Automotive Product Design
As Porsche expands its EV Strategies, we envisioned a future flagship SUV designed for modern families in North America. This project reimagines Porsche’s intelligent system with L3 autonomy, emotion detection, and health monitoring—transforming the cabin into a responsive, well-being-focused space.
We built a physical prototype and designed key scenarios around stress, emergency, and family dynamics—while preserving Porsche’s core performance DNA and design heritage.
Work Type
HMI Case Study
Time:
2025 Spring
Contributors:
Jerry Cai
Yilin Jin
Jason Jiang
Brayana Lee
My Role
Product R & D
HMI Design
3D Visualization
Physical Prototyping
Overview
As autonomous driving reshapes mobility, the in-car experience is shifting from control to emotional intelligence. For modern families, comfort, safety, and wellbeing are becoming central to what defines luxury.
Porsche, while renowned for its performance heritage, still lacks a truly intelligent in-car system—one that meets the evolving expectations of smart, connected living.
Strategic Direction
Prestige EV SUV - For Modern Families
Blending Porsche’s iconic performance DNA and technical heritage with next-gen smart features and adaptive comfort—this is not just an SUV, but a new luxury standard for modern families.
What I lead
In-Cabin Emotional Sensing
Research and designing an in-cabin emotional sensing system that detects stress and responds with calm, intuitive feedback.
Health Mode & HMI Design
Designing an emotion-aware emergency system and a Porsche-aligned HMI architecture that merges intelligent interaction with the brand’s performance-driven DNA.
In-Cabin Emotional Sensing
座舱情绪感知
Why In-Cabin Emotional Sensing？
Real World Observational study of Emotional Stress
To explore emotional stress in real driving contexts, we conducted a 7 days study with 4 families using heart rate tracking and in-car observations.
Biometric monitoring with Apple Watch to capture heart rate spikes during driving
Daily interviews to document moments of frustration, distraction, or anxiety
Observed scenarios, morning commutes, highway driving, and trips with their children
This is what we found
82% of morning peak-hour drives triggered heart rate increases over 15%
76% of parents showed stress responses when managing children while driving
69% experienced prolonged anxiety in long-distance or nighttime driving
Insights
Emotional stress is not limited to the driver—passengers, especially children and caregivers, also experience frequent emotional fluctuations. This highlights the need to consider the entire cabin as an emotional environment, where shared states can influence comfort, focus, and overall experience.
Competitive Analyze
In our research on current multimodal cockpit interaction systems, we found that most emotional sensing technologies are primarily implemented in Driver Monitoring Systems (DMS)—focusing on fatigue and attention in autonomous driving contexts.
BMW’s Polygraphy of Motion
An art installation built on the i7, takes a different approach—using steering wheel sensors to visualize users’ emotions through immersive, generative media.
Opportunity & Product Hypothesis
As cars evolve into intelligent companions, there’s a growing need for systems that sense and respond to emotions across the cabin. This creates an opportunity to design a multimodal emotional sensing system that detects stress in both drivers and passengers—and enhances trust, comfort, and connection through subtle, adaptive feedback.
The Solution
I led the design of a multimodal emotion-aware interaction flow. This system detects emotional signals, responds adaptively, and creates a calmer, more trustworthy in-cabin experience—especially in complex family driving scenarios.
1.
Passenger Emotional Behavior Stage
车内人员情绪状态流程
Detecting emotional triggers from both drivers and passengers through visual, vocal, and physiological signals.
2.
System Response Strategy Stage
系统响应策略阶段
Generating adaptive multimodal feedback to support comfort, safety, and emotional connection.
Visualization Mood
We visualized mood on the bottom screen, combining seat status with emotional data to create a clear, shared view of each passenger’s state—without distracting the driver.
Common Scenario: A Child Gets Anxious on a Family Road Trip
A Family Road Trip
A family of four is on a road trip. Dad is driving the car in the front, mom is sitting in the front, kids sit in the back.
Mood Monitoring
The bottom screen continuously visualizes each passenger’s mood in real time.
The child wants to Pee
Kids wants to pee and starts to become restless and distractions.
A Family Road Trip
Without needing to verbalize the issue, their seat indicator gradually shifts color—signaling rising anxiety. This passive detection allows the system to surface needs that might otherwise go unnoticed.
Mood Escalation Triggers Visual Alert
As the child grows restless, the father—who is driving—shows signs of stress. The system detects this via biometrics and suggests switching to auto drive, helping the driver relax and stay focused.
This system bridges the gap we identified in research—by sensing and visualizing shared emotional states, it helps families manage stress on the road and lays the foundation for more empathetic, intelligent in-cabin experiences.
Health / Emergency Mode
健康与紧急模式
Why is this important?
This is what we found from research and interview
In the U.S., ambulance services can cost around $1,200 per trip, with average response times ranging from 15 to 30 minutes.
Our interview shows that about 67% of family feel unprepared to deal with sudden health issues during long-distance trips or when driving in remote areas.
Some users also felt that taking an ambulance in non-critical situations compromises their sense of dignity, leading them to delay seeking help.
Competitive Analyze
Onstar Emergency Services
High reliance on manual intervention
Users need to verbally describe the situation, with no real-time biometric data sharing—often resulting in imprecise or delayed responses
Traditional systems still depend on external ambulance services, which are often slow and costly
Our Solution
Cabin Health Visualization
Using sensors embedded in each seat, the system continuously monitors heart rate, body temperature, and blood oxygen levels.
