A Concept Design for Personalized In-vehicle Infotainment in Car Sharing

Abstract: As a possible solution for environmental and social problems, car sharing is emerging. A number of studies have documented that personalization could increase convenience, comfort, and safety which becomes a shaping consumer trend, especially in cars. However, most studies in the field of personalization have only focused on privately-owned cars. This study set out to explore the personalization in shared cars. A usercentered approach was used. Nine user interviews were conducted to explore the problems of driving an unfamiliar car. Based on the interview results, the prototype of in-vehicle infotainment was designed which can exchange data with the mobile phone and provide personalized functions. Finally, the prototype was evaluated with 5 users with the Technology Acceptance Model to test the user acceptance. The prototype demonstrated the concept of exchanging personal information with the mobile phone. The frequently used functions on in-vehicle infotainment including calendar, navigation, and instruction were personalized in content and functionality. The evaluation results indicated that participants were possible to accept the prototype for its usefulness and ease of use but it should be noticed that privacy is an important issue when designing personalized functions. The findings presented in this thesis include the process and problems of driving an unfamiliar car, the possible approach for personal data exchange, the convenient personalized functions, and the user’s attitudes towards these personalized functions and privacy problems.