MMG Officers/Committees

Fine-tuning FCA’s Uconnect system in crisis had upside

When drivers start up the 2021 Chrysler Pacifi ca and Dodge Durango this fall, they’ll be introduced to the next-genera on version of Fiat Chrysler Automobiles’ heralded Uconnect infotainment system.

The latest itera on, Uconnect 5, runs on an Android-based opera ng system and has processing speeds fi ve mes faster than those of its predecessor. It enables two Bluetooth phones to connect simultaneously, aiding those who carry mul ple phones and allowing passengers to interact with the system in addi on to the driver.

Ge ng the system ready in me for vehicle launches became a tougher task than expected a er the coronavirus pandemic forced designers to rearrange their working condi ons on the fl y. And the experience could leave a las ng imprint on how designers go about their du es in the future.

The crew of about 30 employees had to fi nish tuning Uconnect 5, which was far along in its development, using standalone prototype units in home offi ces. The team usually operated with a few prototypes at FCA’s suburban Detroit headquarters but suddenly needed a few dozen with everyone separated.

Vince Galante, FCA’s chief designer of user experience, said he might keep a standalone unit at home from now on — even a er he eventually goes back to working at the offi ce. “I get so ware updates once a week, for sure, some mes twice a week,” he told Automo ve News.

“We get on calls and we talk about it, we look at it. We update, we tweak, we get a new so ware download and we’ve been doing that for six, seven months now.” The design team has been making a lot “fi ne adjustments” such as ensuring that the selected screen colors work and that the contrast is right so everything is easy to read.

Response me is another key piece in making Uconnect 5 intui ve. This was evident in the system’s “cardbased format” that allows users to personalize and simplify display screens. Users can group features into different screens to determine how and where each is displayed.

By touching one of the cards and holding it for a second, a user can move it into diff erent posi ons on the screen. Ge ng the ming right required a delicate balance. “We started off with, like, 2 seconds, and that just felt too long,” Galante recalled. “We went down to half a second; it was too quick. And so we’ve been doing li le adjustments like that. Really fi ne-tuning to make sure that all those things [are] put in there to make it really easy to use, to make sure they’re working right, exactly how they should be.

Those are some of the small adjustments we’re making, but they’re really, really important for when the customer is fi nally using it.”

As team members made changes, Galante would get texts aler ng him to try it out on his prototype. He said this is the way they have to work. Speed is cri cal. In fact, working that way might even be a li le quicker in some aspects, Galante said. Relaying ideas, which may have required a presenta on previously, can be as simple as zipping texts back and forth.

“It would have taken a li le bit of me,” Galante said. “Now that we’re so used to this really itera ve, quick communica on, [I] just get a text. Before, they’d have to prepare something, and now it’s like, ‘No, no, he’s there, he’s available, let’s just ask.’ “

While the home prototypes have been invaluable to refi ning the system, the true proving ground is the vehicle itself. Uconnect 5 appears to be passing that test with Galante’s children, ages 9 and 6.

The youngsters jumped in a Jeep Grand Cherokee equipped with the prototype unit and learned the system within a few seconds.

“I just put it in front of them, and they’re very curious. They were making pages and changing widgets and moving things around. I didn’t have to say a thing,” Galante said. “As soon as I saw that — I mean it was 30 seconds and they had their own screens built. I said to myself, ‘OK, I think we got something here.’ “

Galante’s mother got in on the act, too, and was able to pick up on the intricacies of the system.

Working from home, he said, has yielded an unforeseen benefi t.

“Designers, when you’re more comfortable, when you’re more in your element, it’s a li le easier to be even more crea ve, come up with new ideas and do all those things,” he said. “A nice surprise of all this has been all of us designers are in our comfort zone. I’ve actually seen an explosion of crea vity that I didn’t expect.”

Source: www.automo venews.com - Ar cle by Vince Bond Jr

2020 Mopar Masters Guild 2020 Mopar Masters Guild Officers & Committees Officers & Committees

Officers:

President Susan McDaniel Bill Luke CJD – Phoenix, AZ Vice President Joe McBeth Dallas DCJ – Dallas, TX Secretary Cody Eckhardt Larry Miller DCJR Sandy, UT Treasurer Don Cushing Tasca Automotive Johnston, RI

Executive Committee All Officers Including:

Dan Hutton Tom O’Brien DCJR Greenwood, IN Mike Opperman Baxter CDJR Omaha, NE Alan Yancey Hayes CDJ Alto, GA Rick Monteiro Jack Powell CJD – Escondido, CA Rick Cutaia Rick Hendrick DCJR – Charleston, SC Paul Allred Stateline CJD – Fort Mill, SC Steve Hofer – Park Chrysler Jeep – Burnsville, MN

The exchange of information by like-size dealers in a non-competitive environment

Guild Committees

Nada 2020 Planning Jill Vance Avenue Event Group, LLC

Finance Committee

Susan McDaniel Bill Luke CJD – Phoenix, AZ Don Cushing Tasca Automotive Group Johnston, RI Rick Cutaia Rick Hendrick DCJR – Charleston, SC

Newsletter/Website/Social Media

Don Cushing Tasca Automotive Group

Johnston, RI

Vendor Committees

CDK Global

Mick Padgeon Fred Beans Auto Group Doylestown, PA Dan Hutton Tom O’Brien DCJR Greenwood, IN (Chair) Paul Allred Stateline CJD – Fort Mill, SC Joe McBeth Dallas DCJ – Dallas, TX

Reynolds & Reynolds

Rick Cutaia Rick Hendrick DCJR – Charleston, SC (Chair) Randy Rogers Huffines CJDR Plano, TX Kent Cogswell Jack Phelan CDJR Countryside. IL Alan Yancey Hayes CDJ Alto, GA

OEConnection & Snap On Business Solutions

Dan Hutton Tom O’Brien CJD – Greenwood, IN Paul Allred Stateline CJD – Fort Mill, SC Mike Opperman Baxter CDJR Omaha, NE (Chair) Cody Eckhardt Larry Miller DCJR Sandy, UT

AER Manufacturing

Robert Chatwin Larry Miller DCJR Sandy, UT (Chair) Shane Birdyshaw Benchmark CDJR Birmingham, AL John Russo Dallas DCJ Dallas, TX Ted Hawkins Cerritos Dodge Cerritos. CA John Waltereit Milosch’s Palace CDJR Lake Orion, MI Jim Jaeger Bosak Motors Merrillville, IN (ALT)

Vendor Chairmen

Paul Allred Stateline CJD Fort Mill, SC Mike Opperman Baxter CJD Omaha, NE