App / Touchscreen Interaction and Ideas

[Harris005]

I was thinking a thread about some ideas that might be interesting or unique to the software side of the App/Touchscreen could be interesting. Could also be functions you currently have on your vehicle that you would like to see incorporated. Most everyones take is to keep the Scout simple, like the original. However, the software/tech side is where 2026 can shine through. What ideas do you guys have?

 

[Harris005]

We spoke about this earlier, in that Polaris has it's Ride Command app. Something like this for Scout/Jeep/Bronco/off-roading in general would be amazing.

Definately cool!

A few ideas to further this:

1. Incorperate voice communications between the group via the push to talk button on the steering wheel
   1. Have option to talk to all of the group at once (would think this would be a defalt setting for the push to talk button)
   2. Have option to talk to any group memeber indivually (after a certian time of not being used is should go back to the group defalt)
2. Make this a phone app capible of working through Apple Carplay and Android Auto (Simular to previous post on OnX Trail app) - not sure how the Polaris one works??
   1. This would allow the use of it to open up to anyone that has Apple Carplay and Android Auto - to include older Scouts with upgraded head units.
   2. If it was a function within the Scout app, others could download the app to be able to use it in their vehicle. Would be fun to see the Jeep and Bronco die hards having to use the Scout app
3. The guy in the video made mention of changin your group name to "SOS" when you were in trouble. Seems like an SOS button for the driver to click that pops up on the other groups screens would be a useful function.
4. Instead of everyone being a blue arrow on the screen, having the ability to upload, or choose individual rig icons with the ablility to change the colors to match that persons rig would be nice. This would make it easier to identify Bob's rig, vs trying to figure out which blue arrow Bob is.

 

[Rustic_father]

I was looking at the User interface of the Ford Maverick today and they took an approach i was wondering what you all would think of.....They did a bare bones, nothing special user interface because they know that everybody will be useing Apple/Android car play in the vehicle...so why go to extremes to design a fancy UI that is never going to be used. I think that design philosphy was used a bit in the VW ID4. it has some bells and whistles but when compared to tesla it is basic AF...but in the end...who cares...you will slap your phone's UI in it instead

 

[LastDayScout]

I was looking at the User interface of the Ford Maverick today and they took an approach i was wondering what you all would think of.....They did a bare bones, nothing special user interface because they know that everybody will be useing Apple/Android car play in the vehicle...so why go to extremes to design a fancy UI that is never going to be used. I think that design philosphy was used a bit in the VW ID4. it has some bells and whistles but when compared to tesla it is basic AF...but in the end...who cares...you will slap your phone's UI in it instead

I just read an article about the next version of Apple CarPlay having way more integration with the car. It’s a pretty interesting read. That could save a ton of money for Scout.

The ‘next-generation’ of CarPlay is launching this year; here’s everything we know — 9to5Mac

Since its initial introduction, Apple’s CarPlay platform has become ubiquitous. It’s available in the vast majority of new cars on the market today, and for good reason: it’s one of the top things people look for when buying a new car.

apple.news

 

[Jamie@ScoutMotors]

I just read an article about the next version of Apple CarPlay having way more integration with the car. It’s a pretty interesting read. That could save a ton of money for Scout.

The ‘next-generation’ of CarPlay is launching this year; here’s everything we know — 9to5Mac

Since its initial introduction, Apple’s CarPlay platform has become ubiquitous. It’s available in the vast majority of new cars on the market today, and for good reason: it’s one of the top things people look for when buying a new car.

apple.news

The potential of these systems is really cool. In fact we have a former Apple interface designer on our team right now working on the Scout interface.

The Scout (and in particular all EVs) are very software dependent. VW Group has been migrating (like all manufacturers) from a system where there were 7-24+ individual computers for things like the anti-lock braking system mostly written by outside suppliers (like Bosch) to a new system where all the software runs on one system (with redundancy). This system for the VW Group companies is being written by their software division called CARIAD and it fundamentally is VWOS an VWAC (VW Automotive Cloud). This underlying system has to be there across the board to run all the different systems in the car: HVAC, ABS, ESP, battery management, battery cooling, autonomous driving functions, etc., etc. This system traditionally utilizes the OBD plug when you bring it into the dealer to then communicate back to the cloud and report anything wrong with the vehicle. This includes everything down to a burnt out bulb. No personal information is passed along, just the VIN number so the entire history of the car is in the cloud. Another computer program scrubs the data looking for patterns in the problems: when the car was built down to the day, what supplier supplied the broken part and what region in the world this problem is happening in. Then it flags the issue and looks for similar problems and then alerts real people assigned to start managing the problem and come up with a solution. These days they are usually minor issues that often you don't even know about.

