As part of the Master in Transportation and Car Design, students explored the evolving relationship between humans and machines through an immersive experience led by RE:LAB, a studio at the forefront of Human Machine Interaction (HMI) innovation. The workshop focused on the use of immersive reality to rethink how we design for future mobility. Equipped with VR headsets, students visualised and interacted with next-generation interfaces in highly detailed environments, testing how people might intuitively connect with in-car systems that respond to voice, gesture, and touch.
Designing Tomorrow’s Experience
The session introduced cutting edge tools that go beyond aesthetics and performance, asking a deeper question, How do humans experience technology in motion. Virtual Reality revealed its potential not just as a visualisation tool, but as a creative accelerator. Students used it to speed up the ideation process, simulate spatial interfaces, and immerse themselves in future driving scenarios. This hands-on approach allowed them to better understand the emotional and intuitive layers of HMI, and how design choices impact the overall user experience.
A New Creative Mindset
RE:LAB framed emerging technology not as a threat, but as a creative partner. The transportation designer of the future doesn’t fear artificial intelligence, they embrace it to enhance their process, using it to support human-centred, responsive, and adaptive design. HMI is no longer limited to functionality. It becomes a conversation between human and machine, built on emotion, intuition, and trust. Students were encouraged to see themselves not only as car designers, but as experience designers shaping how mobility feels.
Learning by Immersion
This immersive session reminded students that the future of mobility is not just mechanical, it’s cognitive, sensory, and deeply human. As new technologies shift the way we interact with vehicles, designers must evolve their mindset. Through immersive reality, students learned how to design for connection, not just movement. RE:LAB’s workshop highlighted the importance of empathy, interactivity, and the ability to adapt, qualities that will define the next generation of automotive design.