SCIFI (Supporting Customer Interaction, Feedback and Information): Designing a 3D Semi-Immersive System for the Car Buying Public

This three-year project is being undertaken at the Digital Design Studio, Glasgow School of Art in partnership with Ford of Britain, and with funding support from the British Engineering & Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC). The primary aim of the project is to build a prototype that will enable the car-buying public to configure and interact with a car model in a 3D semi-immersive virtual environment. The objective of this system is threefold: 1) to aid the decision-making process of buying a car; 2) to give the potential car buyer the freedom to select all aspects of the car from the colour and body style to engine size and options packages and; 3) to view and interact with their choices in a photo-realistic 3D environment.

This paper outlines the context in which the system is being built and the Human Factors/HCI design approach that is being implemented in the life cycle of the project.