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Augmented Reality
on Electrical Vehicles
Introducing ...
Augmented reality product feature dedicated to electrical vehicle owners, adhering to industry 4.0 principles by simplifying the after-sales technical supports.
Project Overview
Integrate Augmented Reality to Electrical Vehicles' mobile app to enhance the after-sales customer service.
Through my previous working experience at an AR tech company, I have had the opportunity to learn about how augmented reality technology changes industry operations and the current workforce environments. Since both augmented reality and electrical vehicles are key players in industry 4.0, I have decided to look into this and design product features that aimed to simplify the after-sales technical supports, a huge division that will greatly impact the users' experience.
Electric vehicles are becoming common in places like the US, with many new users wishing to be environmentally friendly while saving gas expenses. Tesla, just like any other EV company, struggled in attending to the customer's inquiries in a timely manner. Although Tesla user manual can be seen all over the internet, however, that does not help the users (especially the new drivers) in getting a prompt response every time when they needed assistance.
Problem Statement
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User interviews
-
Secondary research (on electrical vehicles and industry 4.0)
-
Design user personas
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Design hi-fi prototypes
My Role and Contributions
This is an individual project where I took about 4 weeks to complete everything.
Design Prompt
How might we assist EV drivers in getting an instant response every time when they need help with technical support?
Overview: what if we change the flow from this:
Tesla's current customer service flow (photo credits: Frugal Tesla Guy)
👉 So... what do you expect next? 👈
According to Tesla Account Support, requests can take up to three to five days to process depending on the eligibility. Tesla Motor Club also mentioned the response time is usually between one to five days.
To this:
Iteration with Augmented Reality (design prompt)
👉 With the new feature... 👈
You get an instant instruction through your phone camera with augmented reality assistance. Scroll down to read the full ideation process that justify the solution.
So... here's what I thought!
Can I integrate Augmented Reality into the Tesla app to enhance the after-sales services?
Industry 4.0 principles have been lingering around the industry for quite a while now, its mission is to drive technology innovation in business operations to enhance workflow efficiencies. The industry 4.0 principles motivated me to think further about how can I improve the already "supreme" customer service from Tesla. After conducting a deep analysis of the Tesla app, along with my understanding of AR technology, I've noticed a couple of things to be included in the app to intensify the user experience with the customer service.
1. What is industry 4.0?
According to Deloitte Insights (2020), "By harnessing the power of combined and connected digital and physical technologies - artificial intelligence, the Internet of Things, additive manufacturing, robotics, cloud computing, and others - companies throughout the value chain are becoming more flexible, efficient, and responsive, and reshaping how they operate their business, engage customers, and deliver products and services."
Stimulate different scenarios
Training
Maintenance
Manufacturing
Inspection
Assembly
Visual Workflow
Electrical Vehicle + Augmented Reality
Digital + Physical Technologies
to help optimize
outcomes
2. Does it work realistically?
Wouldn't it be nice if we incorporate augmented reality technology into electrical vehicles to improve Tesla customer service responsiveness by providing remote assistance when it comes to minor technical issues? Although everything seems to make sense at this point, I figured I need to find out more about the market demand to justify the need to build the AR feature. According to INSIDEEVs (2022), all-electric car sales in U.S. increased 60% to almost 160,000 in Q1 2022.
3. EV car sales in the U.S. increased 60% to almost 160,000 in Q1 2022.
I've been talking about how augmented reality could change the landscape of Tesla's existing customer service, however, I realised I need a piece of visualization material to keep myself on right track especially during the designing process. Here's what I thought what I want to do, what I can do, and what I wish to achieves for this project.
