22-3:Invited Paper: Deriving User Requirements for Haptic Enhanced Automotive Touch Screen Interaction

Abstract

User demand for seamless touch interfaces in cars is ever increasing. The European project HAPPINESS targets the introduction of haptic feedback on touch surfaces with printed actuators. Initial user studies were conducted at Bosch to define requirements for virtual haptic push buttons and the proper layout of touchscreen controls. Author KeywordsHMI; touch interfaces; haptics; user technologies Objective and BackgroundOver the last years, the automotive dashboard has changed tremendously due to the enormous increase of functions that drivers can control while driving, e.g. [1]. While it was common to add a new control when introducing new functionalitiespredominantly with a 1-to-1-mapping -this is obviously no longer suitable in current cars [2]. User demand for aesthetically pleasing and seamless interfaces is ever increasing, with touch sensitive interfaces to interact with multifunctional systems now being commonplace, e.g. [3].The loss of mechanical feedback, which is a consequence of the displacement of real physical controls with virtual controls, leads to a reduced interaction quality and user experience. Even more important are safety concerns arising from the increased need to shift gazes towards the infotainment system in order to visually capture control elements. The vital approach to address these concerns is thus to enrich touch screens with haptic feedback in a way that enables eyes-free capturing of controls with the sense of touch.The goal of the research project HAPPINESS (Haptic Printed and Patterned Interfaces for Sensitive Surfaces), funded by the European Commission under the H2020 program, is to replace mechanical components and take advantage of touch technology with printed TOLAE (thin and organic large area electronics) technologies, while restoring haptic feedback and achieving an integrated product directly assembled for the final manufacturer. To achieve and promote this goal, the HAPPINESS project will demonstrate a small-scale prototype of an automotive dashboard with touch sensing and realistic, multi-facetted haptic feedback capabilities.Several concepts to haptify virtual UI (user interface) control elements have been presented prior to the HAPPINESS project, with a strong focus on haptifying push buttons [4], which are considered as the primary UI control element for touch based interaction. The most mature approach to date is to actuate the complete display with a moving mass actuator mounted behind the display. While this approach has some constraints that motivate the HAPPINESS project, it is well suited to analyze user requirements on haptic feedback design.As stated previously, one of the main goals of the haptification of virtual in-vehicle touch controls is the reduction of visual driver distraction, i.e. enabling drivers to capture control elements without having to look at them. To achieve this goal, a simplified model of user touch screen interaction is developed, leading to a holistic approach of virtual button haptification. A first user study was conducted ...

A Theoretical Framework of Haptic Processing in Automotive User Interfaces and Its Implications on Design and Engineering

“…Thus, perception thresholds reported in lab settings are a mere starting point in interface design. Beruscha et al (2016) are currently working toward user requirements for touch screen interactions.…”

21‐3: Touchscreen for Eyes‐Free Interaction Utilizing Electrostatic Force, Lateral Motion, and a Force Sensor

“…Automotive displays require human-display interactions that facilitate "eyes-free interaction" to help users avoid visual distractions and to reduce eyes-off-the-road time. [1] However, in conventional systems, the position of a tactile sensation is inconsistent with the position of a visual image like an on-screen button due to the time lag between the touch being detected and the actuators being activated if the user slides their finger on the touch surface quickly.…”