Supporting human interaction with the Sentient vehicle

This paper discusses design principles for human interfaces to computers in vehicles. We describe the input and presentation features of the JCPC driveable computing platform. We compare human control input and driver and passenger identification hardware including active badges, 866 MHz radio microcontroller tags, USB keyrings and acoustic techniques. We describe environmental sensors and uses of such context data in prototype intelligent, sentient applications. An outline of the system architecture used in the JCPC platform is included. Design objectives for a hierarchical menu system intended for interactive operations and status feedback screens are set out. The C++ API is presented. Finally, we describe the passenger feedback and information display mechanisms offered by the JCPC.