Published Research

For over a decade, the automotive industry has made bold promises about the imminent arrival of fully automated vehicles (a.k.a.robotaxis). OEMs alongside tech companies like have invested billions in the race to develop self-driving cars and driverless taxi services. This technology was heralded as a transformative leap — poised to reduce traffic accidents, eliminate congestion, increase mobility for all, and reshape urban landscapes. However, despite the early optimism and aggressive timelines, the reality has fallen far short of expectations.

User Driven Strategies conducted a driver-and-passenger-focused evaluation of the infotainment system aboard a 2024 Honda Prologue. Tasks evaluated included tuning the radio, playing a song from a streaming service, calling a contact, entering a destination, changing climate settings, and searching for a point of interest.

It has become common for consumer-facing companies to collect as much usage data as possible, from as many of their users as possible, at all times. After collecting that data, these companies would then figure out how they might use it to extract more revenue for themselves. However, this often ignores the harm that can be done by collecting data/consent improperly, storing data improperly, or handling data improperly.

Apple's CarPlay Ultra represents a potential next step forward in automotive infotainment, marking a transformative phase in the integration of mobile technology with vehicle systems. This report examines the positive aspects and potential issues of CarPlay Ultra’s user experience. Special attention is given to design elements, specific design choices made by Aston Martin, system reliability, multi-user environments, fallback behavior, and the implications of ceding display space to a third-party operating layer.