Author: Michelin
Overnight, my WeChat Moments were flooded with posts about the “mandarin duck lockdown” phenomenon.
Accompanying this were posts about grabbing groceries, delivering groceries, working from home, singing KTV at home, online fitness, and even jokes about landscaping the greenbelts in our housing communities. Perhaps due to professional habits, I spotted many references to cars in these posts:
There are netizens who are living alone in their cars to separate from their families.
Some friends who cannot work in noisy environments at home hide in underground garages, with “quiet, internet-connected, undisturbed, and highly efficient” workspaces.
Some netizens saw that the volunteers working downstairs were too tired, so they lay on the ground and took a nap. They then remotely controlled their cars from upstairs, providing temporary rest space in their vehicles for the brave volunteers.
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Honestly, the title of this article is a bit misleading. If you do get stuck in your car unfortunately for 7 days, 14 days, or even longer, the first thing you need to take care of is your basic physiological needs such as food and clothing.
However, when the housing community is closed off and we work from home during special times when our activity space is limited, smart cabins, which are usually a brief stopover during mobility, become the only extension space beyond the home, truly becoming a “third space” and even upgrading to a “second space.”
What role can this “third space” play when a smart cabin meets an epidemic?
Work from home in a car: More important than features is space
For the vast majority of working people, “home quarantine” is synonymous with “work from home.” During this special period, it is crucial to find a quiet, comfortable, and undisturbed environment to work due to the presence of family members, pets, or even tempting sofas and beds. This place could be a home study, a separate room, or even your car.
In addition to limited space and the need to occasionally leave the car and do some exercises, the car is quiet and undisturbed, and it has USB charging ports for computers and mobile phones. More importantly, as a smart cabin, it can provide internet access.
Of course, when working in a private car, we cannot pursue the same office space as a Coaster bus. However, after entering the car, adjusting the air conditioning to the appropriate temperature and direction, adjusting the seat to a comfortable angle, and, if possible, selecting a favorite fragrance and music can create a comfortable working environment.
If your cabin has a SOA function, you can set a “work” scene mode with one-click access, simplifying a lot of preparation work before starting your work. Then, you can take out your laptop and start your workday.## Mobile Office Apps in Cars: Auxiliary Rather Than Productive
Someone may ask: Aren’t the screens in the cabin becoming more and more numerous and larger, with many office software already onboard? Can we work on the car machine without using a laptop??
With the cabin’s intelligence, the functionality of the car has been greatly enhanced, and office software has also boarded one after another. For example, car-mounted WPS, car-mounted Tencent Meeting, to-do reminders, and so on. Recently, at the DingTalk 2022 Launch Event, DingTalk announced its cooperation with Banma Zhixing to launch car-mounted DingTalk.
The aim of these office software is to deal with urgent work affairs during busy mobile processes, such as making a phone conference, checking a file temporarily, replying to urgent communication from work partners, etc., emphasizing convenience and speed.
But when facing the epidemic, when the vehicles stop and there is long time to work in the cabin, how much can these apps really help?
Similar communication features such as car-mounted Tencent Meeting, with the help of the in-car camera and mobile networks, can basically meet the needs of holding a video meetings while driving, and also provide quiet and enclosed spaces without disruption; the memo function on the car machine can also remind us of the key times for meetings and work.
However, car-mounted documents seem to be more suitable for short-term file viewing. Just imagine if I was using the car machine screen to write this article, typing on the touch screen with “one-finger Zen,” just thinking about it, my fingers are already beginning to hurt, let alone more professional office software for my friends who need them.
When the cabin becomes a static office space, car-mounted office software seems to be more suitable as auxiliaries, assisting users in communicating, reminding of urgent matters, and dealing with them. As for daily office production needs, it is still better to rely on your own laptop or other devices.
By the way, working in the front passenger seat is recommended, whether you put a laptop in front or adjust the seat back, there is more space. Of course, if there is an executive small table board in the rear seat, you can also work in the back seat to avoid the problem of “hot computer legs.”
Extra points for non-essential office options
If charging and network are must-haves for office work in cars, what features are non-essential but can enhance our office experience?For example, AI proactive service. Through the DMS, OMS camera in the cabin, combined with voice interaction and 3DToF and other functions, when our hands are dancing on the keyboard of the laptop, or sitting in the back, the cabin system can adjust the vehicle settings through our voice commands, lifting hands or even a glance. When I am listening to music and working suddenly a conference call comes in, the system can automatically reduce the volume of music.
For example, seamless flow between multiple devices. When we get off the car and go home, the seamless flow function similar to the Hongmeng system can directly synchronize unfinished phone meetings and partially viewed files to the phone and computer together and take them home.
For example, seat massage. Since the limited space in the car has already restricted body movements, having a seat massage to relax the stiff back is also a plus.
Of course, when staying in the car for a long time, the air inside the vehicle is also very important. Along with the filtering system of the vehicle, more and more brands have launched upgraded air filtering functions, such as Tesla’s bioweapon defense mode, Geely’s AQS system, and BYD’s PM2.5 green cleansing system, improving the air quality inside the car for long-term stays, especially in this spring when pollen is rampant, which can also make sensitive-nosed people more comfortable in the car. In addition to air filtering, intelligent car air fresheners can also make the working environment more comfortable. For example, Guangzhou Automobile Aeolus has launched the “24 Solar Terms Chinese medicinal fragrance”, which is impressive. The medical effects will be explained by professional personnel, but the refreshing effects should be obvious.
