Lightyear
Solar Electric Vehicles, especially ultra efficient ones, are incredibly complex products. Finding the right balance, to develop new costly technology that offers a great user experience, while trying to enter an extremely competitive market as a new comer (with low budget). That was our challenge.
Lightyear's mission was to create the world's first solar electric consumer vehicle, engineered for maximum efficiency to transform solar power into impressive driving range. This commitment to sustainable transportation, aiming to produce a car that could operate independently of the grid, resonated deeply with me, and I am proud to have contributed to this visionary project.
In my role at Lightyear, I began as a UX Designer, focusing on the design and testing of innovative digital and physical interactions. This included tasks in graphic design, branding, web development, and creating marketing materials. My work extended beyond Lightyear, offering consultancy services in UX design.
As a System Architect for the Lightyear 0 project, my responsibilities encompassed managing the Driver Interaction subsystem. This role involved overseeing the development of the authentication, infotainment, and parking systems, as well as camera monitoring and various auxiliary sensors. Leading a team of 25 multidisciplinary engineers, I coordinated the journey from initial requirements to their final implementation, ensuring that every aspect met the highest standards of efficiency and innovation.
In my final position as Attribute Owner of Perceived Quality and Experience for Lightyear 2 I was tasked with managing requirements, planning, and budgeting, while also exploring and prototyping new in-car experiences.
Images
Working together with the Driver Interaction team on testing our custom build infotainment system.
Evaluating our UX designs in our office test setup for the infotainment system.
Implementation of cluster display in the vehicle
Lightyear 0 in it's natural habitat
The infotainment center display in Lightyear 0
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Trying out different interior designs in a VR environment with the team.
Reflection
If there's one thing I learned at Lightyear, it's to trust my own problem-solving abilities by building and experimenting rather than overthinking in search of the perfect solution. This aligns well with the design process I learned at university, but in a rapidly growing company under significant time pressure, this approach doesn't always come naturally.
I still believe the product proposals we made were outstanding, and it's heartbreaking that we couldn't secure the necessary investments to realize them. We were so close with Lightyear 0!
Lightyear was a once-in-a-lifetime experience I wouldn't trade for any other job. I learned so much and met numerous talented and wonderful people. I hope the world will recognize the value of this company and invest in it before it's too late. We urgently need this technology!