Enhanced auditory menu cues improve dual task performance and are preferred with in-vehicle technologies (original) (raw)
Related papers
2011
Interface design is an important factor in assessing the potential effects on safety of interacting with an in-vehicle information system while driving. In the current study, the layout of information on a visual display was manipulated to explore its effect on driving performance in the context of music selection. The comparative effects of an auditoryeverbal (cognitive) task were also explored. The driving performance of 30 participants was assessed under both baseline and dual task conditions using the Lane Change Test. Concurrent completion of the music selection task with driving resulted in significant impairment to lateral driving performance (mean lane deviation and percentage of correct lane changes) relative to the baseline, and significantly greater mean lane deviation relative to the combined driving and the cognitive task condition. The magnitude of these effects on driving performance was independent of layout concept, although significant differences in subjective workload estimates and performance on the music selection task across layout concepts highlights that potential uncertainty regarding design use as conveyed through layout concept could be disadvantageous. The implications of these results for interface design and safety are discussed.
Transportation Research Part F: Traffic Psychology and Behaviour, 2019
Given the promise for auditory-vocal systems to be less distracting and safer to use than their visual-manual counterparts, automotive manufacturers are introducing an increasing number of voice assistant-like interfaces in vehicles. However, recent studies suggest using auditory-vocal systems can be mentally taxing for drivers, and require long interaction times. Low accuracy and menu complexity are believed to negatively affect the usability of the system, but a systematic analysis of the role of different design components on driver workload and user experience within a real-world setting is missing. This study investigates the role of voice system design components in determining levels of driver workload with participants driving twelve on-road vehicles and interacting with onboard infotainment systems. Menu depth, delay times and system accuracy are recorded for twelve different auditory-vocal systems, and one aggregate score is assigned to each system. Total delay time and menu depth were found to be significant predictors of task duration time and mental workload. Longer delay times also had a direct effect on lower usability ratings, measured by the System Usability Scale and sentiment analysis. Delay times recorded on seven additional vehicles were used to validate the regression model for task duration. This study provides findings of primary importance for researchers and automotive manufacturers to be used in the assessment and development of in-vehicle auditory-vocal systems.
Can User-Paced, Menu-free Spoken Language Interfaces Improve Dual Task Handling While Driving?
Lecture Notes in Computer Science, 2014
The use of speech-based interaction over traditional means of interaction in secondary tasks may increase safety in demanding environments with high requirements on operator attention. Speech interfaces have suffered from issues similar to those of visual displays, as they often rely on a complex menu structure that corresponds to that of visual systems. Recent advances in speech technology allow the use of natural language, eliminating the need for menu structures and offering a tighter coupling between the intention to act and the completion of the action. Modern speech technology may not only make already existing types of interaction safer, but also opens up for new applications, which may enhance safety. One such application is a speech-based hazard reporting system. A small fixed-base simulator study showed that drivers adapt the timing of the hazard reports to the situation at hand, such that an increase in reported workload was avoided.
Ergonomics, 2004
In-vehicle information systems will soon confront drivers with an increasing number of warnings and alerts for situations ranging from imminent collisions to the arrival of e-mail messages. Coordinating these alerts can ensure that they enhance rather than degrade driving safety. Two experiments examined how temporal conflict and sound parameters affect driver performance and acceptance. The temporal conflict of an e-mail alert occurring 300 ms before a collision warning interfered with the response to the collision warning, but an email alert occurring 1000 ms before the collision warning had the opposite effect and enhanced the response to the collision warning. These results emphasize the need to consider how in-vehicle devices influence drivers' strategic anticipation of high-demand situations. Regarding sound parameters, results showed that highly urgent sounds tended to speed drivers' accelerator release, but the annoyance associated with highly urgent sounds increased workload. In fact, there was a strong positive association between ratings of annoyance and subjective workload. Consistent with the urgency mapping principle, there was a slight negative association between the differences in the rated urgency of collision warnings and e-mail alerts and subjective workload. The results suggest that warning and alert design should consider an annoyance trade-off in addition to urgency mapping.
