Maintaining optimal tire pressure is a crucial but often overlooked aspect of vehicle safety, affecting fuel efficiency and tire longevity. Despite the significance, nearly half of drivers globally ignore tire pressure alerts, leading to increased risks on the road.

To address this issue, I developed a tire pressure alert system tailored for compact truck drivers. This system not only notifies users of low tire pressure but also provides detailed visual insights, rapid solution flows, and a seamless user experience through mobile integration. The goal is to prompt timely action, enhance the vehicle maintenance experience, and prioritize safety for drivers of all knowledge levels about their vehicle.

Compact pickup trucks are designed for urban living, combining utility with a manageable size. They offer Excellent fuel economy (40 mpg), tight turning diameter, easier parking compared to full-size trucks, and ergonomic interiors. Their target audience are mainly young, entry-level buyers and city residents, and around 70% are first-time truck buyers, mainly converting from sedans and small SUVs.

"Rugged but not bulky. Capable but not cramped." ——2022 Maverick

Because of the time limitation, I began with background research, analyzing infotainment systems and driver types across various vehicles. This research included reviewing technical white papers, user forums, and industry reports, which provided insights into existing tire pressure monitoring systems. I also examined different interaction models and visual designs in modern vehicles to inform our approach.

The design phase involved iterative mockups focusing on simplicity and user engagement, guided by the insights gathered during research.

During the research phase, several key pain points were identified that significantly affect compact hybrid pickup truck drivers when it comes to tire pressure maintenance:

These pain points shaped the direction of the project, emphasizing the need for a noticable, informative, and action-oriented solution that addresses the specific challenges faced by compact hybrid pickup truck drivers.

Targeting the pain points discussed above, this Tire Pressure Monitoring Alert project aims to achieve the following objectives:

A tire can lose a significant amount of air pressure before it starts to visually appear low or flat. In order to display the effect, this system include the vehicle's graphic model from the front and front-side view on horizontal level, allowing it to visually amplify the under-inflated tire through color, imbalanced vehicle body, and vector effects on the surrounding area.

Increasing awareness and understanding of the risks associated with under-inflated tires

Corresponding with Jakub’s law (users prefer the similar display as other sites they already know), this system gives a banner alert when tire pressure changes during a navigation, and utilizes a triangle icon shown in the bottom bar as vehicle status, similar to the red dots on an iPhone's in-app notification.

Additional methods to elevate importance while lowering obstacles include to eliminate exit options but instead focus on how easy it is to resolve the problem, connect to a high level overview for tire health, reminder that the driver is in full control to resolve the alert.

In addition to the cluster display, this alert is repeated on other screens in and out of the vehicle.

This user flow assists fitting tire maintenance into a typical compact truck owner’s schedule, saving time to find an air station, and also makes it easy to also find a tire gauge to conduct their own monthly pressure checks.

Through utilizing a singular button to take instant action and organized small chunks of information on what tire pressure means to overall tire and vehicle health, drivers are empowered to take autonomy and identify slow leaks early—possibly before the pressure drops low enough for the warning light to come on in the future.

Given our target audience, the app design prioritizes a user-friendly, visually appealing, and responsive interface. The scenario-fluid design enhances usability, allowing drivers to make informed decisions about vehicle safety and maintenance.

Through adjustable widgets with maintenance recommendation, vehicle status, trip info for both work and entertainment, the mobile app guides drivers through travel preparation and commute efficiency.

Designing in scenarios helps to adapt to a variety of use cases, ultimately working with different drivers' mental models on the mobile app.

View the full presentation and prototype screens at this link.

Before this project and taking this course, I overlooked the importance of considering both hardware and software (screens) of vehicle entertainment designs. The hardware designs are similar to software in that it also conveys the vehicle's tone, voice, and how it is the primary facilitator for driver and passenger tasks. For me, this course was one step into a more holistic understanding of the field of Human-Software Interaction.

Thank you for reading!