Fall 2021
10 weeks
10 weeks
Super Control is a misson control system for the future of trucking
Daimler Trucks introduced to the world autonomous trucking to make roads safer and to boost productivity. Our team was tasked to design tools to bridge the gap between the new and the existing technology. The project is a three-screen mission control system that allows dispatchers of Daimler to efficiently manage and monitor autonomous trucks while maintaining seamless communication with stakeholders.
I was responsible for developing UI/UX prototypes and conducting user research.
Client
Daimler
Team
Hazel Zhang
Daimler
Team
Hazel Zhang
Skills
UIUX Design
UX Research
UIUX Design
UX Research
Problem Space
How might we design a mission control system that efficiently manages autonomous trucks?
The trucking industry serves a major role in our everyday lives as it provides transportation for countless essential goods. Within the industry, it is evident that there needs to be new technology not only to continue innovation, but also to fix issues related to driver shortages and communication.
Our project addresses problems in the current trucking industry we discovered through research. Our team envisioned an innovative mission control system for managing autonomous trucks and creating seamless connections between the management level of Daimler and the stakeholders attatched to the daily interactions.
Our project addresses problems in the current trucking industry we discovered through research. Our team envisioned an innovative mission control system for managing autonomous trucks and creating seamless connections between the management level of Daimler and the stakeholders attatched to the daily interactions.
Left Screen
The left screen offers a multifunctional dashboard for the dispatchers to carry out their responsibilities of monitoring truck status and communication. This screen includes an overview of order status, an inbox for messaging customers and viewing driver reports, a general notification center, and a display of the system’s health.
Main Dashboard
The left screen offers a multifunctional dashboard for the dispatchers to carry out their responsibilities of monitoring truck status and communication. This screen includes an overview of order status, an inbox for messaging customers and viewing driver reports, a general notification center, and a display of the system’s health.
Normal situation
Emergency situationCenter Screen
The center screen provides a comprehensive overview with a filtering system of all monitor footages captured by vehicles on the road. The images would be presented as screenshots that updates every five minutes, and would be shown in live footage while hovered.
Comprehensive Monitor
The center screen provides a comprehensive overview with a filtering system of all monitor footages captured by vehicles on the road. The images would be presented as screenshots that updates every five minutes, and would be shown in live footage while hovered.
Normal situation
Emergency situation
Right Screen
The right screen provides a detailed individual monitor that displays more information related to a specific truck. The dispatcher can view a large scale live footage of a truck’s surroundings, and further inspect the health and status by checking the vehicle’s condition.
Individual Monitor
The right screen provides a detailed individual monitor that displays more information related to a specific truck. The dispatcher can view a large scale live footage of a truck’s surroundings, and further inspect the health and status by checking the vehicle’s condition.
Normal situation
Emergency situation
Background & User Research
The Current State of Trucking
We began by researching the current state of trucking to gain a better understanding of who we are designing for. We discovered some challenges in the current trucking industry that can be solved by autonomous technology:
1. The ever-growing truck driver shortage
2. Long hours on the road causing high accident rate
3. Disorganized communication between old school drivers and dispatchers
1. The ever-growing truck driver shortage
2. Long hours on the road causing high accident rate
3. Disorganized communication between old school drivers and dispatchers
Concept Mapping
Through Daimler’s guidance on a deep dive into the day-to-day interactions within a trucking company, our team was able to illustrate a concept map with the key stakeholders and their relationships through actions with one another.
Context Setting
The Future State of Trucking
Concept Mapping
In our next step, we took the initial stakeholders and their interactions and visualized their new roles in the presence of autonomous trucks. We realized a shift in the dispatcher’s responsibilities as the technology evolves.
Gigamapping
Through gigamapping, we identified problems in different categories that the future autonomous industry may face, and connected their relevance across the map.
Research Findings
Pain Points
The research helped our team to identify some of the pain points that our mission control system can potentially address as the main goals stay the same to provide safe and efficient transportation of goods and services.
Pain Points
How does the current traditional dispatcher system transform and integrate with the future mission control system?
What type of interactions and workflow exist as hardware and software advance?
What type of interactions and workflow exist as hardware and software advance?
The research helped our team to identify some of the pain points that our mission control system can potentially address as the main goals stay the same to provide safe and efficient transportation of goods and services.
Design Solution
By talking to Daimler, our team identified the ideal working mode for dispatchers to be working together in a room with monitors. To provide ease in the navigation between the complex layers of content, our team devised the solution to be a three-screen mission control system that allows dispatchers of Daimler to:
efficiently manage and monitor autonomous trucks while maintaining seamless communication with stakeholders.
efficiently manage and monitor autonomous trucks while maintaining seamless communication with stakeholders.
We listed the essential features that our mission control system should embody
Design Prototyping
Screen Design Highlights
While designing the screens, we focused on organizing the necessary information and tools for a dispatcher by providing each screen with a main purpose. At the same time, we drew the system together by designing an adaptive interface system that coordinates between multiple screens.
User Testing Results
We then tested with individuals of information systems and design backgrounds to gain more insights for our project. Our team was able to make changes to our design and structure:
- Connecting related information with the same styling
- Treating information with hierarchy
- Removing unnecessary and redundant knowledge
Final Screens
Reflection
This project was a great opportunity for me to work under a real client’s guidance. It was a journey to begin from scratch and dive into an industry that I am unfamiliar with. Since there were no existing products from Daimler, our team was able to work on the project with creative exploration of how mission control can change as technology advances.
Our team received positive comments from Daimler as it aligned with their current envisions of shifting towards a new monitoring system with larger screens. They especially liked our system’s ability to self monitor itself and the truck’s heath, which alleviates the dispatcher’s excessive communication needs.
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