CONCEPTUAL STEERING WHEEL INTERACTION DESIGN
A conceptual steering wheel interaction design for Hongqi S9 hypercar
In the context of autonomous driving becoming a future trend, redefining the driving experience for sports cars designed for driving is essential. The S9 supercar steering wheel system design offers a new possibility.
To recreate a driving experience that is compatible with the future of semi-automated driving, the S9 steering wheel system design integrates a sporty steering wheel design with an entirely new visual dashboard interface. The visual user interface, combined with the new sporty yoke-style steering wheel equipped with lighting guidance and vibration feedback, allows individuals to interact with the vehicle's systems more directly and comfortably, without distraction. It also provides users with the option to switch between manual and autonomous driving, catering to driving enthusiasts and special circumstances.
01 USER RESEARCH
After analyzing the user behavior under different driving modes, we found that:
Driving scene
Semi-autonomous
&
autonomous driving
Long or short trips from point A to point B, concentrated on urban roads, highways, etc.
User behavior
Focus on the cockpit and the road, hold the steering wheel with one or both hands, and leave the driving area with both feet after turning on cruise control or fully autonomous driving
Follow information
Traffic information, vehicle speed, multimedia settings, navigation and cockpit environment settings
Manual driving
Short trips from point A to point B, in the context of track days, intense driving, special situations
Focus on the road, hold the steering wheel with one or both hands, and respond quickly with your driving foot between accelerator/brake/clutch
Road information, vehicle speed, RPM, left and right mirrors when changing lanes. Pay more attention to vehicle condition information such as water temperature, wear of brake pads and semi-hot tires when off the track
By studying the driving behavior of users of different ages, we have extracted the following high-frequency behaviors of drivers in different scenarios:
1. In different driving scenarios, the information that drivers care about is significantly different
Elements that the driver care about should be prioritized, with the right information at the right time. Contextualized presentation of data can reduce the amount of information displayed on the dashboard, while presenting only the most appropriate data to the driver in different situations can effectively reduce distraction. (Location, speed limit information, display speed, torque, etc. in sports mode)
2. In manual driving mode, the tunnel effect makes it easy for the driver to focus on one point and ignore the surrounding environment information
The visual tunnel effect is especially obvious when driving fast. It is affected by the characteristics of human vision persistence and the tunnel effect. If you focus on one point and ignore other environmental information, the vision of the surrounding roads will become blurred, and the field of vision will only be blurred. A narrow circular tunnel-like area remains ahead. The faster the speed, the less time it takes to react, the controllability of the vehicle and road conditions is also reduced, and the uncertainty of danger also increases.
.jpeg)
3. Compared with icons and text, visual expressions can help drivers understand information faster
Use data visualization and unified visual elements to help users quickly understand the dashboard system. Visual representations help build elements that can be quickly understood, reducing the cognitive load on the user.
02 CONCEPTUAL FEATURES
According to the user needs obtained from the survey, we divided the conceptual design into 6 directions:
Visual instrument interface
Present information using vehicle models and visualizations
Display functions according to the scene
Automatic driving/manual driving instrument mode switch
Weak guidance feedback improves driving safety
Assist driving with steering wheel vibration and progressive lights
.png)
Steering wheel shape for driving
Yoke-style steering wheel for a sporty look
More ergonomic
The curved square control buttons are more convenient for users to operate
Retractable Dashboard
Sport mode gauge keeps driver focused on the road
03 KEY FEATURE
The new yoke steering wheel of the S9 Hypercar has four new functional structures while ensuring safety and the right steering ratio:
-
One-piece instrument structure and ergonomic grip buttons
-
Retractable instrument screen when switching between different driving modes
-
Safe distance reminder with vibration feedback
-
Progressive running lights provide lane change assist reminder
One-piece instrument structure and ergonomic grip buttons
The sports steering wheel adopts a flat-bottom structure and is matched with a suitable steering ratio to create the most comfortable holding experience. The steering wheel and two instrument screens adopt an integrated structure. The square control integrated button with an angle of 15 degrees to the plane is more ergonomically designed.
Two-hand control
One-handed interaction
When switching between normal mode and sports mode, the two instruments can be freely converted
The integrated steering wheel is equipped with two instrument screens. In sport mode, the trapezoidal instrument screen automatically flips to a position suitable for the driver's glance and displays the information that the driver cares about most.
190mm
150mm
16mm
28mm
15°
Retractable structure, giving users more space to maneuver when switching driving modes
15-degree angle tilt, giving users a more suitable viewing angle when switching driving modes
Automatic or Assisted Driving Mode Instrument Screen
Manual driving mode instrument screen
Safe distance reminder with vibration feedback
When the radar system senses that there is a danger of collision on the left and right sides of the driver's vehicle, it will generate vibration to remind the driver, and strengthen or weaken the strength of the vibration feedback according to the degree of danger.
Progressive running lights provide lane change assist reminder
In order to avoid the distraction of vision caused by the visual tunnel effect, we use progressive led lights integrated on both sides of the steering wheel to alert the driver of danger in a weak guidance manner. When the radar detects the vehicles around the body and calculates the speed of the vehicle, the dangerous degree of the driver's lane change is used after making an assessment.
LED light
Caution for driving
Ambient light or turn signal reminder
Warning reminder
03 GRAPHIC INTERFACE
According to the three driving modes set, we have designed different instrument interfaces to help the driver better control the vehicle:
1. Assisted driving mode
2. Autopilot mode
3. Manual driving mode
SEMI-AUTONOMOUS
In assisted or semi-autonomous driving mode, the instrument interface and the steering wheel armrest are kept on the same plane, and the instrument interface activates collision distance monitoring and overtaking and merging assist functions
Overtaking and Merge Assist
When the radar detects that the vehicle is in a merging or overtaking state, the progressive lights on the steering wheel armrest will light up, and different colors of lights will be used to remind the driver of the distance from the surrounding vehicles, and the instrument interface uses a visual way to display the status and speed.
Vehicle distance monitoring
In vehicle distance monitoring mode, a visual reminder will appear on the dashboard when the vehicle is too close to the road shoulder. At the same time, the steering wheel will generate vibration feedback according to the direction to remind the driver to drive carefully.
Default gauge display
In normal mode, the instrument panel displays the vehicle speed and tachometer, gear position, tachometer, and other information displayed at the bottom of the instrument
Menu and Layout
The system menu pops up in the center of the screen, while the layout of navigation and multimedia information can be customized
AUTONOMOUS
In automatic driving mode, the instrument panel displays high-precision map information of route planning, road conditions and radar mapping, At the same time, the instrument screen is retracted 5cm back to provide the driver with a more relaxed seating space
Road condition monitoring and trip planning
Provide drivers with more accurate route planning through calculation and real-time road condition feedback
MANUAL MODE
In manual driving mode, the trapezoidal instrument will be flipped to an angle suitable for the driver to view and display simplified instrument information, minimizing the problem of driving distraction caused by visual information interference
G-FORCE
MAP & NAVIGATION
04 INDUSTRIAL DESIGN
In the early stage of the design, I referred to the shapes of many concept cars and F1 racing cars, and tried to hand-paint a steering wheel that matches the temperament of the Hongqi S9 supercar.
Finally selected the yoke shape from several sets and modeled it with Rhino, adjusted the materials and rendered it with Keyshot
A conceptual steering wheel interaction design for Hongqi S9 Sports car
THANKS FOR WATCHING