Digital instrument clusters and the road to autonomous driving

Guest post by Walter Sullivan, head of Innovation Lab, Silicon Valley, Elektrobit Automotive

Autonomous driving requires new user experience interfaces, always on connectivity, new system architectures and reliable security. In addition to these requirements, the real estate in the car is changing as we move towards autonomous driving, and the traditional display is being replaced by head up displays (HUD), digital instrument clusters, and other screens. The digital cluster is where automakers can blend traditional automotive status displays (such as odometer, speed, etc.) with safety features, entertainment, and navigation, providing a more personalized, safe, comfortable, and enjoyable driving experience.

For autonomous vehicles, the human-machine interface (HMI) will change with the level of autonomy. Until vehicles are fully autonomous, all the traditional functions of the in-car HMI must be covered and driver distraction needs to be minimized. As we progress through piloted drive towards full autonomy, additional functions are taking center stage in the instrument cluster: driver assistance (distance to vehicle in front, speed limit, optimized time to destination/fuel consumption, object detection, etc.).

The digital instrument cluster brings a number of benefits to the driver experience including:

• Comfort: The more information that a driver has about the route, right before his or her eyes, the more comfortable the drive. Digital clusters that provide map data, not just routing guidance but information on the nearest gas station, traffic, upcoming toll roads, etc., give the most comfort by empowering the driver with the information needed to get to the destination quickly and safely.
• Safety: Drivers benefit from cars that know what’s on the road ahead. Through electronic horizon-based features, clusters can display “predictive” driver-assistance information that delivers to the driver important messages regarding safety.
• Entertainment: Consumers are looking for vehicles that allow them to transfer their digital lifestyle seamlessly into the driving experience. The cluster can enable such integration, allowing the driver to control a smartphone using the in-car system, stream music, make phone calls, and more.

As more software and technology enters the car and we move closer to the fully autonomous vehicle, the cluster will continue to be the main platform for HMI. Automakers are challenged to build the most user-friendly, personalized clusters they can, with today’s cars employing advanced visual controls that integrate 3D graphics and animation and even natural language voice control. Drivers will rely more heavily on the cluster to provide them information that ensures their safety and comfort during the ride.

Digital instrument cluster developed using EB technology, as shown in the QNX reference vehicle.

Curious about what this kind of technology looks like? Digital instrument clusters developed using Elektrobit (EB) Automotive software will be displayed at the QNX Software Systems (booth C92) during TU-Automotive Detroit, June 3-4. QNX will feature a demo cluster developed using EB GUIDE that integrates a simulated navigation route with EB street director, plus infotainment and car system data. You can also see EB technology in action in the QNX reference vehicle based on a Jeep Wrangler, in which EB street director and the award-winning EB Assist Electronic Horizon are both integrated in the digital cluster.

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Walter Sullivan is head of Elektrobit (EB) Automotive’s newly established Silicon Valley Innovation Lab, responsible for developing and leading the company’s presence in Silicon Valley, as well as building and fostering strategic partnerships around the globe.

Visit Elektrobit here.

Reimagining digital instrument cluster design

Guest post by Jason Clarke, vice president, sales and marketing, Crank Software

Technology in cars has been advancing at an impressive rate. From rich infotainment systems to intelligent digital instrument clusters, today’s automobile has evolved to become a cool reality that many of us only envisioned as a possibility a few years ago. But while the technology has changed, the driver has stayed the same. Drivers still need to get from point A to point B as efficiently and safely as possible, while perhaps listening to some favorite road trip tunes on the journey.

What has changed for drivers is the sheer volume of information that is available while behind the wheel. Today’s vehicle can tell you more than the fact that you are desperately in need of finding the nearest gas station. It’s smart enough to let you know when you are getting close to hitting the neighbor’s garbage can… again. It can alert you to traffic pattern changes, road hazards, inclement weather, your affinity to your lead foot, and to the fact that your spouse is texting you to remind you to pick up the dry cleaning. It can also effortlessly re-route you back to the dry cleaners after you realize you’ve forgotten, providing you with helpful turn-by-turn navigation in your instrument cluster.

That’s a lot of information. And it’s only a small slice of what’s available to today’s driver. The simplicity, reliability, and safety capabilities of platforms by QNX Software Systems make it a possible to have a wide range of technologies and features in a single vehicle, offering up an abundance of data for driver consumption.

So, how do we make this data useful for drivers? What do we need to consider when designing the UI for digital instrument clusters?

