Azra Habibovic is Technology Leader for Human Factors at Scania CV AB where she is responsible for defining and driving forward Scania’s early stage research in this field. Prior to joining Scania, Azra was with RISE Research Institutes of Sweden as senior researcher and project leader, and with the research center SAFER as research area director for road user behavior. She holds a PhD in Vehicle Safety Systems (2012) and a MSc in Electrical and Electronics Engineering (2006), both from Chalmers University of Technology, Sweden. Her research focuses on improving traffic safety and user experience by means of automation and connectivity. A special interest is design and evaluation of interactions in and around automated vehicles, including interactions with vulnerable road users.

Recent developments in electrification, digitalization and automation are expected to enable more safe, accessible and sustainable road mobility of both people and goods. However, implementation of these emerging technologies at scale is not always as simple as it might sound in media. In this keynote speech, I’ll touch upon a few challenges that automotive and mobility industry is facing in this context, and highlight some research gaps that are currently overlooked and require further attention. Special emphasis will be on the research gaps in the field of human factors and mobility of goods.

This talk covers three aspects of cultural influences on automotive UI design. First of all, cultural background can strongly influence wayfinding and navigation strategies. Secondly, there are cultural differences in risky taking behaviors, such as risk and hazard perception, and the design of warning labels. Finally, this talk extends cultural effects to a wide prospective application, including interacting with intelligent agents and intelligent transportation systems.

In this speech, outstanding developments and trends in Automotive Interface design is presented as we are witnessing the dramatic rise and fall of new interfaces and service platforms synchronized with the mega trends of Digital Transformation in Automotive Interface Design. The core of human centered product design has been always on the UI of people-centeredness deeply rooted in human factors throughout the changing nature of human behavior inside the cockpit.

While re-visiting the important innovations and achievements applying UI and User Centered Design to the automobile interiors in South Korea during the past years, the influence and impact of the Digital Transformation and Servitization on the way of designing automotive Interfaces will also be discussed. Finally, some case studies of the product/functions that the speaker was involved in the development will be introduced and discussed.