Development of an In-vehicle multiplayer gaming experience - Designing a mobile game: A prototype study

Abstract

Mobility is an indispensable part of daily life. Whether in rural or urban areas, many people rely on public transport or cars to get from one place to another. Especially in rural areas, the use of cars can hardly be avoided, as the public infrastructures in many countries are not developed well enough to enable climate-friendly long-distance travel. As a result, the number of passenger cars in the European Union has risen steadily over the last 10 years. The main problem of this development is the emission of greenhouse gases. The transport sector is one of the biggest emitters of these harmful gases, but it is also the sector with much potential for improvement. The technology available in the modern world makes it possible to develop target-oriented approaches for reducing greenhouse gases in transport. The development of electric cars has been greatly advanced in recent years, and at the same time research is also being carried out on systems that enable autonomous driving of cars. However, the efforts of car manufacturers are only the first step towards a more efficient form of mobility. Concepts such as car sharing must be socially accepted and embraced in order to minimize greenhouse gases. In addition, it is expected that the use of autonomous vehicles will increase the number of passengers in a single vehicle, which would lead to fewer vehicles on the roads. Hence, car manufacturers are very keen to develop sophisticated entertainment systems to make long-distance trips more enjoyable for passengers. The aim of this research project is to develop a multiplayer game prototype with shared roles for mobile platforms (e.g., Android smartphones or tablets) to investigate which impact such a solution can have in an autonomous vehicle when it comes to entertainment and usability. More specifically, the prototype study aims to find out whether such applications can replace traditional entertainment systems in cars, such as integrated screens in the headrests.