Abstract
Natural user interfaces (NUI) have been used to reduce driver distraction while using in-vehicle infotainment systems (IVIS), and multimodal interfaces have been applied to compensate for the shortcomings of a single modality in NUIs. These multimodal NUIs have variable effects on different types of driver distraction and on different stages of drivers' secondary tasks. However, current studies provide a limited understanding of NUIs. The design of multimodal NUIs is typically based on evaluation of the strengths of a single modality. Furthermore, studies of multimodal NUIs are not based on equivalent comparison conditions. To address this gap, we compared five single modalities commonly used for NUIs (touch, mid-air gesture, speech, gaze, and physical buttons located in a steering wheel) during a lane change task (LCT) to provide a more holistic view of driver distraction. Our findings suggest that the best approach is a combined cascaded multimodal interface that accounts for the characteristics of a single modality. We compared several combinations of cascaded multimodalities by considering the characteristics of each modality in the sequential phase of the command input process. Our results show that the combinations speech + button, speech + touch, and gaze + button represent the best cascaded multimodal interfaces to reduce driver distraction for IVIS.
Highlights
With advances in human-vehicle interaction technology, invehicle infotainment systems (IVIS) offer useful information that enhance the driving experience
The contributions of this paper are 1) demonstrating a holistic approach to comparing five single modalities from the perspective of three driver distractions with identical conditions; 2) understanding how drivers interact with in-vehicle infotainment systems (IVIS), and designing a multimodal interface based on the characteristics of a single modality and driver understanding in IVIS; and 3) suggesting several types of cascaded multimodalities to reduce driver distraction and increase usability for IVIS
Döring et al [14] showed that low visual distraction and high subjective preference were correlated in a vehicle interface, our results show that the button interface has the highest System Usability Scale (SUS) scores, even though it caused higher visual and manual distractions to drivers than other modalities
Summary
With advances in human-vehicle interaction technology, invehicle infotainment systems (IVIS) (e.g., navigation, radio, music, etc.) offer useful information that enhance the driving experience. 3) Manual or physical distraction involves tasks that require the driver to take one or both hands off the steering wheel to manipulate a control, device, or other non-driving-related items To minimize those distractions, single-mode natural user interfaces (NUIs), which provide more natural forms of interaction (touch, speech, gesture, and vision) than the traditional, physical button [8], have been suggested [9]–[12]. The contributions of this paper are 1) demonstrating a holistic approach to comparing five single modalities (a physical button, touch gesture, mid-air gesture, speech, and gaze input) from the perspective of three driver distractions (visual, cognitive, and manual) with identical conditions; 2) understanding how drivers interact with IVIS, and designing a multimodal interface based on the characteristics of a single modality and driver understanding in IVIS; and 3) suggesting several types of cascaded multimodalities to reduce driver distraction and increase usability for IVIS.
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