Evaluation of information amount to present for motorcycle head-up display

Kenichiro, ITO; TATEYAMA, Yoshisuke; NISHIMURA, Hidekazu; Tetsuro, OGI · 2015 · DOAJ

DOI: 10.1299/transjsme.15-00203

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Summary

This study addresses the lack of dedicated navigation systems for motorcycles, a gap attributed to the difficulty riders face in accessing information while maintaining focus on the road. While head-up displays (HUDs) offer a potential solution by projecting information into the rider’s field of view, excessive information can cause distraction and inattentive driving. The research aims to determine the optimal amount of textual information that can be safely presented on a motorcycle HUD without compromising driving safety. To evaluate this, the authors conducted an experiment using an immersive motorcycle simulator integrated with a custom HUD and an eye-tracking recorder. Ten male subjects with motorcycle licenses participated in the study. The HUD projected Japanese Hiragana characters of varying lengths (1 to 8 characters) in either the lower-left or lower-right visual field. The text strings were either meaningful words or random sequences. The researchers measured two key metrics: detection time (the time taken for the rider’s gaze to shift to the HUD) and observation time (the duration the rider fixated on the text). Each subject underwent 160 trials, resulting in 1,594 valid data points. The results indicated that detection time remained constant at an average of 418 ms regardless of text length. However, observation time increased significantly with the number of characters. Analysis of observation time per character revealed that processing efficiency peaked at 4 to 5 characters; beyond this length, the time required per character did not decrease further, aligning with known patterns of saccadic eye movements in reading. Applying information theory, the study calculated the information transmission rate. The maximum observed processing speed was approximately 21 bits per second for 8 characters, but the authors identified 5 characters as the optimal limit. This corresponds to an information transmission rate of approximately 16 bits per second. This limit was derived by adhering to a safety benchmark of keeping observation time under 2 seconds, consistent with guidelines for automotive navigation systems. The significance of this work lies in providing specific design guidelines for motorcycle HUDs. By establishing that 5 Hiragana characters represent the safe upper limit for textual information, the study helps prevent "distracted driving" behaviors where riders look away from the road for too long. The findings suggest that motorcycle navigation systems should prioritize concise information presentation, leveraging the HUD’s ability to keep information within the peripheral vision while ensuring that reading tasks do not exceed the rider’s cognitive and visual processing limits during dynamic driving conditions.

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• hud ar windshield

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• Applied Guidance: design guidelines