So on the whole, the car software is critical to the entire system and thus the reason why the manufacturer still provides their own interface and screens separate from your phone. The team of course realizes that if someone uses CarPlay or Android Auto it makes some of the interfaces redundant, but fundamentally they still need to be there. We have a great team assembled and they are exploring off-road maps and all sorts of intriguing possibilities with Scout. We will get them involved in the Community here in the future and we'll continue to do our best to keep sharing these things with everyone as things progress.

Just more background.

 

[Harris005]

I just read an article about the next version of Apple CarPlay having way more integration with the car. It’s a pretty interesting read. That could save a ton of money for Scout.

The ‘next-generation’ of CarPlay is launching this year; here’s everything we know — 9to5Mac

Since its initial introduction, Apple’s CarPlay platform has become ubiquitous. It’s available in the vast majority of new cars on the market today, and for good reason: it’s one of the top things people look for when buying a new car.

apple.news

Pretty cool.....I wonder if Android will be stepping up to the same platform?

 

[Jamie@ScoutMotors]

Pretty cool.....I wonder if Amdroid will be stepping up to the same platform?

Yes. In fact they want to offer a somewhat complete auto solution, but you are tied into their system. Which also means Google's ecosystem and security and privacy policies. It will be interesting to watch it all play out with the various car manufacturers.

 

[Odderblue]

I think just an assortment of screen saver images for screen would be cool that look like vintage screens or even just vent/grills to look more vintage and less tablet like.

How about a park mode only app to play/stream movies then have a forward or rear facing projector lense so if camping the tech hungry monsters (I mean kids) could have movie night. Could project on tent or even your overhead garage door with s’mores night in the driveway

J Allen I love the park mode projector idea. For me the concept brings back memories of my childhood. We used to sit on the hood of my Dads 1973 Scout II and watch fireworks, drive in movies, and all kinds of astrological phenomena. Thanks for the memories!

 

[Harris005]

Something that is an annoyance from time to time with the touch screen is the steps needed to listen to the radio. I myself am for the Apple Carplay/Android Auto automatically pulling up and being the main screen when you get in the Scout. Most of the time I get in the car I plug the phone in (wireless will ne nice) and find myself streaming what I want to hear. I also do that to use Google maps for the roadtrip to work so I miss traffic congestion. However, the times I want to listen to sports radio, I find myself having to make a series of clicks just to use Google maps and listen to the radio. Furthermore, if I hop in and the radio is still on from the last outing and I plug the phone in for Google maps, it will automatically change over to what ever audio I was last listening to in Android Auto. Don't know the best fix here, but maybe going back to actual buttons for preset stations so the radio isn't buried in the touchscreen. Maybe a section of the touchscreen always has favorite buttons that can be set to any shortcuts (including preset radio stations). ....or maybe it is what it is and it just takes a series of clicks to get to what you want to listen to???

 

[Rustic_father]

Something that is an annoyance from time to time with the touch screen is the steps needed to listen to the radio. I myself am for the Apple Carplay/Android Auto automatically pulling up and being the main screen when you get in the Scout. Most of the time I get in the car I plug the phone in (wireless will ne nice) and find myself streaming what I want to hear. I also do that to use Google maps for the roadtrip to work so I miss traffic congestion. However, the times I want to listen to sports radio, I find myself having to make a series of clicks just to use Google maps and listen to the radio. Furthermore, if I hop in and the radio is still on from the last outing and I plug the phone in for Google maps, it will automatically change over to what ever audio I was last listening to in Android Auto. Don't know the best fix here, but maybe going back to actual buttons for preset stations so the radio isn't buried in the touchscreen. Maybe a section of the touchscreen always has favorite buttons that can be set to any shortcuts (including preset radio stations). ....or maybe it is what it is and it just takes a series of clicks to get to what you want to listen to???

So is the sports radio on a local FM radio radio station? i don't have much experience with this mainly because i haven't listened to terrestrial AM/FM radio in probably 3-4 years. Not to add yet another app to your collection but you might want to check out iheart radio. it is an app that streams local radio stations so not only can you get the exact FM station that you want but you can do it anywhere...and it can be accessed on android/apple auto

 

[J Alynn]

Something that is an annoyance from time to time with the touch screen is the steps needed to listen to the radio. I myself am for the Apple Carplay/Android Auto automatically pulling up and being the main screen when you get in the Scout. Most of the time I get in the car I plug the phone in (wireless will ne nice) and find myself streaming what I want to hear. I also do that to use Google maps for the roadtrip to work so I miss traffic congestion. However, the times I want to listen to sports radio, I find myself having to make a series of clicks just to use Google maps and listen to the radio. Furthermore, if I hop in and the radio is still on from the last outing and I plug the phone in for Google maps, it will automatically change over to what ever audio I was last listening to in Android Auto. Don't know the best fix here, but maybe going back to actual buttons for preset stations so the radio isn't buried in the touchscreen. Maybe a section of the touchscreen always has favorite buttons that can be set to any shortcuts (including preset radio stations). ....or maybe it is what it is and it just takes a series of clicks to get to what you want to listen to???

