Designed an integrated eVTOL HMI and control system to help drivers with no prior flight experience transition between ground driving and flight with less cognitive effort.

Interviewed four aviation and human-factors experts and user representatives to understand flight controls, cognitive workload, automation trust, and novice learning barriers.

Developed a three-stage research framework covering concept exploration, usability evaluation, and integrated simulator testing, initially planned for approximately 55 participants.

Mapped the complete urban and suburban journey from ground driving and vertiport arrival to mode transition, takeoff, aerial navigation, and landing.

Designed and compared one driving interface and four flight-interface directions, exploring instrument hierarchy, maps, HUD guidance, aerial corridors, rotor status, and warning feedback.

Approximately 28 concept responses showed that the circular compass received twice as many votes as the linear alternative, while animated color-frame alerts scored above 4.2/5.

Explored two control-system directions and created eight physical prototypes to evaluate grip posture, thumb support, button placement, pivot alignment, and cross-mode interaction.

Increased critical edge radii to at least 6 mm, shortened the joystick by approximately 10%–15%, and refined palm-contact areas and button angles based on user feedback.

Built an interactive simulator in Unreal Engine 5 using Blueprint, implementing vehicle controls, driving-to-flight transitions, real-time parameters, aerial corridors, maps, and navigation logic.

During high-fidelity testing with six non-pilot drivers, four of six found the mode transition relatively easy, with an average NASA-TLX score of approximately 11/20. The final system combined one steering wheel, two shared pedals, and one side-stick.