A car navigates a snowy road at night, illuminated by headlights against the dark, wintry landscape.

Rumba

The RUMBA Project: Audi and intive Advancing HMI for the Autonomous Era

Exploring tomorrow’s in-car experiences through cutting-edge pre-development

"Working with intive gave us the ability to test visionary concepts in a real environment, with complete confidence in the technical execution. That level of precision provided deep insights into user interactions, validating design innovations that will define the next generation of premium mobility."

Lars Ellermann

Project Manager for Rumba Project

Overview

As part of the government-funded RUMBA initiative, Audi and intive developed two high-fidelity prototypes to validate next-generation interior concepts for autonomous driving:  a mockup with driving simulation and a prototype vehicle.

Client

Headquartered in Ingolstadt, Bavaria, Germany, Audi AG is known for sports vehicles, high-quality engineering, and progressive designs.The Audi Group is one of the most successful manufacturers of automobiles in the premium segment.

Services

HMI software implementation

Embedded integration

Electro-technical system design

Prototype build-up & system integration

Driving simulation setup

A navy blue Audi car set against a landscape.

The Challenge

How will the user experience evolve as the car takes the wheel?

As autonomous driving moves closer to reality, the RUMBA research project, funded by the German government, set out to explore how vehicle interiors and user interaction must evolve to meet the demands of Level 4 autonomy.
A consortium of companies joined forces to test forward-looking ideas focused on enhancing passenger comfort, ergonomics, and trust in the emerging mobility space.

As part of this initiative, Audi set out to rethink the interior experience across several development directions, including advanced display surfaces, intuitive manual controls, and clean space layouts tailored to typical autonomous driving scenarios. Drawing on extensive research on driver assistance usage patterns and sources of discomfort in conventional vehicles, Audi conducted a requirement analysis. These insights informed the definition of a series of design concepts to be validated through multiple user studies.

To test these design directions under realistic conditions, Audi needed a reliable partner with deep UI expertise and the ability to integrate hardware and software seamlessly. That's where intive, its long-standing collaborator in HMI and infotainment development, came in.

The Solution

A Unique Constellation of HMI Experts

intive's HMI specialists worked side by side with Audi's model-making team to transform those innovative concepts into functional environments for both a mock-up and a prototype vehicle.

The intive team brought together all technical capabilities -electrical setup, HMI software development, embedded integration, and driving simulation - within a tightly coordinated setup to ensure every detail worked in harmony. This approach allowed them to respond quickly to shifting requirements throughout the project.

A man driving a car with blue lights illuminated, focused on the road ahead.

A man wearing glasses and a grey hoodie is focused on his work at a computer.

Laying the Electrical Foundation

intive's team architected the full electro-technical infrastructure for both the initial mock-up and the prototype vehicle. The team took care of system layout planning and strategic component placement - deciding what should be visible, hidden or seamlessly integrated - to preserve Audi's design vision while maximizing usability.
The technical complexity spanned wiring, power supply integration, component positioning, and physical installation.

Transforming Concepts into Interactive Experiences

With Audi's UX concepts and visual guidelines in mind, intive's frontend team brought the in-car experience to life by developing user interfaces for multiple research studies. They implemented a comprehensive HMI software suite managing all on-screen elements and their interactive behaviors.

By combining Angular for clear 2D interfaces and Unity for immersive 3D visuals, the team crafted intuitive controls across armrest touchscreens, windshield projections, and auxiliary displays. These interfaces allowed users to effortlessly adjust seat positions or reveal hidden displays with a simple tap.

A close-up view of a car dashboard featuring a modern digital display with indicators and controls.

A blue Audi car in front of the Audi showroom.

Bridging Hardware and Software with SIMBA

To give the HMI software direct control over the vehicle's mechanical systems, intive's embedded team implemented the SIMBA Embedded framework alongside Canny hardware platforms. Supporting multiple automotive protocols and hardware interfaces, this setup allowed for precise synchronization of components.

At the system's core, the CannyLX device hosted the SIMBA Message Broker, orchestrating communication across all connected hardware.

Additional modules - CannyCU and Canny Microhardware handled specific control tasks such as managing steering wheel functions, synchronizing display movements, and integrating with CAN-based systems like seats and steering columns.

Through SIMBA, the team controlled stepper motors for moving displays, activated retractable pedals, and managed LED indicators that reflected each driving mode, making each user interaction translate into a physical response.

A close-up view of a computer chip linked to a circuit board.

Simulating a Real-World Drive

intive's simulation team leveraged their prior experience managing driving simulators for Audi to integrate all components into a unified and dynamic driving simulator. Using platforms like Virtual Test Drive (VTD) and Automotive Data and Time-Triggered Framework (ADTF) for driving assistance logic, they provided Audi with real-time feedback capabilities. This transformed the static mock-up into a fully interactive simulation platform based on the Audi A8 e-tron, where participants could experience autonomous vehicle concepts under realistic driving conditions.

Impact Insights that Shape the Future of Premium Mobility

The collaboration between Audi and intive created a realistic testing environment that allowed confident execution of multiple comparative studies focused on user experience and vehicle functionality. These validations revealed key insights for advancing autonomous mobility:

Interior comfort: All tested concepts outperformed conventional layouts for non-driving activities. The most accepted setup enabled separate infotainment access for driver and passenger while supporting relaxed body positions with integrated foot and leg rests.
In-car information: Participants preferred driver assistance displays that minimized distractions and presented clear and well-structured content through an intuitive interface.
Interface adaptability: Drivers expressed greater trust in the system when displays adapt to specific driving situations.
Manual-to-autonomous transitions: 90% of participants valued having clear ways to influence the piloted journey. Physical buttons were favored over swipe gestures, and combined visual and auditory cues proved most effective for regaining situational awareness when reactivating from rest mode.

Together, these findings form a solid foundation for designing future autonomous interiors that prioritize passenger trust, comfort, and intuitive interaction.

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