China Automotive Human-Machine Interaction (HMI) Research Report, 2020
Automotive HMI refers to the process of information exchange between humans and the car through interaction means such as voice, gesture, face, AR, holographic display and fingerprint recognition.
Over a decade of development, in-car voice interaction was installed to 28.7% of vehicles and even a higher share of new models on the market in the first half of 2019. Voice interaction is extending from infotainment (navigation, multimedia, etc.) to body control (windows, sunroof, lights, wipers, trunk, etc.) and life services (car-home connectivity, in-car shopping, etc.), and voice technology is getting through to infotainment protocols and in-car ecology.
Gesture recognition was first found in BMW model in 2015, and has been successively available in China-made models such as the Traum SEEK 5, Chery 5X, Xpeng G3 Premium, etc. It is mainly used to control the display system in the car, such as music play, volume regulation, map zoom, etc., as a supplementary interactive mode in a quiet environment.
Face recognition, unveiled in China in 2018, has been seen in Leapmotor S01, Chery’s EXEED TX, WEY VV6, WM Motor’s EX5, Geely Xing Yue and other models, showing a rosy prospect. Face recognition is mostly for personalized settings (seat position, ambient light preference, rearview mirror position, music recommendation, etc.) and driver status detection. EXEED TX supports to buy movie tickets by face scanning and heads toward face payment.
In addition, new interactive modes like window interaction (WM Motor's EX5), body interaction (BAIC BJEV's LITE), vein recognition (Leapmotor SO1), fingerprint recognition (Hyundai’s New SantaFe), and AR navigation (Roewe Marvel X) have been available onto production vehicles.
Foreign automotive HMI systems include BMW iDrive, Mercedes-Benz MBUX, Audi MMI, Ford SYNC +, etc. Among them, BMW iDrive has iterated to 7.0, with 6 interaction modes covering button, knob, touch, gesture, voice and cellphone. BMW iDrive is the first system in the world that adds gesture interaction, which can control phone calls, music playback, volume, map, menu, etc.
Chinese automotive HMI systems mainly embrace Geely GKUI, BYD DiLink, GAC ADiGO, SAIC Banma, Chery Lion, NextEV NIO OS, Xpeng Xmart OS, etc. Among them, Geely GKUI has been upgraded to GKUI2019 with 8 interaction modes via button, knob, touch, voice, cellphone, HUD, face recognition, and smart watch, where unique features are watch interaction (mainly ideal for remote car control and vehicle information inquiry like mobile phone interaction) and face recognition (FACE ID personalized settings).
In short, automotive HMI has entered the multi-modal (voice, gesture, face, etc.) interaction stage and is heading toward functional enrichment and multi-modal fusion. Moreover, HMI will transfer from in-vehicle interaction to multi-scenario interaction, from "passive interaction" to "active interaction".
China Automotive Human-Machine Interaction (HMI) Research Report, 2020 highlights the followings:
HMI (definition and development history), automotive HMI (design, development course, etc.);
Automotive HMI modes (voice interaction, face recognition, gesture recognition, and display inside and outside the vehicle);
Development history and modes of HMI systems of automakers at home and abroad, such as BMW iDrive, Mercedes-Benz MBUX, Audi MMI, Geely GKUI, SAIC Banma SmartDrive, Chery Lion, BYD DiLink, GAC ADiGO, NextEV NIO OS, etc.
Development trends of automotive HMI.
Auto Shanghai 2025 Summary Report
The post-show summary report of 2025 Shanghai Auto Show, which mainly includes three parts: the exhibition introduction, OEM, and suppliers. Among them, OEM includes the introduction of models a...
Automotive Operating System and AIOS Integration Research Report, 2025
Research on automotive AI operating system (AIOS): from AI application and AI-driven to AI-native
Automotive Operating System and AIOS Integration Research Report, 2025, released by ResearchInChina, ...
Software-Defined Vehicles in 2025: OEM Software Development and Supply Chain Deployment Strategy Research Report
SDV Research: OEM software development and supply chain deployment strategies from 48 dimensions
The overall framework of software-defined vehicles: (1) Application software layer: cockpit software, ...
