FKFS Veranstaltungen

2026 Stuttgart International Symposium
on Automotive and Engine Technology

8. - 9. Juli 2026

Session: Autonomous Driving I | | 14:30 - 15:00

Conception and Experience of Non-Driving-Related Activities in the Highly Automated Vehicle

Nine Reining, TWT GmbH Science & Innovation

Highly automated vehicles (SAE level 3 or higher) offer drivers new opportunities to engage in non-driving-related (NDR) activities while the vehicle takes over the driving task. It will be several years, if not decades, before driving can be experienced fully automated (SAE level 5). While high automation (SAE levels 3 and 4) is already partially a reality, the driver still needs to take over driving upon notice. Hence, the cockpit cannot be designed freely to accommodate spaces for NDR activities. In the research project MoHAFe, a mobile workplace was created by integrating the technology Virtual Desktop One (VD1) into the car. VD1 is a software layer which allows to represent any desktop application freely transformable (including rotation and scaling) on arbitrary physical and virtual surfaces. Thus, a complete Windows environment can be distributed across all curved and flat surfaces of an interior. The concept is further enhanced by a voice-driven generative AI which helps to summarize documents. A physical and a virtual demonstrator were created to experience and assess the mobile workspace, the well-being of the driver, influences, and psychological aspects. The physical demonstrator is a 1:1 partial interior mockup with projection-based interactive surfaces. The virtual demonstrator represents the same interior model using the technology TRONIS® and is perceptible through virtual reality (Apple Vision Pro). TRONIS® is a prototyping, scenario creation, and simulation tool for developing and testing functions in the context of highly automated driving. It is built on top of Unreal Engine 5, enabling it to provide detailed and immersive environments. The demonstrators allow for a user-centered design process and facilitate the creation of innovative designs. The technological concept can also be adapted for other non-driving related activities such as relaxation and entertainment, allowing for the application of many use cases and a broad variety of potential users.