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Type

Independent

Role

HMI Design

Research

Ideation

Branding

Prototyping

Timeline

Sep - Dec 2025 (12 weeks)

Tools

Figma

Unreal Engine

Blender

After Effects

Off-Road Convoy Assistance System

Reimagining off-road convoy driving as a shared system, using AR and vehicle-to-vehicle communication to support trust, coordination, and group awareness under challenging terrain conditions.

The Problem

Off-road convoy driving is risky, due to limited visibility and inconsistent real-time communication between vehicles.

The Solution

A vehicle-to-vehicle system that shares real-time terrain and convoy information to improve safety and coordination.

Final Outcome

Scenario #1 - Instrument Panel & AR Windshield Display

Alert System

When a vehicle must stop due to abnormal tire pressure, the following driver receives a contextual alert.

Scenario #2 - AR Windshield Display

Low Visibility

When visibility drops, the leading vehicle is overlaid with a subtle outline and a clear distance indicator, helping drivers maintain convoy continuity without adding instruction or distraction.

Scenario #3 - AR Windshield Display

Uneven Terrain Guidance

This system uses subtle AR ground cues to help drivers anticipate upcoming terrain changes.

Scenario #4 - AR Windshield Display

Convoy Formation

After descend, reframes off-road driving from a collection of individual vehicles into a single coordinated entity.

Scenario #5 - Center Screen

Pre-Descend

This is where subtle gamification comes in. Instead of seeing each driver as an icon, this layout allows the leader to see everyone's role in the convoy, as well as level of experience.

The Process

Personal Off-Road Experience

This started from my off-road convoy experience, relying on walkie-talkies in harsh, low-visibility terrain.

Constant channel switching and missed messages made coordination unreliable during critical driving moments.

Facts About Off-Road Driving

In uneven terrain, line-of-sight between vehicles is lost in over 40–60% of convoy movement time.

Cyient, 2024

Field Interview

To understand how convoy off-road drivers perceive, manage, and communicate risk in extreme terrain environment, I conducted interviews with three participants across different experience levels, focusing on four key area:

Terrain & Risk Perception

Decision-Making & Experience

Convoy Communication

Tools & Technology

Insights

Across all interviews, risk was not described as a single mechanical failure, but as a breakdown of shared awareness under conditions of visibility loss, terrain instability, and fragile communication.

Risk begins with perceptual collapse

Communication is reactive and unreliable

Experience functions as the safety system

Tools are fragmented

Competitive Analysis

Recognizing a fragmented market across control systems, navigation apps, and emergency tools.

I decided to reframe off-road mobility as a distributed intelligence problem, introducing a vehicle-to-vehicle shared system that bridges efficiency and safety.

The competitive gaps among the existing solutions are:

Individual-focused, not convoy-aware

Static mapping, not real-time hazard sharing

Verbal communication without visual context

System Orientation

Information Architecture

User Journey

Design Criteria

Make individual risk visible early

Interpret risk in context

Share individual risk with the team

Maintain awareness when interfaces or communication fail

Insights

Off-road driving is fundamentally a group-based activity, not an individual one

There is no integrated technological system supporting the full off-road journey

Team communication is the biggest unresolved challenge in off-road experiences

Design Concept

Wireframe

Design System

The system balances visual restraint and clarity by anchoring the center display in muted tones and selectively brightening AR elements for safe, glanceable perception in real-world contexts.

Reflection

Working on this project allowed me to reflect on my own role as both a driver and a designer in off-road convoy situations. Having experienced the stress of relying on walkie-talkies in harsh terrain, I became more aware of how easily communication breaks down when attention is divided between the vehicle, the environment, and the group. Designing this system pushed me to translate those moments of friction into opportunities for quieter, more intuitive forms of shared awareness.

This project reshaped how I think about automotive interfaces—not as tools that demand interaction, but as systems that quietly support trust and coordination in the background. It reinforced my belief that the most meaningful driving experiences emerge when technology fades into the periphery, allowing drivers to feel connected to one another without needing to constantly speak, check, or confirm.