Merc’s predictive user experience will collect data from your car’s on-board computer to make your profile and preferences

A decade ago people were familiar with the term “User Experience” mostly in computers and software industry, but these days it is used as a hash tag in automotive industry where almost every auto maker offers customization options in their cars. According to the recent customer survey reports automakers think that it is a use-it or lose-it issue in the customer loyalty and satisfaction. In order to exercise this tactic, any automaker needs to build flexible production facility and some big brands are doing the same thing, such as Mercedes-Benz is trying to involve its customers directly into the production process with what it calls its predictive user experience project. They are trying to collect data from on-board computers in order to construct user profiles that will help anticipate a driver’s preferences from seats and mirrors to routes tracked by GPS. These preferences can be ported into the next car of that driver.

Johann Jungwirth, is chief executive of Mercedes Research and Development North America, said, “When you purchase a car or lease a car, you need to spend a long time, sometimes weeks, before you set your car up the way you want it,” But these favourites can only be shifted to another Mercedes-Benz vehicle.

The tumbling outlay of sensors and cameras together with the quick climb in data-processing power has made possible to determine what people actually do in their cars. For example, if a sensor identifies that a baby is on-board at a specific time every weekday and it uses the alike route every time, the on-board navigation system will act automatically and issue a report regarding route and traffic.

As this system will share data with the company and there will be some privacy issues when owner trades personal information such as GPS info for such amenities. On this issue Jungwirth said that any kind of personal data won’t be shared devoid of a driver’s permission. He further added, “vehicle-to-vehicle communication coming soon, there are large-scale advantages of using this system.” Like the smart phones that help people by sharing data on different platforms, Mercedes-Benz will have to tramp vigilantly in foreseeing the user expectations to make the user experience better and not accidentally shoddier.