Creating Personal Space and Intimacy in Shared Cars

Abstract

This graduation thesis has the goal of understanding shared car environments with the purpose of creating personal space and privacy for the occupants. First carsharing and carpooling have been examined, followed by an in depth literature research in the field of personals space. To validate some of the findings from the literature research and deepen the understanding of carpooling and shared rides interviews and a questionnaire have been conducted. The results were used to generate personas that would help further in the design process by representing the possible target group.In the design phase, privacy has been reexamined and a new classification of privacy has been created to help in developing solutions for personal space creation. Several ideas have been generated to reinforce personal space from which two have been chosen to be worked out further as concepts. Mock-up tests and 3D prototyping has been conducted to validate the concepts. After focusing on one of the concepts, further detailing, regarding mechanisms and design possibilities, has been done. A use case has been presented for the concept, and with the help of virtual prototyping parts of the concept have been tested in a 3D virtual environment.