- The Toyota Research Institute study was quite damning
- Lane deviation increased dramatically as a result of touchscreen interaction
- Results suggest automakers should reduce the number of menus in cars
The results of a new study conducted by the University of Washington (UW) and the Toyota Research Institute have provided fairly conclusive evidence against the use of large, distracting touchscreens when driving a vehicle.
Titled rather eloquently “Touchscreens in Motion: Quantifying the Impact of Cognitive Load on Distracted Drivers,” the study placed 16 participants in high-fidelity, ultra-realistic driving simulators while researchers tracked eye and hand movements, pupil dilation, and skin conductivity.
Participants were asked to drive through a typical urban environment and then interact with several subtasks presented on the touch screen; nothing major, just adjust the car’s functionality or change the radio station.
Their ability to drive as well as their accuracy when interacting with the touch screen were measured.
According to Car Scoops, researchers measured a combination of driver performance metrics and physiological markers, from eye movements, index finger tracking and steering consistency to reaction time and stress signals. This helped them build a better picture of the stress and cognitive load of the human being in the driver’s seat.
Unsurprisingly, the results were not pleasing to those who sell a greater reliance on touch screens rather than physical buttons. First, the accuracy of pointing on the touchscreen and the speed of use were reduced by more than 58% compared to non-driving conditions.
This already reveals that humans have a hard time physically interacting with a touchscreen when we are busy processing what is happening outside the windshield of a moving vehicle. This requires the driver to concentrate more on tapping the digital menu screens.
As a result, the study revealed that lane drift increased by more than 40% once touchscreen interaction was introduced. The vicious circle then continues.
bring back buttons
We’ve already covered this extensively, but some manufacturers are reintroducing physical buttons for frequently used functions in a vehicle. This is partly a reaction to consumer backlash, but also because some major safety bodies will penalize automakers for over-reliance on touchscreens in the future.
I firmly believe that things like volume control, lighting, window defrosters, and windshield wipers should be mapped to physical buttons that can be committed to muscle memory after a few uses.
This means drivers don’t have to search through often hypersensitive touchscreens to activate very basic functions. Getting stuck in an error loop, navigating through the wrong menus, or activating the wrong feature is frustrating but also very dangerous.
Research by the University of Washington (UW) and the Toyota Research Institute suggests that automakers are looking to reduce the number of menus needed to perform a function, implementing physical buttons that can be customized to jump to the most used items.
Otherwise, he says future systems should get smarter and adapt when they sense the driver is becoming more distracted, expanding buttons or limiting some functions when they feel things are becoming unsafe.
Unfortunately, it’s much cheaper for modern automakers to dedicate absolutely everything to a touchscreen and then rely on software updates to improve things. We are not only faced with completely homogeneous neat interiors, but also with the prospect of an increasingly button-free future.
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