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PROJECT OVERVIEW

Teca was born to revolutionize the way humans transport, as there are increasing fear and mistrust of autonomous cars specifically among mothers. This project introduces an innovation Ai system that acts as an embodied conversational avatar, that accompnaies the driving experience, for assistance and protection so that users not only understand the vehicle but also enjoy an AV drive. This project was possible for me and my team ( Weird frames ) in collaboration with Porsche Digital.

The goal of this project was to try and design a system to trust safety in motion by generating a conversational avatar that accompanies the driving experience

ROLE

Weird Frames Team

UX / UI  Designing

User Research

DURATION

July 2022

" Learn to trust the journey, even when you dont understand it "
- Ralph Smart
" Learn to trust the journey, when you understand it "
- Teca

Background

Background

The future of automation is autonomous driving vehicles. But at the same time some serious questions are currently being raised about the dehumanizing effect of technology. When it comes to autonomous vehicle, there is a lack of trust for drivers, to give up control of the driving wheel. So we understand there is a serious lack in bridging the gap between the user and the futuristic innovation, It is a challenge  to make a hands on driving generation to let go of the driving control and learn to trust the automobile. And so my motivation lies in the same. Me and my team we felt that it would be a greater advantage for us tocome up with a feasible solutionto stay up in the competitive forth coming market.

Goal of the study

Research Goal

To lessen human efforts, thriving the automation in the mobility industry with Av's and understand the fear factor

Problem statement

Users are concerned about their safety and do not trust self driving vehicles that deprive their driving enjoyment

Hypothesis

Users could build trust in Av's by understanding the journey, through a process of stages, engaging a Human - Ai relationship

Objectives
  • Understand user's feelings, empathize their emotions.

  • Evaluate reliability / ability (Performance)

  • Indicate Dependability / Integrity (Process)

  • Review Faith / Benevolence (Purpose)

Concept Video

Concept Video

Unique Selling Point

Market Validation

Opportunity Size

Are we ready to face the next big challenge of the era: building trust in AVs? 

How do we build trust in the robots that are gearing to hit the roads soon?

We consider opportunity is “understanding the evolutionary process and believing in them”. From the history, not so far, if we look at a decade ago in the year 2012, it was expected that GPS tracking systems would be a billion dollar industry by 2020 and it has grown more than the projected value by 2020. Similar Example to look at ADAS which was available only at luxury cars back then, now it is available with every car manufacturer, since the automobile industry is more regulated. At present, we believe that evolutionary process to happen with the AV industry in the next decade.

Opportunities that TECA foresee in the AV market

The global autonomous vehicle market was estimated at 94.43 billion USD in 2021 and it is projected to hit around 1.8 Trillion USD by 2030, poised to grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of almost 40% every year until 2030.

With huge investments and funding from the government, supportive regulators, automotive giants, the market for ultra luxury to go fully self driving motors is pretended to have a bull raise in the demand for AVs during the forecasted period. AVs help saving more than 40% of users travel time, by utilizing the travel time there is a whooping societal benefit of more than $750 billion USD in the US market alone.

Challenges that TECA foresee in the AV market

The absence of creating trust in the technological process. People are afraid about the harm that this might cause to them and their loved ones, so it gets very important for us to help them understand the journey and form trust in the process of evolution and Incremental learnings. Studies also suggests that there is a lift in the positive attitudes of consumers towards AVs when tried educating them about the same. It is concluded that the proportion of people whose sentiments have positively uplifted is 2.5 times more than those who have not heard alot about Avs.

Understanding the challenges in the market, TECA will be able to create a strong relationship trust with the people and AVs, by introducing the users their journey and evolving along with the user as a Co - pilot.

Autonomous Vehicle Market Size, 2020 to 2030 (USD Billion)
Europe Autonomous Car Market, By Vehicle Autonomy, ‘000 Units (2014 - 2030)
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Market Segmentation

The market segment strategy of TECA will be aligned with Porsche’s strategy. TECA ensures to reinvent itself creating new markets extending the Porsche brand in a meaningful manner while remaining true to its heritage.

