Along with colleagues at Johnson Controls, where Fluharty is vice president for industrial design in North America, he films drivers and passengers on the open road, unawares, from a passing van. This candid-camera crew visits rest areas, golf courses, malls and airports to look at autobound behavior patterns. They have persuaded families to allow them to install a battery of in-car video cameras, each about the size of a deck of cards, for more extensive and detailed examination. Johnson Controls, based in Milwaukee, is one of the largest suppliers of parts for auto interiors. It uses its video research to develop interior features that it hopes to sell to automakers for future models.
People forget the cameras.
You see kids picking their noses, slapping each other. You see people eating. Video ethnography is one term for the process. Observational research is another. The videos form a cross-referenced database that designers and planners can use to look up specific activities.