DOT HS 809 457 February 2002
Inventory of In-Vehicle Technology Human Factors Design Characteristics
This document is available to the public from the National Technical Information Service, Springfield, Virginia 22161
The opinions, findings and conclusions expressed in this publication are those of the author(s) and not necessarily those of the Department of Transportation or the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. The United States Government assumes no liability for its contents or use thereof. If trade or manufacturers’ name or products are mentioned, it is because they are considered essential to the object of the publication and should not be construed as an endorsement. The United States Government does not endorse products or manufacturers.
ii Technical Report Documentation Page 1. Report No. DOT HS 809 457 2. Government Accession No. 3. Recipients's Catalog No.
4. Title and Subtitle 5. Report Date Inventory of In-Vehicle Technology Human February 2002 Factors Design Characteristics
6. Performing Organization Code
7. Author(s) 8. Performing Organization Report No. Robert E. Llaneras and Jeremiah P. Singer 9. Performing Organization Name and Address 10. Work Unit No. (TRAIS)n code Westat 1650 Research Blvd. Rockville, MD 20850 11. Contract of Grant No. DTNH22-99-D-07005 12. Sponsoring Agency Name and Address 13. Type of Report and Period Covered Final Report, 2/15/02 National Highway Traffic Safety Administration 400 Seventh Street, S.W. Washington, DC 20590 14. Sponsoring Agency Code
15. Supplementary Notes Contracting Officer’s Technical Representative (COTR); Michael Perel.
16. Abstract The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA)
A review and inventory of in-vehicle Telematics devices was conducted in order to better understand the current state of practice and trends relating to their design and implementation. The review focused on human factors characteristics and interface features using accepted human factors practices, principles, and guidelines as a basis for the assessing likely impacts on driver distraction. The inventory examined market-ready in-vehicle products (both Original Equipment Manufacturer and aftermarket products), and identified a range of interface design features (e.g., control and displays characteristics, safety features, etc.) noting aspects and dimensions that have implications for potential driver distraction. The review was not intended to be exhaustive, but rather provide a diverse and representative range of system designs and configurations. The review canvassed nearly 80 in-vehicle devices/systems, and provided in-depth inventories of over 20 devices using a standardized data collection form to inventory basic interface design characteristics and features; much of the data collected addressed navigation systems. The inventory form is available as an Access database. Results indicated that devices tend to incorporate a large number of features and options, making it a potential challenge for drivers to learn all of the capabilities of a system and resulting in lengthy manuals. Although devices also tended to provide large amounts of information, some designs may allow for increased information presentation without necessarily sacrificing performance. Warnings or cautions against interacting with systems while driving were common; however, relatively few systems disable equipment when vehicles are in operation. A number of other observations and “industry trends” are presented and discussed.
17. Key Words 18. Distribution Statement Driver Distraction Document is available to the public through the National In-Vehicle Technologies Technical Information Service, Telematics Devices Springfield, VA 22161
19. Security Classif. (of this report) 20. Security Classif. (of this page) 21. No of Pages 22. Price Unclassified Unclassified Form DOT F1700.7 (8-72) Reproduction of completed page authorized Acknowledgments
The authors would like to extend our sincere appreciation to those individuals who so graciously provided access to their vehicles, systems, and devices for purposes of our review. Many also provided product documentation and user manuals, as well as contributed to the accuracy of our data by reviewing completed inventory forms and supplying needed information. Each of these individuals is listed below. We also would like to acknowledge the significant contributions of Mike Goodman and Mike Perel with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration for their oversight, inputs and feedback throughout the project. Special thanks to Neil Lerner with Westat for contributing to the initial development effort of the study, and for reviewing the draft project report.
John Angerman, Visteon Dave Benedict, Toyota Technical Center, U.S.A., Inc. Charles Groeller, Mack Trucks, Inc. Christian Ianculescu, Qualcomm Jim Keller, Honda R&D Americas, Inc. Chris Kirn, Daimler-Chrysler Vehicle Systems Technology Center Kambiz Nabily, ESI Fleet Solutions Dan Selke, Mercedes-Benz Alice Tornquist, Qualcomm Eric Tsibertzopoulos, Qualcomm Hiroshi Tsuda, Nissan Technical Center North America, Inc. Winnie Wong, Alpine Electronics of America, Inc. TABLE OF CONTENTS
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY...... 1
INTRODUCTION...... 3 STUDY OBJECTIVE & SCOPE ...... 4 OVERVIEW OF APPROACH, METHOD AND DEVICES...... 5
METHODOLOGY ...... 7 IDENTIFICATION OF SYSTEM INTERFACE DESIGN CHARACTERISTICS ...... 7 TAXONOMY DEVELOPMENT ...... 8 INVENTORY FORM & METHODOLOGY ...... 9 Basic Assessment Areas, Dimensions, and Criteria...... 9 INVENTORYING IN-VEHICLE SYSTEMS...... 14
