Evaluating secondary input devices to support an automotive touchscreen HMI: A cross-cultural simulator study conducted in the UK and China

Abstract

Touchscreen Human-Machine Interfaces (HMIs) are a well-established and popular choice to provide the primary control interface between driver and vehicle, yet inherently demand some visual attention. Employing a secondary device with the touchscreen may reduce the demand but there is some debate about which device is most suitable, with current manufacturers favouring different solutions and applying these internationally. We present an empirical driving simulator study, conducted in the UK and China, in which 48 participants undertook typical in-vehicle tasks utilising either a touchscreen, rotary-controller, steering-wheel-controls or touchpad. In both the UK and China, the touchscreen was the most preferred/least demanding to use, and the touchpad least preferred/most demanding, whereas the rotary-controller was generally favoured by UK drivers and steering-wheel-controls were more popular in China. Chinese drivers were more excited by the novelty of the technology, and spent more time attending to the devices while driving, leading to an increase in off-road glance time and a corresponding detriment to vehicle control. Even so, Chinese drivers rated devices as easier-to-use while driving, and felt that they interfered less with their driving performance, compared to their UK counterparts. Results suggest that the most effective solution (to maximise performance/acceptance, while minimising visual demand) is to maintain the touchscreen as the primary control interface (e.g. for top-level tasks), and supplement this with a secondary device that is only enabled for certain actions; moreover, different devices may be employed in different cultural markets. Further work is required to explore these recommendations in greater depth (e.g. during extended or real-world testing), and to validate the findings and approach in other cultural contexts.

A Review of Driving Simulation Technology and Applications

“…Some studies focus on how to design an interface that will be better for the driver to interact with, where simulators can be of great help. That is the case in [101], where the authors evaluate how drivers interact with a secondary device. The participants interacted with a touchscreen, rotary-controller, steering-wheel-controls, and a touchpad.…”

smartPlastic: Innovative Touch-Based Human-Vehicle Interface Sensors for the Automotive Industry

“…There is some debate going on regarding the visual attention that the driver must pay to use touch-based screens and their maintenance as primary control interfaces, being supplemented by secondary devices that are only enabled for certain features [33]. Independently of the chosen path, at later stages of evolution of the car cabin interfaces, the touch-based technology that is proposed in this work can be adopted with high gains in terms of development complexity, integration in the vehicle, ease-of-use, and cost.…”