Projects, Student projects

Automotive interface for self-controlled privacy in a connected car

Student name: Nupur Aggarwal
Guided by: Jonas Walter, IAD Technische Universitat Darmstadt
Coordinator (IIT Bombay): Prof. Sugandh Malhotra, IIT Bombay

Modern day connected cars equipped with infotainment and telematics systems that can collect substantial amounts of sensitive data and various smartphone applications as well as manufacturers and service providers have access to a huge pool of data that can be transmitted from a car that contains private information. There is a need for an application that can help users control their privacy by making informed decisions about the data that they are going to share.

The user studies conducted by FIA and IAD are referred to formulate a catalogue of Requirements for the design of such an app, and the technical requirements of making a vehicular HMI are derived from existing literature. Then a UX-design approach is followed to create a concept that allows users to
quickly select pre-defined settings based on recommendations from an internal privacy scale that rates applications based on their frequency and volume of data sharing and it also lets users make customized settings for providing data access to applications.

Finally the prototypes of the concept are developed and tested for their ease of use and usability parameters. Some parameters are suggested for future testing in a simulated driving environment, as the application will be used in both driving and non driving situations. A smartphone application is also developed to help make the privacy settings on the go.

A comparative study between Indian and German privacy views reveals that the concept is easily implementable in India as the privacy concerns are largely similar and both the places are ready to have more control over their privacy setting.

This project is a property of TU Darmstadt and IIT Bombay. You may write an email to get more information about the project.