Automotive User Interfaces and Interactive Vehicular Applications

ABSTRACT
New Apps, New Challenges:
Quality Matters in Automotive HMI Development
Mark Poguntke
Daimler AG
Ulm, Germany
mark.poguntke@daimler.com
Integrated testing of external applications, that are not known
to the automotive HMI at design time, is not possible. We
approach this issue with universal pre-tested GUI components
to encapsulate possible data flow, widgets, their property
values and screen states. Based on an abstract user
interface model the HMI software maps the respective elements
to pre-tested compositions of these GUI components.
By this, a more dynamic automotive HMI development can
be achieved building the basis for error-free HMI generation
processes from external applications at runtime. We
analyze the development steps based on an application example.
The results contribute to further development of
standards and best practices for HMI modeling languages,
HMI generation and model-based testing.
Categories and Subject Descriptors
H.5.2 [Information Interfaces and Presentation]: User
Interfaces
1. INTRODUCTION
With the increasing spread of powerful smartphones and
a large-scale availability of high-speed internet individual
applications and data are available almost anywhere and
anytime. This trend also affects infotainment systems in
cars. Customers desire a convenient integration of different
external devices and services in the in-car environment. Assuring
the quality of previously unknown applications and
data is a challenge since it is not possible to test those applications
connected to the in-car infotainment system at
design time of the car head unit (HU). An integrated test
of all published applications connected to the existing automotive
human-machine interface (HMI) is not feasible. We
address this issue by the definition of pre-tested components
and combinations of these. We use the example of a basic
Facebook 1 application. The user brings their smartphone
with the application running into the car and connects it to
the HU. The application provides access to the user’s Wall,
their Info site and the possibility to create a new Status
message. Based on a defined application description a user
interface is generated by the HU software. Figure 1 illustrates
a possible generated graphical user interface (GUI)
1 Facebook: http://www.facebook.com
Copyright held by authors
AutomotiveUI’11, November 29 - December 2, 2011, Salzburg, Austria
Adjunct Proceedings
- 45 -
Daniel Mauser
Daimler AG
Ulm, Germany
daniel.mauser@daimler.com
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Save Cancel
Figure 1: External Facebook application generated
in a Mercedes-Benz HMI
for an existing Mercedes-Benz HMI concept. The GUI consists
of a main menu (MME) where all available applications
can be accessed, e.g. Navi or Audio, and respective application
areas. Each application consists of an application field
(AFL) where the actual content is displayed and a sub menu
(SME) for content specific options. The HMI is operated via
a central control element (CCE) allowing the driver to set
the selection focus by turning the CCE or pushing it in one
of eight directions (N,NE,E,SE,S,SW,W,NW) and activate
options by pushing it down.
2. BACKGROUND
Model-based development using a respective modeling language
holds the advantages of reusability, readability and
easier adaptability of user interfaces (UI) amongst others
[2][1]. Several approaches for defining a UI model exist (e.g.
[4] [7]) that focus on continuous model-based processes for
UI development. In our context we need to extend a modelbased
UI description with rules for integrating the UI into
an existing strictly defined HMI concept. Several researchers
use model-based approaches also for HMI testing (e.g. [6]
[8]). However, they focus on testing existing HMIs. We
need to apply model-based testing for previously unknown
user interface parts that are integrated into an existing HMI.
Memon et al. [3] transfer the principle of unit tests to the
area of UI testing. They motivate the use of independent
UI units for graphical user interfaces, so called GUI components,
to reduce complexity of tests. A GUI component
constrains the interaction focus of the user within the com-
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