Evaluating the usability of a head-up display for selection from choice lists in cars

Abstract

It has been established that head-down displays (HDDs), such as those commonly placed in the dashboard of commercial automobiles, negatively affect drivers' visual attention [1]. This problem can be exacerbated when screens are "busy" with graphics or rich information. In this paper, which is an extension of a user-preference study [23], we present the results of a driving simulator experiment where we examined two potential alternatives to HDDs for presenting textual lists. Subjects conducted a series of street name finding tasks using each of three system variants: one with a head-down display (HDD), one with a head-up display (HUD), and one with only an auditory display. We found that the auditory display had the least impact on driving performance and mental load, but at the expense of task completion efficiency. The HUD variant had a low impact on mental load and scored highest in user satisfaction, and therefore appears to be the most viable target for future study. International Conference on Automotive User Interfaces and Interactive Vehicular ApplicationsThis work may not be copied or reproduced in whole or in part for any commercial purpose. Permission to copy in whole or in part without payment of fee is granted for nonprofit educational and research purposes provided that all such whole or partial copies include the following: a notice that such copying is by permission of Mitsubishi Electric Research Laboratories, Inc.; an acknowledgment of the authors and individual contributions to the work; and all applicable portions of the copyright notice. Copying, reproduction, or republishing for any other purpose shall require a license with payment of fee to Mitsubishi Electric Research Laboratories, Inc. All rights reserved. ABSTRACTIt has been established that head-down displays (HDDs), such as those commonly placed in the dashboard of commercial automobiles, negatively affect drivers' visual attention [1]. This problem can be exacerbated when screens are "busy" with graphics or rich information. In this paper, which is an extension of a user-preference study [23], we present the results of a driving simulator experiment where we examined two potential alternatives to HDDs for presenting textual lists. Subjects conducted a series of street name finding tasks using each of three system variants: one with a head-down display (HDD), one with a head-up display (HUD), and one with only an auditory display. We found that the auditory display had the least impact on driving performance and mental load, but at the expense of task completion efficiency. The HUD variant had a low impact on mental load and scored highest in user satisfaction, and therefore appears to be the most viable target for future study.

Exploring head-up augmented reality interfaces for crash warning systems

“…AutomotiveUI ' Driver performance and mental workload are important for evaluation of DVIs in dynamic driving environments. Motor or tracking performance, errors, and reaction time are frequently used to evaluate driver performance [2,3,7]. Assessing drivers' mental workload [8] can be undertaken using one method or a combination of methods: self-reported [7], performance-based [9] and physiological measures [10].…”

Social car: The research of interaction design on the driver's communication system

“…As for the way of car interaction, "Automotive user interfaces: human computer interaction in the car" introduced various ways of interaction, such as touch, gesture, voice, and so on. 10 According to the literature review, we choose the way to interact with clicks and voice interaction in the second interactive form. 6 A number of hand gesture recognition technologies and applications for human-vehicle interaction (HVI) are also discussed, including a summary of current automotive hand gesture recognition research.…”

Cognitive Aspects of Collaboration in 3d Virtual Environments

“…What is the specific role of the selected method of 3D visualisation and particular interface settings is an issue for ongoing research. Within the area of Human factors, the use of different user interfaces was explored with respect to the users' performance and safety (Weinberg et al 2011). The dominant issues of the research interest are represented by the concepts as situation awareness (Endsley, 1995) and cognitive workload.…”