Aftermarket October 2022

20 AFTERMARKET OCTOBER 2022 TECHNICAL/AFTERMARKET OF THE FUTURE www.aftermarketonline.net Self-driving UX: horse and rider or Jeeves and Wooster? Bournemouth University has highlighted the work of Dr Kyungjoo Cha, Senior Lecturer in Product Design, in helping Hyundai and Kia to ensure that their self-driving vehicles live up to the expectations of Gen Z users. Specialising in user experience (UX) design, and working in partnership with Hyundai Motor Company’s Holistic UX Group, Dr Cha began the “auZentic” project to understand how young people perceive their digital life and entertainment needs. She said: “Generation Z were born with the internet. Their perceptions around entertainment and digital life are different to older generations. Understanding this is crucial for designing the vehicles of the future.” Kia and Hyundai’s positive response to the initial work led to a second stage of the partnership, investigating how users will interact with autonomous vehicles. “The people we spoke to gave us many examples of the type of relationship they could have,” said Dr Cha. “Some suggested a relationship like that between a horse and its rider, we also had comparisons to a butler and their employer, or an aeroplane pilot and auto-pilot.” Welcoming the government’s commitment to include self-driving legislation in the Transport Bill, The All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) on Connected and Automated Mobility (CAM) has set out seven “expert recommended red lines.” Here’s our capsule review: The opening point, that legislation must act as an enabler for CAM not a blocker, addresses the delicate balancing act of facilitating these incredible technologies while prioritising safety and bringing the public on-board. Point two, devising a “statutory definition of self-driving… to distinguish this technology from assisted driving” flags a huge potential pitfall. It will be vital to differentiate between ADAS and true self-driving. Point three, to establish “clear lines of liability, accountability and responsibility for road safety... in line with the Law Commission’s recommendations”. Essential, of course, and the insurance industry is getting there. Point four, delivering “minimum standards for data sharing and handling to ensure transparency and effective governance” might be the hardest of the lot. Point five, to “ensure the principle of interoperability is at the heart of the framework” is an interesting one. Interoperability is basically systems working together, and CAM Testbed UK has already demonstrated some impressive examples, particularly in vehicle-to-everything (V2X) messaging. Point six, to “introduce regulatory sandboxes to allow businesses to test innovative use cases”. Is this a mechanism through which the government can achieve the balancing act referred to in point one? Point seven, to develop “a communications toolkit to accompany future legislation so that messaging can be easily disseminated to consumers”. Well, good luck! The recent AA survey showing that 61% of UK motorists haven’t read the Highway Code updates illustrates the scale of that challenge. The APPG was set up with support from insurer AXA UK, law firm Burges Salmon and transport consultancy WSP. It is chaired by Ben Everitt, Conservative MP for Milton Keynes North, which makes sense given his constituency is one of the UK’s self-driving hotspots. “The CAM APPG was delighted to discuss how the upcoming Transport Bill can deliver the benefits of autonomous technology to local communities up and down the country,” he said. “As we await the government’s response to the Law Commission of England and Wales review into self-driving vehicles, and the call for evidence on the future of connected and automated mobility in the UK, the APPG will continue to advise on how we can build on the great progress made to date and ensure that the whole country is able to benefit from these innovative technologies.” Cross-party parliamentary group sets 7 self-driving red lines for new Transport Bill Neil Kennett looks at cutting-edge auto tech coming to a workshop near you soon AFTERMARKET OF THE FUTURE A commentator on the UK aftermarket since before Concorde was grounded, Neil is Editor of Carsofthefuture .co.uk , providing news and views about driverless vehicles, and Director of Communications at Self- drivingpr.com, experts in automotive/autonomous media and public relations