2040 Active Lifestyle Concept
Automotive, HMI, XR
May 2025
Project Overview
Orion is a 2040 concept that explores how an XR integrated autonomous vehicle can support content creators in staying productive while remaining present. It reimagines the vehicle as a mobile creative hub that blends AI, physical space, and extended reality.
Problem
Content creators live highly active lifestyles, but staying digitally productive often pulls them away from real-world experiences, especially during travel.
Key Takeaways
• Explored future human vehicle interaction for XR and autonomous driving experiences
• Collaborated across transportation design teams using both waterfall and agile processes
• Influenced product direction and design decisions in a team where UX was not a primary focus
Role
UX/UI Designer, Product Designer
Company
General Motors (Sponsored Project)
Team
Yiwen Kong – Exterior Designer
YenPo Chen – Interior Designer
Responsibility
Integrated hardware and software experiences across cross-disciplinary teams
Translated user research insights into HMI and XR interaction strategies
Guided exterior and interior design decisions through UX rationale
The Opportunity: Future of Fully Autonomous Vehicle
Heavy digital users, especially content creators, constantly switch between physical exploration and digital workflows.
This fragmentation often leads to:
Cognitive overload while managing devices
Missed real-world moments due to screen dependency
Inefficient transitions between creation, editing, and sharing
Inspired by research from Meta Reality Labs and BMW’s 2023 XR mobility studies, this project asks:
What if an autonomous vehicle could become a bridge between the virtual and physical worlds rather than a distraction from either?
Persona- Content Creator in 2040
A digitally connected explorer who actively captures and shares experiences.
Problem Statements
How might we design an autonomous vehicle experience that allows content creators to remain immersed in real-world adventures while maintaining seamless digital connection and productivity?
“My audience loves watching my skiing content, and I’m passionate about outdoor adventures. But preparing all the gear and equipment for outdoor shoots is time-consuming, which often slows down how frequently I can create and share new content.”
Solution Vision
Orion is an AI-driven, XR-enhanced adventure vehicle that:
Control the vehicle through AR glasses by moving the control panel into a virtual space, freeing up interior space with adaptive layouts.
Automates preparation and using Meta AI
Enables creators to edit, review, and publish content while the vehicle drives itself
The vehicle is reimagined as both an adventure partner and a creative hub.
Design Decision 1: Why AR Glasses?
For content creators who rely heavily on digital tools, AR glasses serve as a key future touchpoint. They enable hands-free content capture, seamless interaction between physical and virtual worlds, and allow creators to control autonomous vehicles, edit, and share content without disrupting real-world engagement.
Design Decision 2:
Why XR instead of physical screens?
XR replaces fixed in car screens with a flexible spatial interface that adapts to different driving contexts. By virtualizing controls and information, the interior gains more usable space while keeping users visually connected to the real environment.
This might reduces visual clutter and helps maintain a sense of presence during autonomous driving.
Design Decision 3:
Why autonomous driving as a creative context?
Autonomous driving transforms travel time into an opportunity for creativity. By removing the need for constant attention, it allows creators to focus on capturing, editing, and reflecting while in motion.
This creates a new context where mobility supports productivity without compromising safety or presence.
Experience Flow
Imagine a Day in the Life of Emery’s Adventure with ORION
Wireframing
Early wireframes focused on identifying the optimal moments to introduce XR interactions without overwhelming the user.
Key considerations included:
Visual hierarchy in 3D space
Ergonomic reach and eye-line alignment
Seamless transitions between physical and virtual controls
Layout 1 (Deprecated)
Layout 1 Wireframe
Mid-Fidelity Prototype
Usability testing in an XR environment revealed challenges in UI placement and gesture reach. Iterations focused on improving spatial clarity and accessibility.
High-Fidelity Prototype – Integrated Unity 3D Simulation
The refined interface was integrated with the final vehicle model in Unity, allowing validation of:
Interaction flow
Interior ergonomics
Spatial consistency across XR layers
Final Design
The final Orion concept aligns vehicle form, interior architecture, and XR interaction into a unified system.
XR control panel- Manual Drive
XR control panel-Autonomous Drive
Windshield Display
Speedometer
Onboarding- AI Gear Arrangements
Scanning gears with the ORION AI to generate the best arrangement solution that connects to the vehicle.
Activate Control Panel
Launch the in-vehicle interface with XR glasses after entering the vehicle.
Windshield Display- Navigation
Maintain focus on the road with navigation shown through an integrated transparent windshield display.
Adventure Mode
Activate pneumatic performance tires for enhanced traction during your adventure.
Autonomous Drive
Experience Level 5 autonomous driving and relax on your way home.
Off-road Autonomous- OnStar Vision
Connect to satellites with OnStar technology for advanced off-road autonomous driving in non-digitized areas.
Propulsion Sound Design
Sample the frequencies from the black hole, and experience the universe's power.
Ambient Filter Sound Design
Enhance the in-vehicle visual and auditory environment to promote relaxation or concentration.
Full Vehicle Design
Commercial video showcasing the dynamic lifestyle of content creators.
Video production by Calvin Sun. Render and Visualization by Yiwen Kong & YenPo Chen
Stay connected while driving
With the orion glasses, creators could stay productive on the way back home in autonomous drive.
Feedback form the industry
Joseph Lenneman- Advanced UX Design Manager at General Motors
“I can see numerous UX decisions reflected in the vehicle design. Calvin adds significant value to the team as a UX designer. The experience design is captivating, and I would love to own one!”