On the Evaluation of Auditory and Head-up Displays While Driving
2012
Abstract: In this paper, we propose a low cost, laboratory based testing framework for in-vehicle interfaces. Exemplified by a comparison between an auditory interface, a Head-up display, and a combination of both we show how task completion times, driving penalty points, mental workload, and subjective user evaluations of the interfaces can be collected through different logging systems and user questionnaires.
Evaluating Informative Auditory and Tactile Cues for In-Vehicle Information Systems
wwwhome.cs.utwente.nl
As in-vehicle information systems are increasingly able to obtain and deliver information, driver distraction becomes a larger concern. In this paper we propose that informative interruption cues (IIC) can be an effective means to support drivers’ attention management. As a first step, we investigated the design and presentation modality of IIC that conveyed not only the arrival but also the priority level of a message. Both sound and vibration cues were created for four different priority levels and tested in 5 task conditions that simulated possible perceptional and cognitive load in real driving situations. Results showed that the cues were quickly learned, reliably detected, and quickly and accurately identified. Vibration was found to be a promising alternative for sound to deliver IIC, as vibration cues were identified more accurately and interfered less with driving. Sound cues also had advantages in terms of shorter response time and more (reported) physical comfort.
Evaluation of different speech and touch interfaces to in-vehicle music retrieval systems
Accident Analysis & Prevention, 2010
In-vehicle music retrieval systems are becoming more and more popular. Previous studies have shown that they pose a real hazard to drivers when the interface is a tactile one which requires multiple entries and a combination of manual control and visual feedback. Voice interfaces exist as an alternative. Such interfaces can require either multiple or single conversational turns. In this study, each of 17 participants between the ages of 18 and 30 years old was asked to use three different music-retrieval systems (one with a multiple entry touch interface, the iPod™, one with a multiple turn voice interface, interface B, and one with a single turn voice interface, interface C) while driving through a virtual world. Measures of secondary task performance, eye behavior, vehicle control, and workload were recorded. When compared with the touch interface, the voice interfaces reduced the total time drivers spent with their eyes off the forward roadway, especially in prolonged glances, as well as both the total number of glances away from the forward roadway and the perceived workload. Furthermore, when compared with driving without a secondary task, both voice interfaces did not significantly impact hazard anticipation, the frequency of long glances away from the forward roadway, or vehicle control. The multiple turn voice interface (B) significantly increased both the time it took drivers to complete the task and the workload. The implications for interface design and safety are discussed.
Listening to natural and synthesized speech while driving: Effects on user performance
International Journal of Speech Technology, 2001
The effects of message type (navigation, E-mail, news story), voice type (text-to-speech, natural human speech), and earcon cueing (present, absent) on message comprehension and driving performance were examined. Twenty-four licensed drivers (12 under 30, 12 over 65, both equally divided by gender) participated in the experiment. They drove the UMTRI driving simulator on a road consisting of straight sections and constant radius curves, thus yielding two levels of low driving-workload. In addition, as a control condition, data were collected while participants were parked. In all conditions, participants were presented with three types of messages. Each message was immediately followed by a series of questions to assess comprehension. Navigation messages were about 4 seconds long (about 9 words). E-mail messages were about 40 seconds long (about 100 words) and news messages were about 80 seconds long (about 225 words). For all message types, comprehension of text-to-speech messages, as determined by accuracy of response to questions, and by subjective ratings, was significantly worse than comprehension of natural speech (79 versus 83 percent correct answers; 7.7/10 versus 8.6/10 subjective rating). Driving workload did not affect comprehension. Interestingly, neither the speech used (synthesized or natural) nor the message type (navigation, E-mail, news) had a significant effect on basic driving performance measured by the standard deviations of lateral lane position and steering wheel angle.