Drivers require a steady stream of relevant but focused visual input to make decisions. Most driving information comes from the surrounding environment so keeping drivers' eyes on the road is paramount. However, important information still comes from in-vehicle displays. With this in mind, there has been renewed recent interest in delivering driving in-formation via head-up display. A head-up display (HUD) can present an image directly on-to the windshield of a vehicle, providing a relatively seamless transition between the display image and the road ahead. Most importantly, HUD use keeps drivers' eyes focused in the direction of the road ahead. The transparent display coupled with a new location make it likely that HUDs provide a fundamentally different driving experience and may change the way people drive, in both good and bad ways. Therefore, the objectives of this work were to 1) understand changes in drivers' glance behaviors when using different types of displays, 2) investigate the impact of HUD position on glance behaviors, and 3) examine the impact of HUD graphic type on drivers' behaviors. Specifically, we captured empirical data regarding changes in driving behaviors, glance behaviors, reported workload, and preferences while driving performing a secondary task using in-vehicle displays.
We found that participants exhibited different glance behaviors when using different display types, with participants allocating more and longer glances towards a HUD as compared to a traditional Head-Down Display. However, driving behaviors were not largely affected and participants reported lower workload when using the HUD. HUD location did not cause large changes in glance behaviors, but some driving behaviors were affected. When exam-ining the impact of graphic types on participants, we employed a novel technique for ana-lyzing glance behaviors by dividing the display into three different areas of interest relative to the HUD graphic. This method allowed us to differentiate between graphic types and to better understand differences found in driving behaviors and participant preferences than could be determined with frequently used glance analysis methods. Graphics that were fixed in place rather than animated generally resulted in less time allocated to looking at the graphics, and these changes were likely because the fixed graphics were simple and easy to understand. Ultimately, glance and driving behaviors were affected at some level by the display type, display location, and graphic type as well as individual differences like gender and age. / Ph. D. / Drivers gather most of the information that they need to drive by looking at the world around them and at displays within the vehicle. However, research has shown that looking down at vehicle displays can be distracting to drivers which could be unsafe. Therefore, automotive manufacturers look for new ways to help decrease driver distraction, and one potential solution to this problem is the introduction of head-up displays (HUDs). By displaying a graphic on a see-through surface, like a windshield, we can add information to the world in front of the driver. This means that drivers no longer have to physically look away from the road to gather information, and they may be able to use peripheral vision to help drive while they look at the display.
While the technology is promising, it is important that we fully understand other impacts of this technology on drivers before we widely incorporate it into vehicles. Therefore, the purpose of this work is to understand how HUDs change drivers’ ability to drive and their glance patterns as they gather the visual information needed to drive safely. We examined differences between HUDs and traditional displays found in vehicles. We then gathered data regarding the location of HUDs. Finally, we tested different graphics displayed on the HUD. In addition to gathering data about glance and driving behaviors, we also gathered data about drivers’ preferences and experiences with the displays.
HUDs may tempt drivers to look away from the road for longer periods of time without negatively affecting their driving behaviors. Different HUD locations did not cause large differences in glance behaviors but did have some impact on driving behaviors. Finally, different graphics resulted in very different glance behaviors without significantly changing driving behaviors. These results suggest that HUDs may capture drivers’ attention and cause drivers to be less observant of other elements around them as they drive. However, because different graphics result in different glance patterns, with careful design we may be able to help drivers keep their eyes on the road while safely gathering necessary information from the vehicle.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:VTETD/oai:vtechworks.lib.vt.edu:10919/84904 |
| Date | 23 August 2018 |
| Creators | Smith, Martha Irene |
| Contributors | Industrial and Systems Engineering, Gabbard, Joseph L., Nussbaum, Maury A., Burnett, Gary, Lau, Nathan |
| Publisher | Virginia Tech |
| Source Sets | Virginia Tech Theses and Dissertation |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Dissertation |
| Format | ETD, application/pdf |
| Rights | In Copyright, http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/ |
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