Infotainment and connected vehicles
Infotainment that connects the vehicle, the passenger and the service.
Tonći Žilić helps automotive and mobility teams define in-vehicle infotainment (IVI), human-machine interfaces (HMI) and connected services as one product experience, from the mobile app to the cabin and cloud.
By Tonći Žilić · Head of Robotaxi at Onde ·
At Rimac Technology, his product work covered digital services, over-the-air updates, telemetry, apps, cloud and IVI integration with backend services. At Project 3 Mobility, now Verne, he worked on ride experience, including infotainment. He is now Head of Robotaxi at Onde and founder of Žilić Consult.
A display is only one part of infotainment. Product decisions also cover trip information, passenger controls, personalization, connectivity, service assistance and what happens when a vehicle or network cannot deliver the expected experience. In a robotaxi, those interactions also help passengers understand a journey without a driver in the cabin.
When this is useful
- The passenger app, in-vehicle screens and backend describe the same journey differently.
- An infotainment roadmap contains features but lacks clear customer needs and priorities.
- A robotaxi team needs onboarding, trip status, comfort controls and assistance to work together.
- Vehicle, software and cloud teams need agreed interfaces, release dependencies and acceptance criteria.
Typical outputs
- Infotainment proposition, feature priorities and connected-service roadmap
- Passenger journeys across booking, boarding, in-ride experience and arrival
- HMI requirements for status, controls, assistance and recovery scenarios
- Vehicle, cloud and app dependency map with ownership and acceptance criteria
- Validation scenarios for connectivity loss, interrupted updates and service handover
Method and limitations
How the work is grounded
Start with passenger tasks and system states, then map the screens, data, interfaces and owners needed to support them. Prioritize failure and recovery scenarios alongside the normal journey. Engineering teams own implementation and safety validation; the engagement connects product requirements, service behavior and delivery decisions. Availability and any conflicts with the Onde role are reviewed before an engagement.
Material conclusions distinguish sourced facts, client evidence, observations, estimates and professional recommendations. See the methodology and source policy.
Common questions
What is in-vehicle infotainment?
In-vehicle infotainment, often shortened to IVI, combines information, entertainment and connected functions in the vehicle. Product work links those functions to passenger needs, the vehicle interface and the wider digital service.
How does robotaxi infotainment differ from a conventional vehicle?
A robotaxi passenger needs clear trip status, destination confirmation, understandable controls and a way to request assistance without relying on a driver. Cabin interfaces and the passenger app should describe the same service state, including delays and interruptions.
Does this include connected vehicle and software-defined vehicle strategy?
Yes. Product scope can connect infotainment with apps, cloud services, telemetry and over-the-air updates. The focus is customer value, requirements and delivery priorities across the connected vehicle stack.
What experience is this based on?
Tonći Žilić's public career record includes digital services and IVI integration at Rimac Technology and ride experience including infotainment at Project 3 Mobility / Verne. His public Fleet Management – Reinvented talk covers Rimac connectivity, telemetry, apps and OTA updates. Sources are linked below.
Sources and further reading
- Tonci Zilic — public LinkedIn career record
First-person career record, checked 7 September 2026.
- Fleet Management – Reinvented, WeAreDevelopers World Congress
Conference recording, 15 June 2022; connected vehicle and fleet experience.