Honda x ASIMO
Project Brief
In collaboration with American Honda Motor Company, our challenge was to envision how ASIMO, Honda's iconic humanoid robot, could evolve in a future where cars aren't tools.
The question wasn't just about autonomy. It was about emotion: how does a car know when you're stressed, bored, overwhelmed, and what does it do about it?
Over 10 weeks, we designed a system where ASIMO adapts the entire driving experience in real time through research, strategy, and Unity XR prototyping.
Process and Early Exploration
Our early weeks were dedicated to divergent thinking, storyboarding, environmental sketches, and sensory mapping for future mobility scenarios.
Research and Insight
We analyzed automotive studies, future tech trends, and behavioral shifts in Gen Z and Millennial drivers. Key findings emphasized personalization, shared ownership, and emotional trust as defining pillars for the future of mobility.
- 74%
of drivers say personalization influences their next car purchase (Acxiom, 2023).
- 43%
are willing to share personal data for enhanced personalization.
- 36%
would trade data for improved safety and health monitoring (Salesforce, 2024).
Trust and Comfort
ASIMO senses stress and creates calming environments, balancing safety and empathy.
Personal Style
Every driver's identity is reflected through adaptive interiors, lighting, and exteriors.
Adding Wonder
AR layers transform the drive into a co-created, emotionally responsive world.
ASIMO Beyond the Physical
We envisioned ASIMO as a digital ecosystem that learns, adapts, and travels with you, bridging the physical car and your digital identity.
Step into dream spaces ASIMO builds, adaptive AR environments that calm, energize, and inspire.
ASIMO learns your preferences and builds interfaces that reflect your personality.
Your ASIMO profile syncs across vehicles, making every Honda feel perfectly yours.
Features
ASIMO's shared-ownership system allows multiple users to seamlessly share a vehicle. The AI manages scheduling, charging, and navigation autonomously, navigating to the next user or summoned on demand.
ASIMO detects elevated heart rate and recommends or activates Trust Mode for a calmer, safer ride. Lighting softens, acceleration smooths, and ambient sound adjusts to ease tension.
When activated, ASIMO transforms the in-car experience into a shared XR space. Passengers wear ASIMO glasses to enter an augmented world of light, sound, and ambient storytelling.
Car Model
Honda 0 SALOON model used for mockups, modeled and textured in Blender by me.
Technical Overview
Scenes modeled in Blender.
XR scenes built in Unity 2022.3.
Figma for UI design and After Effects for motion compositing.
Reflection
This project reminded me that designing for the future isn't about technology alone, it's about emotion. I learned how to connect behavior and feeling to spatial, visual, and system design, translating empathy into XR interactions that feel real.
Biggest challenge: finding the balance between speculative delight and technical realism. We constantly asked, would this feel natural to someone five years from now, or fifty?
Deep gratitude to the Honda Advanced Design Team (Mathieu Geslin, Patrick Hebert, Jean-Hugues Nguyen, and Andrew Foster) for their mentorship and vision, to Davina Wolter and Carsten Becker for their guidance, and to my incredible teammates Ezra, Demi, and Jessica.