amongst Jeep owners in his area.

The Jeep watch required a more tactile and robust feel so that it can handle an outdoor environment and outdoor activities.

*Click screens to expand

The interface for Jeep has the unique task of dealing with 2 elements that are unique to the brand. The Jeep Community, and Jeep's Off-Road capabilities. These features were important to display prominently in the UI.

Stage 5.

After School with Chrysler

Chrysler is a brand that has family and comfort at its core. In recent years the brand has had its presence diminished and overshadowed by the competition. Chrysler is in a position to continue being the family brand but, also define what comfort and convenience means in the age of autonomy. This future scenario follows a working mother multitasking as she gets her work done while also being mindful of her child's schedule.

Watch as Linda uses her AI enabled watch to pickup her son from school with just a tap.

The Chrysler Watch Face was heavily influenced by the Chrysler building. It's Art Deco faces provide a jewelry like aesthetic.

*Click screens to expand

Chrysler focuses more heavily on convenience and the ability to multitask. The partnership between Waymo and Chrysler creates opportunities to create tailored autonomous experiences.