All data is clearly visualized on the bottom screen, giving families real-time awareness of each member’s health—without distraction or intrusion.
Emergency Mode
In case of emergency, the system automatically or manually triggers a smart response—reclining the seat, optimizing airflow, navigating to the nearest hospital, and syncing health data with ER teams.
Here is an emergency mode scenario
Ski Accident- Kids bone fracture
The child is experiencing a medical emergency, the father is calling 911, there is a snow storm outside
Snowstorm result in paramedics have long delay
The vehicle stays passively active even when off, father decides to active emergency mode
Enable emergency mode
The car automatically preheat and already waiting outside.
Emergency declared
After declaring a emergency situation, health data, vehicle data will be transferred real-time to nearest hospitals. the dashboard shows heartbeat, temperature and patient blood type.
Emergency Navigation
Vehicle Navigation suggest shortest routes to nearby hospital, an emergency notification shows in the middle screen.
The vehicle is able to assist the driver, but we insist to have driver manually maneuver through complicated terrains during emergency situations.
Because of a real time data share between vehicle and hospital, the ER is ready for a surgery.
This solves the delay and chaos of traditional emergency response by automating key actions—ensuring faster, more informed and personalized care
HMI Design System
To support a future that’s not only more intelligent—but also more emotionally engaging and trustworthy, we needed to redefine Porsche’s in-cabin interaction.
We analyzed Porsche’s brand essence—balancing ambition and tradition, engineering and emotion—to guide a design system rooted in human touch and focused performance.
The new HMI system draws from Porsche’s visual DNA—merging quiet luxury, modern precision, and racing innovation—into a consistent, intelligent interaction language.
Quiet Luxury & Heritage
Modern & Precision
Performance & Innovation
Key Screens
Porsche Classic 5 Gauge
Suggest Manual Takeover
Suggest Auto Driving
Takeover suggest with ambient light
Takeover warning with ambient light
3D Car Control
Car Setting
3D Transition
ADAS View
Normal Navigation
Passenger Screen
Mood Visualization
Emergency Mode
Health Visualization
Physical Prototype
Interactable Full scale Cockpit Prototype
Initial Cockpit Ideating Sketch
Physical Prototype Process
Research Documentation
Porsche Strategy Research
SUV Dominance as Porsche’s EV Growth Lever
Cayenne and Macan SUVs made up 59% of Porsche’s global sales in 2022. Porsche is expanding this success by electrifying its SUV line—Macan EV (2024), Cayenne EV (2025), and a 3-row flagship SUV (2027)—targeting the affluent family EV market.Cayenne and Macan SUVs made up 59% of Porsche’s global sales in 2022. Porsche is expanding this success by electrifying its SUV line—Macan EV (2024), Cayenne EV (2025), and a 3-row flagship SUV (2027)—targeting the affluent family EV market.
Smart Tech Gap Undermines EV Appeal in China
Porsche’s in-car experience lags behind Tesla, NIO, and XPeng in AI, personalization, and connectivity. This contributed to a 19% YoY sales drop in China, as buyers prioritize smart features over brand legacy.
VW Group’s Strategic Shift to Catch Up in Software
To close the innovation gap, VW is partnering with Rivian ($5B JV) and XPeng ($700M stake) to co-develop next-gen EV platforms and intelligent cabin tech—accelerating Porsche’s push toward software-defined vehicles.
Challenges
The Cost of Replacing Buttons with Touch
Today’s vehicles are increasingly replacing essential physical buttons with screen-based controls—pushing common functions into deep, layered interfaces and compromising usability.
4-8 Second
Average time drivers look away from the road when using in-car touchscreens At highway speeds, this equals driving blind for up to 200 meters, It is Dangerous.
Cognitive Overload on Taycan
In real-world testing of the Porsche Taycan, we found the bottom screen overly complex, Functionality across multiple screens is fragmented, with inconsistent logic and poor task flow—leading to cognitive overload and unsafe distraction.
Trusting the Intelligent Vehicle
As vehicles gain L3 autonomy, the HMI must become a clear communication partner—making driving context, system status, and handovers transparent.
Drivers need to understand what the car sees, what it plans to do, and when they are expected to take over.
Outdated HMI Undermines the Foundation of Trust
Functionally rigid, lacking adaptability in dynamic driving contexts
Visually dry, with outdated and conventional UI aesthetics
Emotionally disconnected, failing to build a human-centered connection
Offers no proactive or intelligent guidance in edge cases
Need Innovative Cabin Experience
Porsche’s current in-cabin strategy is heavily anchored in performance and driving motion—reinforcing its racing legacy.
However as the brand moves into the EV era, this narrow focus limits its relevance to broader target users.
There’s an urgent need to evolve toward intelligent cabin experiences that align with a broader lifestyle.
Current Cabin Experience Falls Short of Intelligence
Lacks proactive support features such as intelligent intervention or well-being assistance
Limited personalization and adaptability—does not scale across diverse user groups (e.g. families, commuters, anxious drivers)
Misses opportunities to build trust and reduce cognitive load through smarter, anticipatory interaction
Vehicle Test Drive & Research
