The appropriate design of human-machine interfaces (HMI) in the automotive domain is of crucial importance, not only to provide effective and pleasurable experiences, but also and foremost to ensure an appropriate cognitive workload for the driver and, thus, for achieving driving safety. While this is important in many fields, it is paramount in the automotive domain in which the driver has to divide their attention into a variety of concurrent tasks: primary ones, such as controlling the vehicle and monitoring the performance as well as the environment, and secondary ones, such as using on-board infotainment devices, i.e., Radio, Navigator, Phone, and other services. Furthermore, with the latest advancements in Driver Assistance Systems, ie., Lane Centering, Autonomous Cruise Control, Blind Spot Monitoring and more, the very activity of driving is evolving, posing new ergonomics and safety challenges, e.g., loss of situational awareness and inappropriate calibration of users’ trust towards the vehicles. This underscores the need for automotive design professionals to understand the complex interplay between automotive technologies and their impact on users, both in terms of driving performance and acceptance. The course aims to provide basic knowledge of user experience (UX) design – the primary field engaged with matters of ergonomics and HMI design - to provide students with a general understanding of the field, its processes and key methodologies. Following a typical UX design process, students will first engage with contextual and user research and then will ideate and prototype an HMI concept that will respond to the needs and challenges of a specific target group. Through these activities, the course aims at providing both practical knowledge about how to design an HMI concept iteratively, and a critical mindset towards the design of driving technologies and related HMIs more broadly.

• Acquisition of basic knowledge of Ergonomics/Human Factors • Capability to understand fundamental aspects of human perception, cognition and behaviour and their impacts on automotive HMI design • Acquisition of knowledge on User Experience Design and capability to carry out a UX design process employing both research and prototyping methods • Capability to analyse qualitative research data • Acquisition of basic knowledge about how to conduct UX testing • Capability to develop an automotive HMI prototype design coherent with user need iteratively

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• Short history of Ergonomics/Human Factors • User Interfaces and Interaction Modalities in the automotive domain • Sensation, perception and human information processing cycle and impact on driving safety • User and contextual research methodologies • User Experience: history, methods and technique • Iterative UX prototyping

In addition to classroom lectures presenting theoretical concepts, practical exercises will be carried out every week, such as: • Level 3 Automated Driving HMIs Benchmarking • Digital Ethnography • User interviews • Qualitative data analysis using affinity mapping • Brainstorming • User Interaction Flow Mapping • Iterative prototyping of an HMI concept in Figma • HMI evaluation

• Rasmussen J, (1986). Information processing and human-machine interaction., North-Holland, Amsterdam • Nielsen, J. (1993). Usability Engineering, AP Professional, Boston • Norman, D. A. (2002). The Design of Everyday Things. New York: Basic Books • de Winter, J. C., Petermeijer, S. M., & Abbink, D. A. (2023). Shared control versus traded control in driving: a debate around automation pitfalls. Ergonomics, 66(10), 1494-1520. • Pettersson, I., & Ju, W. (2017, June). Design techniques for exploring automotive interaction in the drive towards automation. In Proceedings of the 2017 conference on designing interactive systems (pp. 147-160).

Slides; Esercizi;

Modalitΰ di esame: Elaborato scritto prodotto in gruppo; Elaborato progettuale in gruppo;

Exam: Group essay; Group project;

... The course will be carried out in groups of a maximum of 5 people each. The exam will include: PROJECT PRESENTATION. There will be a compulsory oral presentation at the end of the course in which the whole group will present the project. WRITTEN REPORT. 15 days before the exam, students (in groups) are required to submit a report illustrating and discussing the whole project process and reflections. REPORT DISCUSSION. On the oral exam day, students are required to answer questions about the project and the report.

Gli studenti e le studentesse con disabilitΰ o con Disturbi Specifici di Apprendimento (DSA), oltre alla segnalazione tramite procedura informatizzata, sono invitati a comunicare anche direttamente al/la docente titolare dell'insegnamento, con un preavviso non inferiore ad una settimana dall'avvio della sessione d'esame, gli strumenti compensativi concordati con l'Unitΰ Special Needs, al fine di permettere al/la docente la declinazione piω idonea in riferimento alla specifica tipologia di esame.