Projects in the Senseable City Lab often explore the theme of bringing digital information to the forefront of the every day urban experience. The Affective Intelligent Driving Agent (AIDA) project was in need of user interface concepts for a vehicle that communicated all manner of real-time contextual information to the driver, using a system employing artificial intelligence to profile driver interest and augmented reality as a way of delivering information overlaid onto the physical environment. In this instance, one of the overriding concerns was deciding how to maintain the ability to adequately and safely operate the vehicle while the system is in operation and information is flowing to the driver. In pursuit of overcoming this hurdle I proposed that the system changes states in consideration of the current state of the driver. For instance, no manner of direct interaction is asked of the driver when the vehicle is in motion, and all the background information on driver interest is gathered through existing online profiles and a system that automatically spots usage patterns. By creating an interface that is sensitive to the driver state it seeks to become an extension of the driver herself, and an effective tool that can augment life in the city.

The Senseable City Lab’s AIDA website goes into further detail about the overall project. It is a fruitful research direction, and we will be seeing prototypes on the roads in the near future.

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VANISHING POINT allows access to real-time urban activity for both driver and passenger. The manner of display communicates easily the nature of the source, direction, and approximate distance. The amount and variety of display interfaces converts the vehicle into a machine that fully interacts with the city, helping the people in it to feel completely connected.

CELESTIAL CITY is a participatory gestural interface representing one’s urban landscape as a living constellation of activity. Any member of the vehicle may interact with this display, scrolling, zooming and selecting with intuitive gestures. This manner of representing real-time information is entertaining, and connective of the members in the vehicle to their urban environment.

WINDOW TO THE WORLD utilizes the benefits of an augmented display and incorporates a digital display to work in concert, adding a visual input while retaining and augmenting a traditional vehicle feature. This creates an assemblage that informs without separating the driver’s attention, and helps the driver to navigate their environment and find the best destinations with ease.

PULSE uses a wave motion to sense location and context specific recommendation sources. The pulse activates when the vehicle comes to a stop, and the sources appear frozen for a short amount of time before disappearing, giving time to peruse the selections. The driver or passenger can select a source by pointing at it. This singles out that source, which remains in view and shifts according to the vehicle’s present orientation.