How much information does the driver REALLY need?
Information should be helpful, not intrusive or distracting from the task at hand — driving. The point of having more data available to drivers isn’t to show it all at the same time. That’s visually noisy and complex. Complex isn’t better; context is better. Turn-by-turn information can be displayed in the instrument cluster, based on communication from the navigation system. Video of the car’s surroundings can be displayed when parking assist services are engaged. Advanced Driver Assistance Systems (ADAS) can present in the cluster alerts to immediate hazards and objects.

Using tools that support rapid prototyping of design scenarios empowers teams to deliver the best user experience possible, serving up only the most relevant information. Using Storyboard Suite from Crank Software, teams can quickly cycle through design prototypes and perform testing on real hardware, focusing on the needs of the driver.

How do we best visualize the data?
It’s critical that drivers see and interpret displayed information as easily and quickly as possible. Clear visual representation of data is required, so it’s important to keep design considerations at the forefront in the development process. This is where the graphic designer comes in.

Crank Software’s Storyboard Suite allows the graphic designer to be integrated into the development process from concept to final HMI delivery, working in parallel with the engineers to ensure that fine details and subtle design nuances aren’t lost. With Storyboard Suite, designers don’t hand over a mockup to a developer to visually represent with code and then walk away. As the graphics change and evolve to satisfy usability requirements, the designer stays engaged throughout the entire process, helping to deliver a polished HMI.

Automotive cluster designed and developed with Crank Software Storyboard Suite, running on QNX Neutrino OS

Can we respond quickly to design change?
Remaining focused on the usability of the end design is critical to ensuring the safest driving experience. Delivering a high-performance, user-centric HMI requires testing, design refinements, retesting, and even further changes. This isn’t a linear process. While iterative process is important, it’s often cost prohibitive because it can introduce lengthy redesign cycles. Storyboard Suite provides teams the functionality to prototype and iterate through designs easily, using features such as Photoshop Re-import to quickly evaluate design changes on hardware and shorten development cycles. In addition, support for collaboration enables teams to share design and development work, thereby reducing the load on individuals and further optimizing time and resources.

A faster development process coupled with a user-focused end design is the key to delivering a highly usable and safe digital instrument cluster to market on schedule and within budget.

A digital instrument cluster developed with Storyboard Suite will be on display at TU-Automotive Detroit in the QNX Software Systems booth, #C92, and the Crank Software booth, #C113. Check out a previous Crank Software and QNX Software Systems collaboration with a Storyboard Suite UI in a QNX technology concept car.

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Jason Clarke has over 15 years of experience in the embedded industry, in roles that span development, sales, and marketing. Jason heads up Crank Software’s marketing and sales initiatives.

Visit Crank Software here.

Top 5 challenges of digital instrument clusters

Guest post by Olli Laiho, director, product marketing, Rightware

Digitalization of the modern car is progressing at breakneck speed, with research showing that over 70% of cars will ship with a digital display in the cluster by 2017 (Automotive User Interfaces 2014, IHS Automotive, 2014). While digital user interfaces have long been available in the center stack of the vehicle, they are now quickly making their way into the heart of the car’s dashboard — the instrument cluster. However, the migration from traditional, physical instrumentation to the digital Human Machine Interface (HMI) is posing various challenges for auto manufacturers. Here are the top five challenges Rightware is seeing today.

1. Deliver a winning user experience
With the digital cluster, auto manufacturers must deliver a user experience that makes consumers insist on having a digital cluster and makes them think they could never live without one. The car companies need to increase their investment in digital user experience design in order to provide consumers with a digital driving experience they’ll love.

User experience is all about... the user! With the help of target group research, auto manufacturers need to find the key use cases and features for different buyer profiles. While more senior buyers appreciate a digital design featuring traditional big gauges and needles combined with maps in the middle, millennials long for a cluster that connects them with their personal data at the right time, while having a modern look and feel with a real wow effect.

QNX Software Systems' technology concept car 2014 based on the Mercedes CLA 45, featuring a cluster created with Rightware Kanzi^®

2. Find the right design-cost-performance combination
In creating HMIs such as digital clusters, finding the right balance among design, cost, and performance becomes essential. It’s all about:

Design — Delivering a stunning user experience
Cost — Minimizing software development, hardware, and maintenance costs
Performance — Choosing the right OS, System-on-a-Chip (SoC), etc.

Automotive user interface designers need to learn to work with the capabilities of the hardware and software platform of the cluster in mind. Designers need to create user experiences that strengthen the auto manufacturer’s brand image while still being possible to implement with the chosen tool chain and hardware and software platforms.

