Safe driving in a green world : a review of driver performance benchmarks and technologies to support ‘smart’ driving

Road transport is a significant source of both safety and environmental concerns. With climate change and fuel prices increasingly prominent on social and political agendas, many drivers are turning their thoughts to fuel efficient or ‘green’ (i.e., environmentally friendly) driving practices. Many vehicle manufacturers are satisfying this demand by offering green driving feedback or advice tools. However, there is a legitimate concern regarding the effects of such devices on road safety – both from the point of view of change in driving styles, as well as potential distraction caused by the in-vehicle feedback. In this paper, we appraise the benchmarks for safe and green driving, concluding that whilst they largely overlap, there are some specific circumstances in which the goals are in conflict. We go on to review current and emerging in-vehicle information systems which purport to affect safe and/or green driving, and discuss some fundamental ergonomics principles for the design of such devices. The results of the review are being used in the Foot-LITE project, aimed at developing a system to encourage ‘smart’ – that is safe and green – driving

On credibility improvements for automotive navigation systems

Automotive navigation systems are becoming ubiquitous as driver assistance systems. Vendors continuously aim to enhance route guidance by adding new features to their systems. However, we found in an analysis of current navigation systems that many share interaction weaknesses, which can damage the system’s credibility. Such issues are most prevalent when selecting a route, deviating from the route intentionally, or when systems react to dynamic traffic warnings. In this work, we analyze the impact on credibility and propose improved interaction mechanisms to enhance perceived credibility of navigation systems. We improve route selection and the integration of dynamic traffic warnings by optimizing route comparability with relevance-based information display. Further, we show how bidirectional communication between driver and device can be enhanced to achieve a better mapping between device behavior and driver intention. We evaluated the proposed mechanisms in a comparative user study and present results that confirm positive effects on perceived credibility

Multipurpose Map Designs for GPS Surface-Vehicle Navigation: Spatial Knowledge and Advisory Functions

Current car navigation systems primarily utilize track-up maps with spatial turn arrows, which facilitate turn decision-making but do not facilitate acquisition of spatial knowledge of the region. North-up maps do facilitate acquisition of regional spatial knowledge, however, these displays sometimes have arrows heading in directions misaligned with a driver\u27s forward view, such as when the car is heading south. Drivers have difficulty making turn decisions in these misaligned maps because of stimulus-response reversals (Chan and Chan, 2005; Levine, 1982; Levine, Marchon and Hanley, 1984; Montello, 2010). A new display was designed using a fixed orientation north-up map and added a verbal cue to the traditional turn arrow. People are able to concurrently process verbal and spatial information (Baddeley and Hitch, 1974; Paivio, 1971; Paivio, 2006). The new verbal north-up map was compared with traditional north-up and track-up maps, and a no map aid with auditory turn instructions. Participants drove through a simulated environment and made left or right intention-to-turn responses to the map indicator or the auditory instructions. Following the driving simulation, participants drew a sketch map of the region, which was scored to evaluate configural spatial knowledge. Results showed participants using the verbal north-up map acquired more accurate configural spatial knowledge and showed no evidence of decrement in performance for intention to turn times

Evaluating usability evaluation methods for location-­aware interactive systems in contextually rich environments.

PhDIn this research we investigate the evaluation of usability evaluations methods (UEMs). In particular we are concerned with evaluating their suitability for the evaluation of location-­‐ aware systems. Not all approaches for the evaluation of UEMs have been extensively validated for such types of dynamic interaction, while their application is not clearly documented. We overview the strengths of the current approach and suggest how to improve them. We examine navigation systems as examples for issues with location-­‐aware systems in a contextually rich environment. The setting is very different to a traditional desktop-­‐based application. Take the use of the navigation device for example. It is a secondary task; the primary task is to safely drive the car. The interface is continuously changing to adapt to the current location of the user. The user navigates in a complex dynamic environment encompassing various stimuli and unpredictable external factors. We present in the thesis a methodological and systematic way to approach the evaluation of UEMs. A comparative study of analytical and empirical techniques was carried out, to assess them in identifying usability problems within both static and dynamic contexts of use. Four analytical methods (CW, UAN, EMU, and Design Guidelines) and one empirical were compared. In this thesis, we validate the existing classification scheme of Blandford et al. (2008) and highlight relevant issues. We present an alternative systematic approach building on this scheme (CoHUM), and its shortcomings with dynamic systems. We show how a rigorous and systematic error analysis identifies phenotypes as the outcome of empirical techniques, whilst genotypes are the outcome of analytical techniques. Finally, we present new dimensions that previous literature had not identified for the evaluation of UEMs. This research will help future researchers by providing them with a stronger methodological approach for comparing UEMs and, in particular, categories of UEMs

Older drivers' requirements for navigation and route guidance information

This thesis examines older drivers and navigation. Over more recent times the proportion of older people in the UK population has risen. This effect is carrying over into the driving population. Due to changing demographics, increased longevity and the increased universality of driving there will be many more older drivers than before. Older drivers find the navigation task of finding their way on unfamiliar routes very demanding due to declines in sensory and cognitive abilities. New technology such as route guidance systems could aid the older driver in this task, by reducing uncertainty when meeting decision points on the road network. However such systems can also cause distraction. This has led to concern over the safety implications of the implementation of route guidance systems into cars. If route guidance systems are to be designed safely then the characteristics and needs of the driver have to be identified. The aim of this thesis was to provide human factors knowledge in this area so that route guidance systems can be designed to meet the needs of older drivers. [Continues.