Retrospective and future automotive infotainment systems - 100 years of user interface evolution

The history of automotive HMI development reveals that the development of new interactive in-car functionalities (such as infotainment systems) has often been influenced by upcoming new technologies that customers got used to in their daily lives. Examples of such technologies include the first in-car radio, which was introduced around 1922, or the first in-car phone, which was introduced around 1952. Today, a car without such functionalities is hard to imagine and the automotive industry is aiming to develop and integrate more and more innovative functionality to stay competitive on the market. The development of such functions is motivated by the construction of safer, more efficient, and more comfortable vehicle systems. Current trends in the area of in-car infotainment applications include, for instance, Internet-based applications or social network applications, whereas extendable, hybrid, adaptive, or even personalized HMI are emerging as future trends. Not only technologies have evolved throughout history, the development processes themselves have also been adapted continuously due to the challenges the automotive industry had to face with new technologies. Thus, the authors have summarized their experiences, their knowledge, and the results of literature studies in this article which covers the history of automotive HMI development from the past in 1922 to the present with an outlook on upcoming trends for future automotive user interfaces.