We believe, the strategy of targeting female consumers to optimize the demographic profile and reposition the brand into more accessible and trustable vehicle will significantly have a positive impact to Porsche’s future. Along with narrowed - down targeting approach to the communities as a geographic segmentation will create a strong relationship between the consumers and the brand.

UX & UI Benchmarking

Direct and Indirect Competitors
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UX Business Benchmarking
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Feature Comparison
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Competitive Matrix
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SWOT Analysis
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UI Benchmarking 
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UX/UI Benchmarking

Business Strategy

Business Model Canvas
Business Model Canvas
Key Partners

Porsche Digital is trying to build trust on autonomous vehicles by joining hands with:

  • MHP

  • Porsche Engineering

  • Porsche Design

  • Hyve

  • Martian & Machine

  • PTV Group

  • Relayr

  • UnternehmerTUM GmbH

Key Activities

AI Development to create the avatar, and the 4 stages of experience for the user.

Installation of AI interface into Porsche AV cars.

Key Resources

Emotional & Interaction Designers.

Engineers and App developers.

UX / UI Designers.

AI Developers.

Value Propositions

We aim to improve our driver's trust by offering them:

  • A conversable AI assistance to trust safety in motion, so the user

  • Understands the vehicle

  • Enjoys the drive of a level 3-4 autonomous car.

Customer Relationship

Porsche aims to create a community for its users, to provide a unique experience.

The Porsche clients will have a personalized Avatar that communicates with them to ensure seamless drive.

Global Porsche CRM system - curates every individual customer’s needs.

Customer segments

TECA is the answer for:

  • People looking for luxury cars.

  • People belonging to the middle or upper class.

  • People who are eco - friendly and business people.

Porsche follows a direct distribution channel system where there is licensee and customers can purchase directly from the store.

Focused on social media, websites, campaigns and word of mouth.

Channels
Cost Structure
  • Marketing and Promotion campaigns budgets.

  • Operational cost

  • Research & Development cost

  • Hardware & Software (ICT) cost

  • AI development cost

Revenue Streams
  • Car sales

  • Partnering with other brands to provide exclusive service such as AI assistance, Av concierge etc

Marketing Strategy

TECA is a service based system and so to create direct engagement with the potential consumers we planned to adapt the following three initiatives.

  • Content marketing -

 Goal of Initiative: To increase search traffic and brand awareness across social media and other digital streaming platforms.

Metrics to measure: Increase reach and engagement levels by 5% every month.

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  • Engineering marketing ( having a conversable booth (TECA embedded)

  • TECA as a marketing strategy - 

Goal of Initiative: To be able to connect with the users on an intimate level, and become the voice of the brand.​​

Metrics to measure: TECA becomes an essential part of the user's journey. Increased co-piloting engagement.

KPI ( Key Performance Indicator) and Metrics

TECA as a product has 4 stages. So defining the key performance indicators becomes very essential to formulate the goals and measure their implementation. KPI’s help us understand complex statuses and create a simpler framework to help the organization proceed into the desired direction. This framework also provides us with a foreground analysis over objectives in a decision making process.

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Exploratory Research

Mistrust in Avs - Factors affecting trust formation
  • Individual: Individuals could have varied reasons to trust a system. Factors that may affect that include; experiential, psychological, and knowledge-based differences.

  • Organisational: The culture within an organisation and the communication that surrounds it could play a role as the trust in the person who developed the system could impact the formation.

  • Cultural: This factor is based on role, profession, country of origin, race, age and/or ethnicity.

  • Environmental (physical and external): Environmental factors impact the user’s ability to understand the system and its performance. Third-party organisations also have significant influences on trust.

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Bases / Elements of Trust

 

  • Reliability/Ability (performance): Describes what the autonomy does, as users will tend to trust systems that achieves their goals correctly. It is the degree in which the behaviour could be expected and/or anticipated and forms the foundation of trust quite early in a relationship.

  • Dependability/Integrity (process): Describes how the system operates, which may include data inputs/outputs. Users trust systems that can be explained and understood thoroughly. It is the degree in which the behaviour of the system maintains consistency.

  • Faith/Benevolence (purpose): Describes why the system was developed, and explained the purpose of the system in order to prevent user misuse. When the relationship matures, it shifts to faith which proves that it can be relied upon.

