Auditory In-Vehicle Routing and Navigation Systems and Facilitating Cognitive Map Development

Abstract

Use of in-vehicle routing and navigational systems (IRANS) is on the rise. IRANS may place additional informational processing demands on drivers thus compromising safety. Driving requires extensive visual processing and therefore auditory route guidance (ARG) systems have important safety advantages. However, relative to visual guidance formats, little attention has been focused on the design components of ARG formats. The current investigation examined the relative impact of three different ARG formats (traditional, cardinal, and landmark) on drivers' ability to learn novel routes through unfamiliar areas in a driving simulator. Results indicated that the inclusion of salient landmark information in ARG instructions facilitated route learning ability for a majority of drivers, relative to traditional ARG information and the inclusion of cardinal directions. Application of these results has the potential to increase transportation safety by decreasing the attentional processing requirements and distraction cost of existing IRANS displays.