Assessing the visual and cognitive demands of in-vehicle information systems
DOI: 10.1186/s41235-019-0166-3
archive: archived pipeline: cataloged verified
Summary
On-road instrumented-vehicle assessment of in-vehicle information system (IVIS) workload across 30 model-year 2017-2018 vehicles. 120 participants (54 female, age 21-36) performed up to four task types (audio entertainment, calling/dialing, text messaging, navigation) using up to three interaction modes (center stack, auditory vocal, center console) per vehicle, while a Detection Response Task (DRT, ISO 17488) and NASA-TLX captured cognitive demand and a video-coded glance metric captured visual/manual demand. A Cognitive Demand Ratio (CDR) standardized cognitive load relative to the auditory N-back reference. Results showed substantial variation in workload across tasks, modes, and vehicles, with text messaging and destination entry producing the highest demand and many tasks exceeding NHTSA visual-manual guidelines.
Key finding
IVIS workload varies systematically across task type, interaction mode, and vehicle; many factory infotainment interactions (especially text messaging and navigation destination entry) impose visual, cognitive, and time demands high enough that they should be locked out while the vehicle is in motion.
Methodology
on_road
Sample size: N=120 (54 female), age 21-36 years
Quality score: 5 / 5