RESULTS...... 15 OVERVIEW OF INVENTORIED DEVICES...... 15
NAVIGATION SYSTEMS...... 16 INTERFACE CHARACTERISTICS: CONTROLS ...... 19 Number of Hard Controls...... 19 Control Characteristics: Types, Spacing, Labeling ...... 20 INTERFACE CHARACTERISTICS: VISUAL DISPLAYS ...... 21 Mounting Position ...... 21 Size and Quality of Visual Displays...... 22 Type and Amount of Information...... 22 INTERFACE CHARACTERISTICS: AUDITORY DISPLAYS ...... 26 SAFETY FEATURES ...... 28 Warnings ...... 28 GENERAL INTERACTION DIMENSIONS...... 30 Data Entry Screens ...... 30 NAVIGATION SYSTEM TASK INTERACTIONS ...... 31 Destination Entry: Methods, Steps and Key Presses...... 31 ICONS/SYMBOLS ...... 35 SUMMARY OF NAVIGATION SYSTEM FINDINGS ...... 38
COMMUNICATION, PRODUCTIVITY AND MOBILE PC SYSTEMS...... 40 INTERFACE CHARACTERISTICS...... 45 Hard Controls ...... 45 Visual Display ...... 47 Hands-Free Functionality ...... 47
ENTERTAINMENT SYSTEMS ...... 48
MULTIFUNCTION SYSTEMS ...... 51
COMMERCIAL VEHICLE SYSTEMS...... 53 FREIGHTLINER TRUCK PRODUCTIVITY COMPUTER ...... 54 MACK VEHICLE INFORMATION PROFILER (VIP) DISPLAY...... 55 QUALCOMM MVPC ...... 56
OTHER INDUSTRY & PRODUCT DEVELOPMENTS ...... 59 BMW iDrive...... 59
SUMMARY & CONCLUSIONS ...... 61 HIGHLIGHTS AND KEY FINDINGS ...... 61 TRENDS & COMMON PRACTICES IN INTERFACE DESIGNS ...... 62 RECOMMENDATIONS FOR FUTURE WORK...... 65 STUDY LIMITATIONS ...... 66
REFERENCES ...... 67
APPENDIX A DATA DICTIONARY...... 69
APPENDIX B SYSTEM THUMBNAIL DESCRIPTIONS ...... 83
APPENDIX C COMPLETED INVENTORY FORMS...... 114
ii LIST OF TABLES
Table 1. Number of Identified and Reviewed Systems By Functional Class...... 15 Table 2 . List of Candidate Navigation Systems for Review ...... 16 Table 3. Summary of Key Interface Characteristics for Sampled Navigation Systems ...... 18 Table 4. Control Size and Spacing Averages ...... 20 Table 5. Types of Information and Display Elements Available to Drivers Across the Various Navigation and Guidance Display Screens...... 24 Table 6. Percentage of Sampled Systems Incorporating Safety Features...... 29 Table 7. Range of Available Destination Entry Methods and Corresponding Proportion of Systems Supporting Each Method...... 31 Table 8. Common Icon Representations Used in Navigation Systems ...... 36 Table 9. List of Candidate Communication and Productivity Devices for Review ...... 41 Table 10 . Mobile Communication and Productivity Device Descriptions...... 43 Table 11. Mobile Communication and Productivity Devices: Key Features and Specifications 44 Table 12. List of Available Rear-Seat Entertainment Systems ...... 48 Table 13. List of Multi-Function Devices ...... 51 Table 14. List of Candidate Commercial Vehicle Systems for Review...... 53
iii LIST OF FIGURES
Figure 1. Study Approach and Tasks ...... 7 Figure 2. Taxonomy of Devices and Grouping Factors ...... 8 Figure 3. Inventory Form: First Page, Basic Info and Interface Characteristics ...... 10 Figure 4. Inventory Form: Second Page, Other System Features and Data ...... 11 Figure 5. Inventory Form: Third Page, Photo Gallery ...... 12 Figure 6. Inventory Form: Fourth Page, Task Interactions ...... 13 Figure 7. Number of Hard Controls: Overall and Navigation-Specific Controls...... 19 Figure 8. Percentage of Systems Locating In-Cab Visual Displays in a Region...... 21 Figure 9. Map, Maneuver List, and Turn-by-Turn Display Screen Examples...... 23 Figure 10. Average Number of Information Elements Presented Across Display Screen Types 25 Figure 11. Example Navigation System Warning Screens...... 28 Figure 12. Sample Data Entry Screens for Navigation Systems ...... 30 Figure 13. Navigation System Destination Entry: Mean Minimum and Maximum Key/Button Presses As a Function of Destination Entry Method ...... 33 Figure 14. Mean Maximum Keystrokes/Button Presses As a Function of Touch Screen Versus Non-Touch Screen Systems ...... 34 Figure 15. Mobile Phones...... 42 Figure 16. Other Communication Devices...... 42 Figure 17. Hard Controls for Mobile Phones ...... 45 Figure 18. Hard Controls for Other Communication Devices...... 46 Figure 19. Sample Display Screens for Mobile Phones ...... 47 Figure 20. Different Rear-Seat Entertainment System Configurations...... 49 Figure 21. Truck Productivity Computer ...... 54 Figure 22. Sample Mac VIP Display Screens ...... 55
iv EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
A review and inventory of in-vehicle Telematics devices was conducted in order to better understand the current state of practice and trends relating to their design and implementation. The review focused on human factors characteristics and interface features using accepted human factors practices, principles, and guidelines as a basis for the assessing likely impacts on driver distraction. The inventory examined market-ready in-vehicle products (both Original Equipment Manufacturer and aftermarket products), and identified a range of interface design features (e.g., control and displays characteristics, safety features, etc.) noting aspects and dimensions that have implications for potential driver distraction. The review was not intended to be exhaustive, but rather provide a diverse and representative range of system designs and configurations. Attention was primarily limited to in- vehicle systems that are specifically designed for use in the driving environment. Information collected as part of this effort can be used for a variety purposes including: