HMI solution for hydrogen-powered vans
2023
Role
Art Director, Product Designer
Services
UX/UI design, HMI architecture design
Our team designed a control dashboard and an Onboard Entertainment System for a unique range of sustainability-focused business transportation.
Challenge
Designing an HMI for a line of futuristic vehicles
Reload Motors is a Berlin-based vehicle manufacturer that produces zero-emission commercial vans powered by hydrogen.
Bamboo Apps approached Reload Motors with a proposal. Our team offered to design and develop a combined instrument and infotainment cluster for a show car, but on a level that would allow for short-term series implementation.
The team would closely follow the client’s corporate style, industry regulations, and the latest HMI market trends in GUI design and development to create a user-centric HMI that relies on a strong design language and upholds the clean, high-tech brand image of Reload.
Screen 1
Instrument cluster
Information Architecture
The architecture was developed based on extensive internal and competitive research. The process included design thinking workshops with industry experts, competitor analysis, and the making of several prototypes.
The informational blocks, widgets, and icons for the instrument cluster were chosen based on mandatory industry standards, commonly accepted patterns, and our own expertise, as well as the help of Peter Roessger. It was important that the UI felt familiar to drivers entering the vehicle for the first time.
Sketches & Wireframes
The Bamboo Apps team closely collaborated with the client to tackle the most pressing demands that drivers had regarding their digital instrument clusters. A special workshop was held to discuss driver needs: the idea to implement widgets for the instrument cluster came as a result of that.
We brainstormed a couple of options, considering different interaction scenarios together with the client. In the end, our teams went with option 3: it put emphasis on widgets, which allowed for the highest degree of customisation and flexibility. It would also allow the client to customise the cluster for different types of commercial transport.
Layout
The layout was constructed in strict accordance with ISO standards, meaning that certain widgets and information could not be moved or hidden (e.g. check engine, the status bar). That said, users could create their own visual themes or switch between preset ones, customising non-mandatory widgets however they wanted.
Bamboo Apps put special emphasis on making the layout logical and understandable at a glance. We ensured that the UI is easily readable and recognisable with the core elements using large standardised icons.
User Interface & Features
The instrument cluster is rich with both basic and advanced features, including speedometer, turn signals, charge levels and power consumption, current trip distance, ADAS system information, speed limit, and more.
In some regions (for example, Berlin) the in-vehicle system can connect to the city infrastructure to give drivers advice on how fast they should go to make it to the next green light before it turns red.
Moreover, users can add widgets to the instrument cluster depending on the task at hand, the business they are working for, or personal driving style.
Get a full scope of information on your journey.
Never miss a green light.
Personalise your driving experience with widgets.
Screen 2
In-Vehicle Infotainment
Information Architecture
Our design strategy for the infotainment screen stemmed from the same type of research we did for the cluster: getting input from experts, analysing competitors, and, of course, brainstorming sessions.
Likewise, we came up with multiple interaction concepts and scenarios before devising common patterns and logic to dictate the design. The main goal was to create an infotainment system that was consistently easy to navigate.
Sketches & Wireframes
The thing about automotive software design is that it needs to abide by very strict industry standards. So, our UX/UI designers worked together with Peter Roessger to deliver a design that had all the necessary components and indicators placed exactly where they needed to be, while still following a distinct corporate style.
The home screen was supposed to show only the most relevant and important information (vehicle status, tasks, driver score, etc.). Our team brainstormed several options, and ended up going with number 4, as it displayed the most crucial information with maximum visibility.
Layout
All apps and screens aside from the home screen were designed to share the same patterns of interaction, as per Peter Roessger’s recommendation. So the applications were split into main and secondary controls.
The permanent elements of the infotainment screen included the status and navigation bars, as well as the HVAC, volume, and music playback widgets.
User Interface & Features
User Interface & Features
Results
The team has designed a customisable instrument cluster alongside a feature-rich IVI that complied with all industry regulations and modern design principles. Despite the abundance of functionality (including features never before seen in the automotive UI industry, e.g. an internal NFT marketplace), the interface turned out highly versatile.