Unconstrained design: improving multitasking with in-vehicle information systems through enhanced situation awareness

Skrypchuk, Lee; Langdon, Pat; Sawyer, Ben D.; Clarkson, P. John

Abstract

In the age of information, in-vehicle multitasking is inevitable. The popularity of the automobile, in combination with the present information age, create a growing demand to do more in-vehicle than simply focus on the road. Unconstrained Design, a philosophy which supports rather than constrains multitasking, is proposed as a path toward enhancing performance in-vehicle. Situation Awareness (SA), a theory allowing designers to understand how operators interact in dynamic, complex environments, is used to frame this experimental investigation. Two SA-grounded human-machine interface concepts are proposed, designed to support drivers to multitask in-vehicle when frequent task switching is required. The first focuses upon supporting preparation for a Non-Driving Related Activity (NDRA), and the second upon supporting the Driving Related Activity (DRA) when an NDRA is active. While multitasking, Contextual Cueing, using a Head-up Display, produced significant reductions in NDRA response time, while an auditory lane keeping aid increased the amount of time a driver spent in the central region of a lane. The combined evidence suggests that using SA and Unconstrained Design to create of IVIS that support drivers’ ability to multitask in-vehicle can lead to task performance improvements.

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: Oct 11, 2019
• Online Publication Date: Nov 1, 2019
• Publication Date: 2020-04
• Deposit Date: Feb 24, 2020
• Journal: Theoretical Issues in Ergonomics Science
• Print ISSN: 1463-922X
• Electronic ISSN: 1464-536X
• Publisher: Taylor & Francis
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 21
• Issue: 2
• Pages: 183-219
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/1463922x.2019.1680763
• Keywords: Human Factors and Ergonomics
• Public URL: http://researchrepository.napier.ac.uk/Output/2392058