On Active Passengering: Supporting In-Car Experiences

We describe the development of an interactive car window system designed to support passengers in engaging with the external environment during a journey. Through advances in embedded digital technologies, cars increasingly have a potential to become interactive spaces, in which passengers will find it possible to interact with the external environment through in-car interfaces. However the utility and benefit of such interactive systems for passengers has not been well studied. There is a need therefore, to study the design and use of these technologies, as they are emerging. We thus investigated how digital technology might support passengers’ interactions with the external environment. Through a focus group (n=6) and interviews (n=5) we investigated passengers’ attitudes towards, and practices during, ordinary car journeys. From this scoping study we formulated five design considerations for designing/implementing a prototype interactive car-window system. This system was then evaluated through an in-lab user study (n=8). Qualitative thematic analysis of interviews during the user study suggested a variety of orientations towards ‘passengering’, the act of being a passenger, on a journey. Herein we critically examine the role of our interactive technology in supporting desired experiences of ‘active passengering’.