Customer Responsiveness
Technology Innovation
Brand Loyalty
One and only
Improve the business ability in attending service inquiries and fulfill them in a timely manner
The new technology input (Augmented Reality) boost up the service efficiencies
Customers believe that they purchased the best products and services than other competitors
Become the industry pioneer that utilizes augmented reality to enhance the customer experience
To justify my idea, I talked to people who owned a Tesla
I've conducted 3 interviews with different Tesla owners and asked about their experience with customer service. The interview findings made it easier for me to draw out the users' pain points and visualize the user journey map.
Here are the pain points I obtained via the interviews
Meet Mario
Drives a Model Y
Latino who speaks English
What he said
Struggled with deleting the songs from the playlist
"I have been trying to remove songs from my playlist but I wasn't able to do that"
Loving how the car is environmentally friendly
"For me, the selling point is how the car is environmentally friendly, I am loving every single bit of Tesla cars"
Meet Colette
Drives a Model Y
Latino who speaks English
What she said
Did not know how to reboot the computer system
"I had an issue with the screen one time, wasn't sure what to do so I called them and they asked me to perform a "reboot" session."
The best navigation system ever! With voice recognition
"This is by far the best navigation system I have ever tried in my life, make my life easier for sure!"
Meet Sharon
Drives a Model 3
Chinese who speaks English
What she said
I've experienced computer shut down multiple times
"I've been driving Tesla for 3 years now and most of the time they are fine until recently my computer shuts down by itself multiple times."
Loving the whole gasoline-free concept
"I saved approximately $350/month on gasoline by driving a Tesla Model 3!"
What are the opportunities?
How can I translate the pain points collected and turn them into design opportunities?
I must say I learned a lot about Tesla's product functionality through the interviews. Most interviewees are 90% satisfied with what they are currently being offered and all confessed that they have high brand loyalty toward Tesla.
Struggled with deleting the songs from the playlist
Did not know how to reboot the computer system
I've experienced computer shut down multiple times
action?
Do research on YouTube but still struggled with it
thoughts
How might we offer step-by-step guidance without having to research the issue?
action?
Called customer service and waited in line for 15 minutes
thoughts
How might we offer instant assistance without contacting the customer service?
action?
Google the solution on how to reboot the computer system
thoughts
How might we provide guidance on simple issue like this without having to google it?
Introducing
Tesla's new augmented reality after-sales service experience!
Meet Daniel Stevenson (he/him)
Daniel is a restaurant owner/manager based in Virginia, VA. He travels 6 days a week, back and forth approximately 50 miles a day from his house to his workplace.
He sometimes travels extra 15 - 20 miles for errands such as grocery shopping, picking up ingredients from suppliers, and sending his daughters to school. For him, it is necessary to not only have the car fully charged, but also have a good understanding of how to operate the internal computing system in order to fully utilize its functionality
Bought Tesla
Instant Help
🤩 Excited
😎 Satisfied
😠 Frustration
🙄 Annoyed
Travel Every Day
Technical Issue
Opportunity #1
How can we guide Daniel on how to delete songs from a playlist?
Request Consent
Grant Access
Move Camara
Voice Command
Move nearer to
the dashboard
Select songs you
wish to remove
Unable to delete
songs from this
playlist
Opportunity #2
Daniel wishes to continue the process by figuring out how to reboot the computer.
More questions?
Speak your concern
Move your camera
to the steering
Instructions
given
... 🚙 Just like that, his questions were resolved! ✌️
Opportunity #3
Daniel wondered if he could access the AR feature without opening the app?
Introducing ...
The NFC tag on Tesla
🤳 Tab your phone
✨ Tadaa.. AR feature
1.
2.
Here's the Augmented Reality concept on Electrical Vehicle
Tesla App Perspective
Voice Command
Instructions Given
Reflections
If I have the chance to continue the project, I would love to design a survey questionnaire and distribute it to new electrical vehicle drivers of all ages to study their behaviour in operating the car. The survey questionnaire collected would give me a better insight into how new electrical vehicle drivers react to technology malfunction and how they resolve the issues. I also believe the survey questionnaire will give me information about the types of struggles different age groups are facing.