Music Control in the Car – Designing voice interactions between user and a music service with a focus on in-car usage

Abstract: Music is an important part of people’s lives and thanks to technology development music is more accessible than ever. It creates a pleasant auditory environment in many situations such as when driving, and in-car music streaming is one of the most requested features amongst drivers. Using technology such as mobile devices when driving is a major safety concern which can be addressed by implementing voice control. Said modality, if implemented successfully, puts less cognitive demand on the driver than using manual controls or looking at a monitor. This thesis has resulted in a set of design suggestions for voice interaction between driver and a music service for a safe and pleasant user experience where the dialogues aim at providing drivers with a feeling of familiarity and brand recognition with the music service. The design suggestions are based on design guidelines and previous research on voice interaction and in-car technology including cognitive demands on the driver. Input from drivers and music listeners have been collected first through a questionnaire on controlling music applications while driving followed by a design workshop where the participants, based on different stories, designed dialogues between driver and a music service. The research found that drivers are highly concerned with traffic safety, and want to be able to quickly and safely search for specific music or music that suits a current mood. In terms of familiarity, drivers should be able to use existing features from the music service when interacting through voice and be able to make actions that affect their private account - such as saving songs to a playlist.