DriveBoy: Your Emotional Co-Driver

Role: Designer & Developer
Course: Physical Computing
Built with: ESP32, TFT LCD, BLE, Flutter
Program: SVA MFA IxD

Long-haul truck drivers spend 8–11+ hours a day alone on the road. DriveBoy is a small companion device and app that reacts to how the driver is doing, encourages rest, and keeps them company, without adding another alert.

Physical ComputingESP32Flutter

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Why it matters

13%of truck accidents are fatigue-related (FMCSA, NIH)
91Kcrashes and 50K injuries due to drowsy driving (NHTSA)
65%of drivers report feeling fatigued
13%admit to falling asleep at the wheel (CloudTrucks survey)

Context

Drivers with no one to check on them

A truck driver standing beside a red semi truck in a parking lot

Community

Long-distance and professional drivers
Solo drivers
Drivers who have no one to check on them

Why they matter

These drivers face continuous mental load, rapid fatigue buildup and increased safety risks, yet they lack an immediate, emotionally supportive companion that can help them monitor and regulate their state in real time.

Design idea

When truckers take a break, casual mobile games and brain-training apps are already a common way to unwind at rest stops. Light, playful interaction already fits their downtime. What’s missing is something that notices how they feel while they drive. Source

Research

GPS guides the route, not the driver

Long-distance drivers often experience accumulated fatigue, emotional numbness, and difficulty recognizing when they actually need to rest.

People tend to underestimate their own fatigue, especially in monotonous driving conditions. GPS navigation only guides the route. It doesn’t give emotional feedback or encourage mental breaks.

So I wanted to create an emotionally responsive driving companion: not just a navigation tool, but a co-presence that actively reflects the driver’s state back to them.

65%Fatigue · Loneliness

13%Sleepy

What drivers say

“My day usually starts between 2 and 4 a.m. … I drive up to 11 hours a day … After work, I usually sleep inside the truck, either in a parking lot or at a rest stop.”

Long-haul trucker, Yes and Yes

“The best part is seeing beautiful scenery and discovering new cities — but the downside is the constant fatigue and loneliness.”

Team driver, The New York Times

Problem & Solution

Three problems, three gentle responses

Fatigue

Time Feedback

Gentle intervention for fatigue prevention.

Isolation

Face Interaction

Emotional presence through soft interaction.

Rest stops

Share Location

Context-aware rest guidance without breaking the driving flow.

Design Iteration

Designing a face that feels, not a dashboard

I sketched and collected faces, then grouped the states DriveBoy needs to show into three layers, so every expression has a job.

A grid of twelve hand-drawn blob faces showing sleepy, angry, happy, dizzy, nervous and calm expressions

Safety layer

Alert · Sleepy · Stressed

Emotional layer

Lonely · Comforted · Happy

Wellness layer

Calm · Hungry · Normal

First prototypes

The first prototype: a cardboard box with a blue character LCD showing a face and the word HAPPY

v1: a 16×2 character LCD in a cardboard box

The second prototype: a mint-green handheld-console-style enclosure with painted buttons

v2: a friendlier, handheld-console-style enclosure

Expressions in the live demo

NORMAL ^-^
CALM (- -)
HAPPY ^o^
SLEEPY -*-
ALERT O_O
HUNGRY :P
LONELY ;_;
COMFORT uwu

Feedback

What the critique changed

Feedback

The connection still felt missing: the blue character screen lacked warmth.
Follow automotive UX standards.
Automotive UX means minimal attention, maximum safety.

Next version

A bigger screen with clearer expressions
Change the color of the face
Two modes: Driving and Resting

Solution

One companion, two modes

DriveBoy pairs an ESP32 device with a TFT screen and a Flutter app over Bluetooth Low Energy. The app picks the mode, and the device shows how DriveBoy is feeling.

Design concept

Start by choosing a mode.

Driving keeps DriveBoy quiet and supportive. Rest turns it playful once the engine stops.

DriveBoy app home: Select mode, with a green Driving button and a blue Rest button

Drive mode

Gentle support without distraction.

A smart fatigue and wellness assistant: a driving-hours timer, reminders for meals, hydration and stretch breaks, and GPS-based alerts that recommend nearby rest areas with parking, food and fuel.

Drive mode: driving hours timer and a wellness tracker for meal time, hydration and stretch breaks

Drive mode: nearby rest stops such as a travel center and a service plaza, with parking, food, fuel and restrooms

Rest mode

When the engine stops, DriveBoy plays.

Change DriveBoy’s expression, then breathe, stretch, sing together, or play quick games like Tap, Color Match and Memory Match.

Rest mode: DriveBoy is happy, with buttons to change its expression

Rest mode activities: breathing, stretch, sing together, tap game, color match and memory match

Live Demo

The app and the device, in sync

Tapping an expression or an activity in the app updates DriveBoy’s face over BLE, like the breathing exercise counting down together.

Exhibition

A small friend beside you

DriveBoy was exhibited as an interactive installation that simulated a truck cab, so visitors could experience its companionship firsthand.

It was designed to feel soft, friendly, approachable and a little nostalgic. DriveBoy is not a GPS. It sits quietly beside the driver, without trying to overwhelm, track or judge them.

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