The human-machine interface (HMI)

A key visual element of the implementation of Sentience within the demonstrator vehicle is a humanmachine interface (HMI) developed by Orange and based on a Nokia N95 mobile phone.

This device also provides the communications link that delivers route data for the vehicle’s control system. The HMI provides appropriate feedback to the driver – for example, of the prevailing speed limit at the vehicle’s current location – as well as input configuration information. To provide an integration infrastructure for the demonstration vehicle a telecoms protocol was defined and implemented by Ricardo and Orange for communication between the HMI and the Ricardo rCube rapid prototyping controller used to supervise the Sentience EAD functions. The design of the HMI architecture was deliberately intended to accommodate the integration of real-time traffic data in a future implementation.