B.E.A.S.T.
With Mercedes-AMG: how charging an electric car can feel like performance – with light, sound and haptics, built as a prototype and tested with participants.
- Type
- Study project
- Industry
- Automotive · Mercedes-AMG
- Services
- UX research & concept
- Year
- 2023
At a glance
Task
Electric cars charge silently – the sense of power AMG stands for is missing.
Solution
Light, sound and touch turn charging into an experience – built as a prototype on the car.
Outcome
The blue light concept won participants over: easy to understand and emotional at the same time.
Brief
In winter semester 2022/23 our project team at Stuttgart Media University set the goal together with Mercedes-AMG and Mercedes-Benz: the car should feel alive while charging.
Two target groups
Performer
Status-oriented, tech-savvy, focused on efficiency.
Hedonist
Experience-oriented, comfort-loving, trend-aware.
Concept
Light, sound and haptics work together – from approaching the car to a full battery.
Light
Animations on the grille and side lights show charging progress.
Sound
Three sound worlds: BEAST, PING and Futuristic.
Haptics
Magnets in the charging plug create a tangible pull.
Approach
Scanners and tags detect when someone walks up to the car.
More detail
The sound worlds:
- BEAST – organic, animalistic, heartbeat
- PING – familiar and comfortable
- Futuristic – synthetic and energetic
Controlled by ESP32 boards; the light concepts range from fiery red (BEAST) to a blue flow of energy (Futuristic).
Tests
Two separate test phases in the mobile lab of Stuttgart Media University.
- participants matched 20 sounds to the phases of charging
- 19
- participants experienced the prototype in the lab and rated it
- 15
Outcome
Blue stands for energy, red for danger: the blue light concept went down best – easy to understand and emotional.
How 15 participants rated the blue light concept
neutral range
Standardised questionnaire (UEQ-S) · 15 participants
Overall rating of the four tested variants
neutral range
Standardised questionnaire (UEQ-S) · 15 participants · means
More detail
The figures behind it: means of 1.77 (easy to understand) and 1.9 (emotional) on a scale from −3 to +3 – anything above +0.8 counts as positive.
- BEAST sounds often felt creepy; only 55% could assign them to a category.
- Performers recognised futuristic sounds 100% of the time, hedonists preferred familiar ping sounds.
- Recommendation: blue light animation with a subtle BEAST sound when plugging in.
- Requested: volume control, an off switch, a personal charging display.
- Limitation: the test group – mostly students aged 18 to 25 – does not exactly match the AMG target group.
My part: UX research and concept, together with team members from sound design and computer engineering – through to the presentation at Mercedes-AMG.
Insights
Watch the project video (YouTube)
What’s in it for you