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How can we design the future work environment in a fully autonomous vehicle to meet the needs and requirements of commuters and business travelers?
My thesis focuses on one of the most promising application areas of autonomous vehicles: the conversion of travel time into productive working time for commute and business trips. In the following paragraph, you can read the abstract of the thesis:
In light of the growing automation of vehicles and the anticipated market release of autonomous vehicles (AV), it is vital to consider their potential applications at an early stage. As the driving task is entirely omitted for passengers in AV, the journey time can be allocated to a variety of activities. Previous research has identified that commuters and business travellers are interested in utilising the additional time gained during business trips in AV for work-related activities. The objective of this study is to design a work environment in an AV that meets the requirements and needs of commuters and business travellers as part of a human-centred design process.
In interviews with commuters and business travellers, it was confirmed that they are part of the target group for working in AV. In addition, their specific requirements and needs were identified. The findings were used to develop a concept for the future work environment of an AV in an ideation workshop. The developed concept describes a work environment that enables both individual and collaborative work in an AV. The core components of the proposed work environment include an interactive desk display and an AI assistant that provides users with support in their work activities. The concept evaluation was conducted with members of the target group. The results demonstrate that the designed work environment aligns with the requirements and needs of the commuters and business travellers surveyed. The respondents indicated that they would use the described work environment and anticipated that it would facilitate their work during autonomous business journeys. The concept developed thus represents a foundation for further design iterations and future research.
The thesis was conducted in collaboration with Capgemini and was completed in July 2024.