Bachelor Thesis

FUTURE USAGE OF CARS

This Bachelor Thesis, together with ZEEKR, aimed to investigate the future use of cars. The project was of prospective design nature that sought to explore the future of cars and how they could be used as well as developing new use of products.

Time – From January to June

Team – 6 people

Role – UI/UX Designer

Programs –

Figma

Blender

The Client

ZEEKR is an electric mobility technology and solution brand that focuses on high-end electrical vehicles. ZEEKR was established in 2021, and is part of the Zhejiang Geely Holding Group, a Chinese family company founded in 1986. Part of the Zhejiang Geely Holding Group is several renowned brands such as Volvo Car Group, Polestar, and Lotus Group.

ZEEKR’s main focus is on the Chinese market, and as of May 2023, they have sold 93 000 of their first model, the ZEEKR 001, in China. However, they are expanding and entered the European market in 2023 with two of their car models, ZEEKR 001 and ZEEKR X, both of which were designed at the Geely Design Center Gothenburg.

The Brief

“How can modularity, MagSafe technology, and BYOD enhance the future use of vehicles and thereby increase user value? Is it possible to enable the car to be more versatile and broaden its area of use, to satisfy the needs and demands of future users?”.

Scope of Work

Persona – Claire, 31

About

Female, 31
Lives in a major city
Single
Family oriented
Self-aware
Adjustable to her surroundings
5 AM CLUB

Needs

Have control and be productive
Live a routine-based life
Be original
Peace and quiet – Personal time
Status – Values her current life situation and achievements

Interests

Career
Tech pioneer; likes new gadgets
Healthy lifestyle & well-being

Dilemmas

Work balance
Struggling to keep up with personal interests
Overloaded with information

Persona
Claire
31

About

Female, 31
Lives in a major city
Single
Family oriented
Self-aware
Adjustable to her surroundings
5 AM CLUB

Needs

Have control and be productive
Live a routine-based life
Be original
Peace and quiet – Personal time
Status – Values her current life situation and achievements

Interests

Career
Tech pioneer; likes new gadgets
Healthy lifestyle & well-being

Dilemmas

Work balance
Struggling to keep up with personal interests
Overloaded with information

The Future Car

Electric / Autonomous / Shared through subscription / More than just a transport

Our view of a potential future car is intended for shared usage, primarily focusing on brief journeys ranging from 15 to 60 minutes. Users can reserve the car not only for transportation but also for work or socializing.

The car’s welcoming and user-friendly interior provides a sense of both convenience and luxury thanks to its comfortable seating and airy environment.

Different seating configurations

The Product – AccelARate

To enable efficient work and comfortable relaxation in the future car the product AccerARate was created. It involes a pair of AR-glasses accompanied by a center console providing storage and charging thanks to Magsafe technology.

The Process

The process was based on the ACD3-model; however, some modifications were made to accommodate this specific project’s aim, which was divided into five different stages involving Defining the project, Research & Defining the Future; Scenario, Persona & Car, Defining problem area, Innovation and Refining.

Defining the Project

The brief provided by our client included a broad potential thesis question. Different areas (MagSafe, BYOD, and Modularity) were explored to identify the team’s interests and create a narrower question that matched both the expected deliverables and the group’s interests. This resulted in the following issue under investigation:

“How can modularity, MagSafe technology, and BYOD enhance the future use of vehicles and thereby increase the user value? Is it possible to enable the car to be more versatile and broaden its area of use, to satisfy the needs and demands of the future users?”

Research & Defining Crucial Areas of the Project

In order to get a grasp of the future and the potential context in which our vision and product would take place in a definition of our take on the future was made. This was done through Literature Studies, Trend Analysis as well as Benchmarking of other car brand’s conceptual visions of the future usage of cars. This resulted in a stable base to further ideate on how the future use of vehicles can be enhanced.

Persona & Scenario

The persona, Claire, was created with the purpose of highlighting the previous findings into something tangible and descriptive. The persona and scenario provided a credible justification for the product presented to those not involved in the project, as it is easier to relate if it is applied in a real environment with a specific user.

Defining & Understanding the Problem area

Empirical Studies

Field studies and user tests was conducted in staged environments in order to gain insight into what the users’ needs and potential problems are when doing different activities in a car.

Identified Problems

Privacy

The risk of disturbing or getting disturbed by other passengers.
Lack of private space while completing work tasks in the presence of unknown people.

Multitasking & Accessibility

Difficulty to quickly set up one’s workspace.
Difficulty to perform several tasks simultaneously.
Difficulty accessing one’s own devices while focusing on work tasks at hand.

Sound & Lights

Difficulty focusing due to sunlight hitting the screen of the device or directly hitting the user’s eyes.
Difficulty to focus due to noise from other passengers or the outside.
Difficulty to concentrate due to many impressions.

Comfort

Inability to focus on the task at hand due to device moving because of speed fluctuations.
Difficulty maintaining good ergonomics as a result of working in an unstable sitting position.

Specification of Requirements and Desires

Innovation

Using the specification of requirements and desires as ground work ideation could be done to generate concepts that would support the thesis and enhance the activity of performing work in the car.

Augmented Workstation

Concept 1

The user connects their devices of choice to the AR glasses. This enables the user to view their virtual screens, while they will only be visible to the person wearing the glasses, resulting in no worries about privacy when working.

Multifunctional Divider

Concept 2

The Multifunctional Divider enables users to isolate themselves from other passengers with an adjustable screening wall, reducing noise, light disturbances, and enhancing privacy. It features storage for device docking using MagSafe and foldable tables for a work area.

Privacy Pod

Concept 3

The Privacy Pod is designed to prioritize user privacy and concentration. Inspired by office pods, the concept features a folding desk with MagSafe technology for the user’s devices and provides the opportunity to work on confidential material or participate in online meetings without being disturbed or disturbing others.

Gimbal

Concept 4

The Gimbal concept consists of an arm and a table with integrated MagSafe, which allows the user to dock and charge devices without the risk of moving.

Evaluation

Through the use of pugh-matrices and general evaluation the concepts were evaluated to see how well they satisfied the specification of requirements. The result of this became a combination between the Augmented Workstation and Multifunctional Divider which together formed the final concept; AccelARate.