Phases of Project TECA 
Phase 0: Narrow Down Scope of Problem Space 
Phase 1: Generative research - Activities performed - Desk Research, Customer journey mapping, Facts check and statement analysis, exploratory research( form problem statement, hypothesis, features and gap analysis ) computational empathy, testing apps.
Phase 2: Evaluative research - Activities performed - Surveys, Design Sprint.
Phase 3: Solution Design and Validation - Action performed - Awareness activity, Several rounds of Low-Mid-High Fidelity prototyping, testing the early concept prototypes of various stages in TECA, Closed card sorting.

Exploratory Research Result

Empathy Mapping
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User Persona

Cristina Lopez

Cristina Lopez is a hotel management Masters student in Ostelea Tourism Management School in Barcelona, Spain. Her courses are demanding on her and she also works all day in the hotel beside her house. Everyday, she takes a taxi to work, and after her shift is over, she rushes to attend her university lecture on time.

25 years old

Full time masters student

Single

Barcelona, Spain

Driving an autonomous car can make her hectic life easier.

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Reduce her carbon footprint while using automated charging cars.

 

Limiting gasoline use.

Do not require any driver input.

 

Automatic parking, which helps her to park her car next to the hotel.

 

She can talk to the car using AI voice recognition.

Road conditions could be highly unpredictable.

 

Weather conditions play vital role in autonomous cars.

 

Accident liability

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Goals
Needs

Her demanding life causes her tiredness, so she feels the need to have an automated car.

 

Save some money from the transportation in taxis.

 

Having her own automated and electrical car without the need of a taxi coming back at night from the university.

Pain points
Interests
Personality
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Passionate 

 

Curious 

Empathetic

 

Adventurous

Behaviour Traits
Influencers

Work and do others things instead of driving.

 

Autonomous vehicles can not handle unsafe roads and hazardous conditions.

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Goals
Needs
Pain points
Interests
Personality
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Passionate 

 

Curious 

Empathetic

 

Adventurous

Behaviour Traits
Influencers
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Santiago Garcia

I am currently working full time and I am a big car fanatic. I have been collecting classic cars for a couple years now and I’ve been enjoying the process of it. I have now began following more innovative and technological trends in automobile industry, despite not being an expert in the field. 

Relaxing while traveling.

 

Using ‘driving time’ to reply to emails and finish other chores.

Have a driver license but do not want to drive all the time.

 

Eat, drink and call my friends while taking a trip.

Age: 28 years old

Self-employed

Single

Barcelona

Communicate better with my friends when we share an autonomous vehicle.

 

Autonomous vehicles can improve lives by reducing accidents, carbon footprints and providing mobility for everyone.

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Customer Journey Map
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Usability Testing
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Survey Results

We conducted two surveys, to understand user pain points, and potential elevations and solutions to bridge the gap of mistrust and communication via the interface.​​

User Persona

Feature Definition

Value Impact Matrix
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Minimum Viable Product
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Feature List
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High Fidelity Prototype

High Fidelity Prototype

This is the high fidelity prototype that was developed for TECA. This video representation has a sample scenario clipping from the 4 stages of TECA.  

UX Process and Roadmap

UX Process
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UX Product Roadmap
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Key Learnings and Takeaways

This Project was heavy in every way possible, from immersive research, to prototyping our sample idea, understanding psychological topics - Trust and the factors controlling a Human, facial recognitions and testing users with awareness, this felt like Mt. Everest in every step. We had to firstly understand how Av's work and why do the automobile giants are punching millions of dollars to make Autonomous vehicles practically functional. I personally understood a lot during the collaborative sessions we had with our mentors from Porsche Digital. I got to learn that quality of work matters over everything. It was a completely new venture for me and the team, tackling team dynamics, understanding ones strength and weakness collectively to form a strong team support, yet put my best foot forward so that I could outshine my peers was all part of the healthy competition.

Design and Research always interested me, but what was my biggest takeway from this project was, how to look at ideas and innovation as business and facing users to understand the psychology behind the user's reasonings. And this takeaway seedling has already sprouted deep in my mind as a vision to carry.

Thanks for looking into my Project. Hope you enjoyed reading as much as I enjoyed working on this.
 
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