Choosing the SoC that can deliver the best user experience at the best price is essential. While proper automotive SoC benchmarking tools are not yet available in the market, auto manufacturers need to invest in their own measurements and trials for finding the right cost/performance level of the SoC for their project.

QNX Software Systems' technology concept car 2015 based on the Maserati Quattroporte, showing
system diagnostics in the cluster created with Rightware Kanzi

3. Reduce development time
Consumers have become accustomed to having access to the latest technology and innovations on their mobile devices. That expectation has now extended to HMIs in the car.

To meet consumer expectations, the automotive industry must shorten the development time of new vehicles and determine how to provide compelling software upgrades during the car’s lifecycle. Digital clusters need to be designed for upgradeability from the ground up. Through upgrades, the cluster should provide the necessary access to new app platforms and innovations. Streamlining the software development process and choosing the right tool chain for HMI development is key to creating HMIs faster and with more valuable features.

4. Accelerate update cycles
Consumers utilize their mobile devices daily and have learned to expect a constant update cycle that brings new features and enhancements to their device. This “update drug” has created a trend where the customer is waiting for the next update to their beloved devices — a customer that is always looking for more.

Until today, there have been few tangible software upgrades for a car during its lifetime. As an example, when you pick up your car from service, you’ll often see a line on the bill that says “software updates.” Leaving the garage, you can discern no difference in how the car behaves.

Auto manufacturers need a plan for providing consumers with constant software upgrades that give them value during the entire lifecycle of their vehicle. Upgrading the digital cluster doesn’t have to mean that it should look like next year’s model, but the upgrade should provide consumers with either features that add value or a clear, visual difference that they understand is an upgrade. Increasing the upgradeability of HMIs in the car will be a major opportunity for improving customer retention.

5. Establish design ownership
As automotive devices evolve into the digital age, they will also transform the way auto manufacturers create designs for their customers. Unlike a mobile device, HMI design will be specific not only to the manufacturer’s brand, but also to that model. Digital screens will give automotive UI designers the flexibility to create unique designs, and they will need full control of the UI framework to be able to deliver these stunning user experiences.

Consumers are increasingly connected 24/7 to ecosystems from companies such as Google and Apple. Due to the increase in consumer demand, these technologies are also making their way into the car cockpit in various forms — from simple content integration (SMS, mail, media) to sandboxed but comprehensive solutions like Apple CarPlay and Android Auto.

Automotive companies must invest in creating branded digital user experiences that can rival and exceed any third-party designs in the vehicle. They should invest in a UI solution and operating system that can deliver the design as intended.

Audi Q7 Virtual Cockpit, running on QNX Neutrino OS, featuring a cluster created with Rightware Kanzi

Visit Rightware at TU-Automotive Detroit (booth #C115) to witness next-generation HMI demos built with Kanzi and a first chance to see a brand new Kanzi product. You’ll also find Rightware’s technology in the QNX booth (#C92).

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Olli Laiho has been working in software development for over 15 years. An avid car enthusiast, Olli heads Rightware’s global marketing activities.

The Rightware Kanzi UI Solution and the QNX Neutrino OS can already be found together in several vehicles, including the Audi TT, Audi Q7, and the Audi R8. Rightware has created several digital clusters for QNX technology concept cars, including the 2014 Mercedes CLA 45 and the 2015 Maserati Quattroporte.

Visit Rightware here.

Talking safety in Novi

Grant Courville

Last week, I had the pleasure of participating in a panel at Telematics Update's Advanced Automotive Safety Conference in Novi, Michigan. A key theme of the panel was — you guessed it — safety.

The two-day event brought together automakers, suppliers, government representatives, research groups, integrators, analysts, and educational institutions to discuss the latest standards and innovations in automotive safety and V2X. The show covered all aspects of vehicle connectivity, as well as the relationship of big data and cloud connectivity to automotive security.

The themes of reliability, security, and safety were front and center in my panel, “Automated Vehicles: The Stepping Stone to Autonomous Driving.” The panel was chaired by IHS Automotive and included experts from DENSO, Ricardo Inc., and the National Advanced Driving Simulator. Everyone on the panel agreed that interoperability and standardization are critical to accelerating innovation, and that ADAS systems are paving the path to autonomous driving.

All in all, the show was an informative event that helped identify the next steps in automotive safety — a topic near and dear to the QNX auto team.

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Grant Courville is director of product management at QNX Software Systems.