Leveraging Car and Health Data to Create Futuristic ‘Sound Environments’ That Help Drivers Reduce Stress and Improve Focus- Making Every Ride a Joy Ride
A Project between Mercedes-Benz Group Research and Endel
EDITOR: DANIEL DILGER
Endel, creator of personalized, AI-powered soundscapes to reduce stress, improve sleep and boost productivity, partnered with the Group Research of Mercedes-Benz AG to test a potential introduction of the Endel Car Experience. It will provide a unique sound-based experience that is designed to keep drivers focused and relaxed while in motion. The AI will generate an appropriate sound environment by analyzing various external inputs such as speed, driving style, weather, road type, as well as heart rate and other personal metrics synced from an individual’s Endel phone app.
W e live in a beautiful but turbulent, stressful and distracting world. As a result, there is a higher acceptance of mindfulness and meditation practices. Driving a car became one of the few moments in life free from distractions by computers, smartphones and watches. For many, driving down the street while listening to their favorite music is a great joy. And speaking about sound: There is proof that sound has a direct impact on our wellbeing, affecting our heart rate, blood pressure, and state of mind. So imagine your next joy ride would do all of the above but much more.
Imagine compared to your usual joy ride you would have improved
focus and get out of your car feeling less anxious. Imagine sound design would intensify the interaction between you and your car. This is what Research and Development at Mercedes-Benz AG and Endel worked on. Together they wanted to take the existing experience of Mercedes-Benz drivers to the next level. The idea was to create a completely personalized and adaptive sound experience for the drivers. A soundscape that is generated in real-time based on parameters such as weather, heart rate, driving style and traffic conditions, with the aim to help drivers focus more in a difficult traffic situation or feel more relaxed on a drive home after a long day of work.
The Project
The teams first met in summer 2020 at a Deep Dive event by STARTUP AUTOBAHN. In autumn of the same year the teams decided and started to work together. Mercedes-Benz is known to deliver the best and most innovative sound experience inside their cars. Previous projects (also at STARTUP AUTOBAHN) have shown that again and again. Therefore, both teams immediately saw great potential for collaboration. The main project scope of Research & Development at Mercedes-Benz and Endel was: how can we use sound design to intensify the interaction between Mercedes-Benz drivers and their vehicles? A soundscape that is generated in real-time based on parameters such as weather, heart rate, driving style and traffic, with the aim to help drivers focus more in difficult traffic or feel more relaxed on a drive home after a long day of work.
For the first project phase the teams agreed to build a demo experience specifically for Mercedes-Benz cars. It was very much a collaborative effort between the two teams. They took enough time at the beginning of the project in order to make sure the briefing matched the expectations. That way multiple of product changes later in the project were avoided. Based on specifications defined by the corporate site, bringing the insights from previous sound projects, the Endel team built a first MVP app showcasing the Mercedes x Endel sound experience inside the cars. Then with very few iterations, both teams quickly developed a product ready to be used in a user study. As in most projects, tight deadlines and scarce resources had to be juggled but overall the project progressed smoothly.
Outcome
The teams successfully built a demo app for iPhones that can be connected via Bluetooth with every Mercedes-Benz vehicle. The driver simply gets into the car, launches the app and starts driving. Based on all inputs collected, such as weather, heart rate, traffic situation and driving style, Endel determines the user’s state and generates a soundscape in real time to help the driver to either focus or relax.
Future Outlook
There are many ideas for future collaboration. One example is to create a version of the experience that uses Mercedes’ own sounds. That way the teams could create a personalized sound experience fused with the DNA of Mercedes-Benz.
As Endel is available on a multitude of devices, the teams could use inputs from any Endel-enabled device a driver uses outside the car and bring all of that information into the car to deliver the most personalized in-car sound experience. Looking even further ahead, one can imagine a future where passengers of self-driving cars receive the perfect soundtrack for their ride, while they are finishing an important work task or simply taking a nap on the way home.
Acknowledgements
We would like to express our sincere thanks to Dr. Arnulf Frisch (RD/RTH), Dr. Gudrun Schönherr (RD/RTH), Rawand Baziany (RD/VNI), Felix Köppenkastrop-Lüker (RD/RTF), Dr. Ing. Jürgen Schmidt (RD/KBX) and Oleg Stavitsky (Endel).
About STARTUP AUTOBAHN
STARTUP AUTOBAHN powered by Plug and Play is an innovation platform moderating an in-depth and curated collaboration between core partners from industry and young tech companies. The program is stage agnostic and designed to accelerate start-ups by connecting them to the right business units of our Corporate Partners in order to lay the groundwork of a successful cooperation and eventually outstanding pilot projects, implementations or investments.
Plug and Play Tech Center, Mercedes-Benz AG, ARENA2036, University of Stuttgart, ZF, DXC Technology, Porsche, BASF, Webasto, Motherson, DPDHL, Bosch, Schaeffler, STMicroelectronics, Murata, AGC, Hyundai, Linde, BP, Wieland, Faurecia, Eberspächer, ADAC, Sekisui, Plastic Omnium, Zenzic, Maxion, Novelis, ITT, Grupo Antolin, Huf Group, CEAT
Contact for this project
Daniel Dilger, Ventures Director, STARTUP AUTOBAHN powered by Plug and Play, daniel@pnptc.com
Maike Hammer, Open Innovation & STARTUP AUTOBAHN, Mercedes-Benz AG, maike.hammer@daimler.com
