Development of In-Vehicle Information Dissemination Mechanisms to Reduce Cognitive Burden in the Information-Rich Driving Environment

Agrawal, Shubham; Benedyk, Irina; Peeta, Srinivas · 2022 · ROSA P / University of Michigan. Center for Connected and Automated Transportation

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Summary

This study addresses the cognitive burden imposed on drivers by real-time travel information systems. While Advanced Traveler Information Systems (ATIS) enable informed decision-making, poorly designed information delivery can cause overload, distraction, and reduced trust. Previous research often relied on subjective self-reports or secondary-task performance metrics, which fail to capture direct cognitive and psychological impacts. This research fills that gap by using electroencephalography (EEG) to objectively measure brain electrical activity, providing direct insights into driver cognition, attention, and anxiety in response to auditory real-time information. The methodology involved an interactive driving simulator replicating a network-level road map in Indianapolis, featuring both freeway and arterial routes with dynamic ambient traffic. Data were collected from 84 participants who drove under four auditory information scenarios: no information, current route travel time only, current and alternative route travel times, and prescriptive route recommendations. EEG data were recorded using a 24-channel system, focusing on delta, theta, alpha, and beta frequency bands associated with memory retrieval, task demand, relaxation, and anxiety, respectively. Linear mixed models analyzed the effects of information characteristics and driving environment complexity on brain activity across specific time windows relative to information provision. Results indicate that drivers exert significantly more cognitive effort on complex arterial routes compared to freeways. Insufficient information (current route time only) evoked increased delta and theta band powers, particularly on arterial routes, signaling heightened internal processing and memory retrieval due to travel time uncertainty. Conversely, prescriptive information recommending a switch to a more complex route induced higher beta band power on freeways, reflecting increased anxiety and arousal despite easier information processing. Drivers also showed greater compliance with prescriptive recommendations in unfamiliar environments. The study further observed learning effects in subsequent runs, where anticipation of information altered baseline cognitive states. The findings demonstrate that driver cognition is heavily influenced by both the content of real-time information and the complexity of the driving environment. Insufficient information increases cognitive workload through memory retrieval, while unfavorable recommendations can induce anxiety. These results imply that information providers and automakers must incorporate human factors and psychological responses into the design of ATIS. By understanding how different information types affect brain activity, designers can create systems that minimize cognitive burden and anxiety, thereby enhancing safety, trust, and the overall effectiveness of connected and automated transportation technologies.

Key finding

Drivers exhibit increased cognitive effort and anxiety when processing real-time travel information on complex routes, with insufficient information triggering higher internal processing demands and prescriptive recommendations inducing stress through route uncertainty.

Methodology

simulator

Sample size: 84

Provenance

The full processing record for this entry. Every stage of this paper's journey through the pipeline is logged — what ran, with which tool and model, how many attempts it took, and when it last completed. Discovered via bulk_ingest_rosap on 2026-05-23 (6 acquisition events logged).

Summary generated by qwen3.6-27b-prismaquant on 2026-06-10; verification: verified.

Topics

Ranked by relevance to this paper. Hover a topic for its definition.

• road complexity
• mental demand
• cognitive capacity variation
• situational awareness
• feedback modes
• in vehicle coaching

Information type

What kind of knowledge this paper contributes, grouped by family — independent of topic (what it is about) and method (how it was studied).

• Empirical Findings: physiological data
• Methodological Resource: tool software
• Theoretical Contribution: theory or model