I miss that feature-Acura used to allow presetting the Sirius/XM but generally I’m Apple CarPlay and I listen to Pandora so it generally pulls up on the screen and I can scroll my collections so not sure how to interface or preset that but I do like the feature. Any excuse to not scroll 3 levels into a touch screen would be nice

 

[Harris005]

So is the sports radio on a local FM radio radio station? i don't have much experience with this mainly because i haven't listened to terrestrial AM/FM radio in probably 3-4 years. Not to add yet another app to your collection but you might want to check out iheart radio. it is an app that streams local radio stations so not only can you get the exact FM station that you want but you can do it anywhere...and it can be accessed on android/apple auto

Update with this: I tried the iheart app, but was unable to find my local radio channels I like listening to. Those stations use an app called Audacy; however, Android Auto recently did a decent update and for what ever reason the Audacy app does not come up as an option via Android Auto. So it appears I'm still stuck in a situation where I have to make multiple clicks to choose the radio over streaming.

This morning for example, I got everything set up in the driveway before leaving to work. I drove a few miles and pulled into a gas station, turned the truck off and left the phone plugged in while I ran inside. When I came back out, I started the truck and it automatically went back to the streaming app I was listening to last. I had to sit there and reset everything back up (series of touch screen clicks) just to listen to the radio station I had already had set up, and having the Android Auto screen show on the touchscreen. . Not the end of the world, but a frustration that I am sure has a better work around. Maybe another take on this would be for Scout to have its own app for Apple CarPlay and Android Auto that has things like the radio controls within it??

 

[Harris005]

Came across this today (link below). This gives the driver something fun to do while charging. The Scout version needs to be off road landscapes and challenges. Connectivity to other Scout drivers online to go head to head would be . Also continued play on your smart phone Scout app would be interesting.

https://www.tiktok.com/t/ZT8RLX1Sn/

 

[Ecca]

The Scout version needs to be off road landscapes and challenges. Connectivity to other Scout drivers online to go head to head would be

Check out Snowrunner and BeamNG.drive if you haven't seen them.

They both have off-road landscapes and challenges. The former has a strong focus on dynamically squishing the terrain (great for mixed mud/snow/trees/winching), and the latter shifts the focus to the vehicles themselves (great for rock crawling).

Snowrunner has a licensed Scout 800, by the way.

Unfortunately, getting it to work like in the clip of the Tesla requires drive-by-wire, so it's entirely dependent on the steering technology. If drive-by-wire did happen to be used in the Scout—which may be a polarizing and controversial thing in itself—it means that all the main components necessary for force feedback would already be there as well, which BeamNG supports. That would mean the potential to drive around little off-road courses while feeling the forces on the tires in the simulation sent all the way through to the actual steering wheel, and the tech is also all already developed and available for licensing from the devs.

If the new Scouts won't use drive-by-wire, just making the new models ingame for an offroading demo would be a neat marketing stunt that would never happen: the same things that makes the suspension move and chassis flex in a remarkably real way also means crashes are naturally detailed, which is traditionally problematic for auto brands.

Anyway, these are 100% silly gimmicks, although it can be a little mind blowing when tried firsthand. I've attached a steering wheel to an industrial servomotor to try it out myself, and the results in the simulation are frankly incredible.

I can demo it to anyone who is curious in the DMV area.

 

[TaconicBear]

I could see the Scout app having a winch function useful. Spotter outside operates the winch via the app. While a winch button on the touchscreen that opens up basic in and out winch rope functions for the drivers use. I believe these could be touchscreen buttons because they are not commonly used buttons. Their could also be a 'Trail Driving" screen that is activated at the beginning of hitting the trails and things like this winch function could be one of the things that is on that screen

Your suggestion brings up the whole issue of winches. I doubt that a winch should be a standard feature of the new Scout. Let's face it, to be successful the vast majority of sales will have to be to the urban/suburban market where there's little need for winches. OTOH, I would hope that for that small portion of their market that will be Legacy Scout users who do drive on more than super highways to supermarkets, I do hope that SM will include in their design a platform for mounting the winch of our choice. And I would really prefer two platforms, both front and rear. And those platforms should have power and control recepticals. Some better modern winches have remote control built in, so I'm not sure it would be worth SM complicating the screen with another app.