Karaoke Microphone
In car Karaoke Experience
During Lynk&Co 900 project, a 6-seater family SUV, I led the design process of Karaoke Experience as a part of In-car Entertainment.
Brief
According to the brief we got, some of the keywords we identified for the scope are:
- Multi purpose, usage
-Multiple types of users
-Not a commuter; a car to travel in
-Focus Entertaining, engaging.
-Proud to have family, Kid oriented
-Movements, Sounds
Brainstorm, Workshop & Voting
We organized a brainstorm session by gathering one representative from each team in HMI Design department. We discussed the scope together and asked them bring their ideas afterwards.
During our brainstorming workshops, one of the highly voted idea was Karaoke Experience in car. This idea is appreciated mainly because it has high potential to address entertainment needs of families with kids especially in Chinese culture.
Learn & Analysis
Following the Brainstorm session, we decided to explore Karaoke Experience as one of the Unique features of Lynk&Co 900.
I Conducted a Research, made interviews with my colleagues coming from Chinese culture. What I have learnt:
Extremely, Culturally Popular
2019 China Music Industry Development Report valued the karaoke sector at nearly $14.6bn and 12.3% rise year-on-year. China now has over 100,000 karaoke bars.
Private, Dedicated Experience
Unlike Western-style karaoke, which often involves singing with a mic in front of a big group of people, Chinese culture involves booking a personal room for you and your friends.
Fancy Atmosphere
KTV places are decorated to be fancy, glitzy. The atmosphere is meant to get you excited to sing, usually with lights and décor everywhere. Gamifying is also very common.
Rising Trends
Karaoke is that popular in China that, several experiments are done and becoming trends.
- Karaoke Boots all around the city
- Karaoke on the Go
- Virtual Karaoke gatherings
- In-Car Karaoke
Customers in China, world’s largest auto market, are demanding that sing-along apps such as Changba work in new vehicles. Local manufacturers XPeng Inc, Nio Inc and BYD Co are at the forefront of this trend.
Painpoint:
Karaoke is almost a part of Chinese culture and Its consumption is rising everywhere and Automotive is no different. As easily new tech adoption of Chinese community, brands are far from offering a unique experience to the users.
HMW create a holistic in-car Karaoke experience, a standalone, unique, fun, entertaining activity for Chinese community?
In-Car Karaoke Experience
I tried to build a User Journey to address all the functions, needs and to provide a rich experience based on Research I have made. In this journey, users:
Sing & Enjoy
Users sing, enjoy and the space enhances this moment with changing lights to create a fancy, glitzy atmosphere.
Capture
In-car cameras play a crucial role to record this memorable moment. Recordings are directly sent to their connected devices.
Share
Users then can share the moment on Instagram and of course with LynkCo community and gain points. In this way, brand value rises by user centric approach.
Karaoke Microphone is the main touchpoint for users to enjoy enhanced in-car Karaoke experience.
Seamless Interaction
RSD(Roof Display) is very important for a family car. Microphone directly interacts with RSD. As soon as the user grabs the microphone from charging point in pullcup, RSD directly activates
Remote Control
Microphone is used as a pointer remote controller to interact with RSD. The main switch pack with a rotary
encoder enables a seamless remote control of RSD.
Multi-functioanal
Switch with rotary
encodeder
Karaoke
Microphone vibrates and lights to guide the user in Karaoke session so provides a seamless experience.
Magic Wand
The light button at the back of the microphone enables the user to play with the light in the vehicle. This creates a more fun environment and so enhances karaoke experience.
Light button
PUSH LIGHT & RAISE-LOWER MICROPHONE
It changes the intensity of the light.
PUSH LIGHT & WAVE LEFT-RIGHT MICROPHONE
It changes the color of the light.
The Process
Benchmarking & Research
As soon as we got the brief from stakeholders, we started benchmarking of competitors to frame, identify touchpoints, unique features etc...
Insights
We decomposed the materials into keyfindings. According to analysis, we found out that, Convenience, Multi functionality, Kid oriented experiences, Entertaining, Family focus, Comfort are the main motivations.
Brainstorm
Following the first brainstorm session, where we found out that Karaoke Experience is one of the most appreciated feature to fulfill the scope of the project, I organized secondary brainstorming session focusing on just Karaoke Experience.
According to the brainstorm, main ideas were about:
- Multifunctionality
- A community based activity
- Smartness of the Microphone
- Storage & charging
Frame
According to the brainstorming session and research,
The 3 pillars of Karaoke Experience are:
1 - Sing
2 - Capture the experience
3 - Share with the community
Karaoke Microphone should have functions:
1 - Karaoke Microphone
2 - Remote Controller of RSD
3 - Enhancing Functions
Interaction Flows of Microphone
Following the brainstorming session, I sketched the microphone's possible touchpoints and developed an interaction flow based on the user’s functional needs. The result outlines the microphone's functionality.
1st Layout with possible touchpoints
Wheel
Home Button
Light Button
Karaoke App Button
Section Buttons
Section Feedback
Lights
Needed Functions
How to differentiate functions (Remote, Microphone, Wand)
Microphone
Remote
Wand
. Start Karaoke App
. Adjust Volume
. Play with effects
. Play with Bass/Treble
. Interact with Personal
Sound Zones.
. Navigate through menus
How to:
Swipe, Scroll, Zoom in/out
Select
. Different needs of different apps.
Navi/Map, Media, Climate
. Adjust Ambient Light Intensity
. Adjust Ambient Light Color
. Play with Zone Lights(turn-on/off)
Microphone function Flow
Remote function Flow
Exploration
As I built the interaction flow, ergonomic issues emerged, requiring 3D considerations like touchpoint placement, charging, storage, and mobile connectivity. Doodling helped refine these ideas and bring them closer to reality.
Concept Presentation
With an initial understanding of the microphone's form, I modeled it in Blender 3D, created a vehicle environment, and produced a concept animation. The right illustrates the microphone's functionality.
1st Model
After concept approval, I modeled the first solid version in Rhino to assess its feasibility. I then created a paper prototype to check ergonomics, sizes, and optimal button placement with colleagues.
Iterations
During initial tests with paper prototypes and meetings with other departments and stakeholders, we went through several design iterations, each with its own interaction flow. I modeled all versions in Rhino as solid models, ready for 3D printing to facilitate quick presentations and tests.
Prototype & Test
WII CONTROLLER
We chose to proceed with the third iteration. Collaborating with the Advanced Prototyping team, we decided to use the PCB of a Wii controller for a functional prototype, which required rewriting button functions and some coding.
LAST WORDS: As an HMI/UX Designer, I don't design the final physical product—that's another department's role. However, our explorations, early designs and prototypes not only help us to better convey our ideas but also guide the final design. My Industrial Design background makes me well-suited for Digi-Physical projects.