Feeling tired from work and need a rest?
For many people, the next step after lunch break is to pull out the folding bed and take a nap. Resting can’t be less in car work either.
This is where the natural advantage of electric vehicles comes in: there is no need to worry about idling accumulating exhaust gas like in fuel vehicles. In other words, in an electric car, we can park, turn on the air conditioning and sleep soundly.
Since this is a natural advantage, the “Nap” function can be said to be the first scenario that car companies have discovered. Using the one-click direct setting, adjust the temperature, seat, car window, sunshade to suitable sleeping position, play soothing music or white noise to help relax, open the atmosphere rendering screensaver on the central control screen, set the alarm clock, and help users quickly enter the rest state.### Sleeping Mode: More than Just Quick Resting on Your Car
If you want to take a decent nap instead of just a quick rest, the reclining function of the car’s seats won’t be enough. What you need is to flatten both the front and rear seats like what XPeng or Tesla does, then bring a portable air bed with comfortable pillows and a light quilt. You can set up your temporary residence right in your car. Of course, it might be challenging to get all these accessories during this special period in time.
By laying down the seats and the air bed, you can also activate the cinema mode by adding a projector and projection screen from your home.
You may wonder why you would watch a movie in your car when you can do it at home with all the comfort.
A car’s enclosed space, combined with an improved in-car sound system and ambient lighting, can produce a surround sound experience that many living rooms may not be able to offer. Moreover, who doesn’t want to break away from spending too much time at home during this period?
Customized Multimedia plus Smart Devices: The Immersive Experience
The evolution of the in-car intelligent cockpit has enriched the multimedia functions of cars. You can find almost all the common applications, such as music players, e-books or podcasts, as well as games on app stores on your car.
People usually listen to music, podcasts or the radio while driving, or watch videos or play a game while waiting or riding in a car. But what are some of the reasons why people are attracted to these multimedia entertainment functions, especially during the pandemic?
Similar to the reasons for watching a movie in your car, one of the biggest advantages of car cabins is that they are compact, quiet, and equipped with built-in intelligent hardware and software that can be used alone without disturbing others or being disturbed. With a little bit of improvisation, you can easily create a unique entertainment space in your car, such as a gaming room with a control and lighting system, a home theatre with a projector, screen and audio system or a karaoke room with a KTV app, microphone, audio system and ambient lighting. By adding some external devices, you give your cabin a new dimension of entertainment.
For example, in-car gaming can be more fun when played through the car’s audio system and displayed on a bigger screen. However, simple games like Mahjong or Solitaire may be better on your phone or tablet, as they don’t need additional hardware and don’t interfere with anyone at home.However, if you want to play racing games with a steering wheel or an external controller, only game enthusiasts who have a simulator at home can compete with you. The realistic steering wheel, combined with surround sound effects inside the cockpit and HUD displays of game effects, creates a truly immersive racing experience. Of course, the premise of playing these games is that your car has implemented wire-controlled chassis or you have put a piece of cardboard under the tires; otherwise, when you “drive” in the game, your tires will wear out on the ground, and it can be a bit overwhelming.
Besides playing games, KTVs that have cooled down in real life have found new life in the cockpit these two years. Regardless of whether they are domestic new forces, independent brands, or Tesla, they have all ventured onto the KTV stage. With wireless microphones, upgraded performance, and lower thresholds of in-car audio, combined with adjustable ambient lighting, as long as you are not afraid of embarrassment, the cockpit can become a private KTV room. If it is during normal times, in-car KTV may be more of a gathering of friends or occasional experience for children riding in the car, but during special periods with limited entertainment, it can be very useful.
In addition to using external devices, customized audio and video entertainment resources in the cockpit have also become a bonus. For example, NIO Radio operated by NIO, Ideal and Himalaya’s customized membership content, these customized in-car video and audio content may be more attractive to users than mobile apps. Or, perhaps like working in the car, users want a quiet and undisturbed space.
Of course, there are still many ways to play with intelligent cars, such as internet celebrities on short-video platforms using intelligent car lighting effects to create nightclub effects in underground parking lots. As for how this experience is, Wang Tupu, a classmate from GeekCar, may have a profound experience.
Finally,
At this stage, the intelligence of the cockpit, whether in terms of interaction, functions, or experience, is based more on the standard of driving safety. After all, it is impossible to completely free people from driving tasks in a short period. However, the special period speculates that it may provide us with a scenario, a scenario where people can be completely liberated from driving tasks and stay freely in the cockpit. At that time, what functions will attract us?
I have written so much; however, many friends who are under home quarantine may not even be able to leave their homes and are still scratching their heads for the few remaining vegetables. Therefore, while envisioning the beauty of the intelligent cockpit, we hope that friends who are “trapped” by the epidemic in various places can take care of their bodies and minds and recover to a peaceful, beautiful, and free life as soon as possible.
This article is a translation by ChatGPT of a Chinese report from 42HOW. If you have any questions about it, please email bd@42how.com.