EMPOWERING THE FRONT-SEAT PASSENGER: DESIGN AND EXPERIENCE PROTOTYPING OF LUXURY INFOTAINMENT SYSTEMS THROUGH VR SIMULATION Thesis submitted in accordance with the requirements of the University of Liverpool for the degree of Doctor in Philosophy by Güzin Şen. April 2019 ii ABSTRACT EMPOWERING THE FRONT-SEAT PASSENGER: DESIGN AND EXPERIENCE PROTOTYPING OF LUXURY INFOTAINMENT SYSTEMS THROUGH VR SIMULATION Guzin Sen Automotive user interfaces have been designed within the limitations of driving activity. Therefore, there has been a lack of infotainment solutions that target the front-seat passenger as another car occupant with his/her own needs, interests and capabilities. This research is built on the motivation of empowering the front-seat passengers in luxury car journeys through infotainment systems. It handles front-seat passenger’s empowerment through the investigation of how a pleasant and luxury infotainment experience is manifested via new functionalities and interactions. This research tackles the challenge of understanding how these unprecedented infotainment solutions will add to front-seat passenger’s travel experience with experience prototyping through VR simulation. It follows the ‘research through design approach’ by i) presenting a design proposal for the front-seat passenger infotainment system, ii) developing a VR simulation to communicate the infotainment system interactions within a travel scenario in an immersive way, and iii) conducting experience prototyping study where participants reflect on the design proposal (VR simulation) through administration of mixed data collection methods including semantic differential questionnaires and semi-structured interviews. To achieve the above-mentioned objectives, the research makes use of an extensive literature on User Experience (UX)-Human Computer Interaction (HCI), Automotive UX, Luxury Marketing, and Simulation. The synthesis of the UX and marketing literature enables deconstruction of pleasant and luxury user experience into a set of qualities/metrics to be referred in design and design evaluation. The synthesis of aesthetics of interaction studies in the UX literature helps to categorize the diverse aspects of the infotainment system. The analysis of the academic and industrial efforts to empower front-seat passengers through automotive user interfaces is used for identification of promising technologies and trends for the infotainment system. The literature review on experience prototyping with VR constitutes a reference in prototyping-related decisions and using VR as part of the user study. The thesis finally presents the analysis of the experience prototyping study through i) the quantitative representation and discussion of the diverse aspects of the infotainment system (functionalities and interaction aesthetics) that play role in delivery of the various qualities of luxury experience, ii) structured analysis of the participants’ suggestions for the system with specification of the underlying motivations and iii) development of a framework that conceptualizes the front-seat passengers’ changing role and relations with the infotainment system. Based on these investigations of the link between the infotainment system aspects and the participants’ expectations/concerns, the research concludes with key design considerations and recommendations for the future (luxury) front-seat passenger-oriented infotainment system solutions. It also presents recommendations for integration of VR simulation into future car HMI appraisals by reflecting on the experience prototyping study conducted as part of the PhD research. iii DECLARATION I hereby confirm that I have read and understood the University’s PGR Policy on Plagiarism and Dishonest Use of Data, acted honestly, ethically and professionally in conduct leading to assessment for the programme of study; I have not copied material from another source nor committed plagiarism nor fabricated, falsified or embellished data when completing this document, nor colluded with any other student in the preparation and production of this material. I have cited all materials and results that are not original to this work. Güzin Şen iv ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I would like to express my deepest gratitude to my supervisors Prof. Dr. Bahar Şener- Pedgley and Dr. Mike Jump for their support, motivation and invaluable academic guidance throughout this challenging process. Dr. Bahar Şener-Pedgley was the instructor who encouraged me to apply for the PhD position at University of Liverpool and this way initiated my beautiful journey in Liverpool. I also want to express my thanks to Bentley Motors which was one of the research partners of the PhD. During our meetings, David Blakemore, Nigel Fletcher and Dr. Claudio Arduino and the other staff members in the Bentley Motors HMI design team shared their invaluable insights with me in every stage of the project, from problem definition to idea generation, from concept development to experience prototyping through VR simulation. Thanks to this partnership, I also had the chance to spend fancy hours in one of the most luxury cars in the market. I also would like to thank to Virtual Engineering Centre (VEC), which was another partner of this PhD. I truly appreciate the efforts of the VEC staff who actively involved in simulation development and supported the experience prototyping sessions. The software engineer Carlo Pinto deserves special thanks for bringing interactivity to the simulation which made the experience prototyping possible. It was a great pleasure to work with him. I would like to thank to the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) for its financial support through the Doctoral Training Partnership (DTP) scholarship (grant no:1615184). I am very grateful to all participants of my user studies. Among these participants there were Daresbury Science Park staff from Virtual Engineering Centre, Science and Technology Facilities Council (STFC) and IBM who kindly accepted my invitation to the study even for sessions that were going to be held within a few hours. There were also participants who took all the way from Liverpool to Daresbury to contribute to my study, which is highly appreciated. I am also very grateful to the University of Liverpool School of Engineering staff Jack Carter- Hallam and Lesia Swain for answering all my questions regarding the PhD process and scholarship patiently and promptly. Without their continuous support and administrative skills, life would be much more difficult for PGR students to cope with. v I also would like to extend my thanks to dear Hürsu Öke and Duygu İşlek for all the beautiful memories we shared in Liverpool. I am very happy to have met such true-hearted friends during this journey. I also would like to express my gratitude to Rosa Caparros Fernandez, Nora Hermine Tidemand-Johannessen, Kacper Kucharski, Peter Harrison, Benjamin Blundell, Virginia Juan Martinez, Dennis Wu and Nigel Heather; the dear baristas, chefs and regulars of the Root Coffee where I spent hours and hours in front of my laptop, typing, designing, daydreaming, chatting, doodling and drinking coffee. They are the true witnesses of the effort put into this thesis. They made my PhD days much more joyful with their lovely chats about, life, music, art, design and Liverpool’s unpredictable weather. My dear friends from The PrintSocial; Victoria Wall, Sean Barr, Scott Duffey, Abigail Sinclair, Mark Adamson, Stephen Chan and Chris Halley also deserve special thanks for being such nice and welcoming people. They have been so friendly and inspiring that I couldn’t wait the next monthly meeting to chat and play ‘broken telephone’ sketching game with them. I am also deeply thankful to Aslı Kandemir who joined me in my Liverpool journey especially in the last two years of my PhD. She has never stopped praising and supporting me. She has always achieved to make me laugh out loud even when we were both suffering from PhD blues. I am also very grateful to my lovely ‘Mancunian’ friend Esra Elif Nartok. She was the person that I know she would be there for me whenever I need someone to talk, she is the greatest host in Manchester, and I enjoyed our pre-gig meetings a lot. I also would like to thank Liverpool for being such an inspiring city and a peaceful home for more than three years. Last but not least, I would like to express my sincerest thanks to my family; my dear parents Nermin Şen and Bekir Sadık Şen and my dear sister and best friend Gülriz Şen. Their presence has always been the greatest source of my motivation and I always felt their love from miles away. There are no proper words to explain the gratitude I have for their endless support and dedication. vi TABLE OF CONTENTS ABSTRACT……. ............................................................................................................... iii DECLARATION ............................................................................................................... iv ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ................................................................................................... v TABLE OF CONTENTS ..................................................................................................... vii LIST OF FIGURES ........................................................................................................... xiii LIST OF TABLES ............................................................................................................ xvii LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS ..............................................................................................