Research Report on Automotive Memory Chip Industry and Its Impact on Foundation Models, 2025
Research on automotive memory chips: driven by foundation models, performance requirements and costs of automotive memory chips are greatly improved.
From 2D+CNN small models to BEV+Transformer found...
48V Low-voltage Power Distribution Network (PDN) Architecture and Supply Chain Panorama Research Report, 2025
For a long time, the 48V low-voltage PDN architecture has been dominated by 48V mild hybrids. The electrical topology of 48V mild hybrids is relatively outdated, and Chinese OEMs have not given it suf...
Research Report on Overseas Cockpit Configuration and Supply Chain of Key Models, 2025
Overseas Cockpit Research: Tariffs stir up the global automotive market, and intelligent cockpits promote automobile exports
ResearchInChina has released the Research Report on Overseas Cockpit Co...
Automotive Display, Center Console and Cluster Industry Report, 2025
In addition to cockpit interaction, automotive display is another important carrier of the intelligent cockpit. In recent years, the intelligence level of cockpits has continued to improve, and automo...
Vehicle Functional Safety and Safety Of The Intended Functionality (SOTIF) Research Report, 2025
Functional safety research: under the "equal rights for intelligent driving", safety of the intended functionality (SOTIF) design is crucial
As Chinese new energy vehicle manufacturers propose "Equal...
Chinese OEMs’ AI-Defined Vehicle Strategy Research Report, 2025
AI-Defined Vehicle Report: How AI Reshapes Vehicle Intelligence?
Chinese OEMs’ AI-Defined Vehicle Strategy Research Report, 2025, released by ResearchInChina, studies, analyzes, and summarizes the c...
Automotive Digital Key (UWB, NearLink, and BLE 6.0) Industry Trend Report, 2025
Digital key research: which will dominate digital keys, growing UWB, emerging NearLink or promising Bluetooth 6.0?ResearchInChina has analyzed and predicted the digital key market, communication techn...
Integrated Battery (CTP, CTB, CTC, and CTV) and Battery Innovation Technology Report, 2025
Power battery research: 17 vehicle models use integrated batteries, and 34 battery innovation technologies are released
ResearchInChina released Integrated Battery (CTP, CTB, CTC, and CTV)and Battery...
AI/AR Glasses Industry Research Report, 2025
ResearchInChina released the " AI/AR Glasses Industry Research Report, 2025", which deeply explores the field of AI smart glasses, sorts out product R&D and ecological layout of leading domestic a...
Global and China Passenger Car T-Box Market Report 2025
T-Box Research: T-Box will achieve functional upgrades given the demand from CVIS and end-to-end autonomous driving
ResearchInChina released the "Global and China Passenger Car T-Box Market Report 20...
Automotive Microcontroller Unit (MCU) Industry Report, 2025
Research on automotive MCUs: the independent, controllable supply chain for automotive MCUs is rapidly maturing
Mid-to-high-end MCUs for intelligent vehicle control are a key focus of domestic produc...
Automotive LiDAR Industry Report, 2024-2025
In early 2025, BYD's "Eye of God" Intelligent Driving and Changan Automobile's Tianshu Intelligent Driving sparked a wave of mass intelligent driving, making the democratization of intelligent driving...
Software-Defined Vehicles in 2025: SOA and Middleware Industry Research Report
Research on automotive SOA and middleware: Development towards global SOA, cross-domain communication middleware, AI middleware, etc.
With the implementation of centrally integrated EEAs, OEM softwar...
Global and Chinese OEMs’ Modular and Common Technology Platform Research Report, 2025
Modular platforms and common technology platforms of OEMs are at the core of current technological innovation in automotive industry, aiming to enhance R&D efficiency, reduce costs, and accelerate...
Research Report on the Application of AI in Automotive Cockpits, 2025
Cockpit AI Application Research: From "Usable" to "User-Friendly," from "Deep Interaction" to "Self-Evolution"
From the early 2000s, when voice recognition and facial monitoring functions were first ...