Automotive User Interfaces and Interactive Vehicular Applications

Christian Doppler Labor
Contextual Interfaces
Mind the Context
An in-situ study to investigate the usage of In-Vehicle Information Systems
Focus
Investigation of the usage of multifunctional In-Vehicle Information
Systems (IVIS) such as BMW iDrive or Audi MMI
Background
Application of an in-situ study (contextual inquiry)
What is the advantage?
=> gain information about the user’s actual experience
=> attain a deeper understanding of user’s actions
Study Setup
� 10 participants, regularly using an In-Vehicle Information
System (IVIS) e.g. BMW iDrive, Audi MMI
� Average Age: 36,9 years (9 male, 1 female)
� One observer, sitting in the front passenger seat
Task Context
(e.g. entertainment, navigation)
User Context
(e.g. motivation, user experience)
Environmental Context
(e.g. road, weather conditions)
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Figure 1: Influencing Context Factors
Katja Neureiter, Alexander Meschtscherjakov, David Wilfinger and Manfred Tscheligi
Christian Doppler Laboratory for ”Contextual Interfaces”
HCI & Usability Unit, ICT&S Center
University of Salzburg
Salzburg, Austria
firstname.lastname@sbg.ac.at
Central Research Goals
� Investigate how participants use the central rotary knob in
order to carry out tertiary tasks (RG1)
� Explore to what extent interactions with the system have
an influence on the primary task of driving (RG2)
� Identify users’ experiences and requirements towards the
system (RG3)
Results (selected)
Performed tasks (RG1):
� Importance of additional information the navigation system
provides (e.g. arrival time, distance to final destination, etc.)
� Voice command is hardly used to operate the telephone
- participants preferred to operate the teleophone via the
central controller
Influence on the primary task of driving (RG2):
� Suddenly changing contextual conditions (e.g. traffic light
turns read) had a striking influence on the primary task of
driving when simultaneously operating the IVIS (e.g. driver
could just stop before the traffic light in time)
� The operation of the navigation system during the ride
caused more distraction than the driver was conscious of
(e.g. driver took the wrong way)
User Experience and Requirements (RG3):
� Possibilities to enhance safety while driving are rarely
used (e.g. voice command to operate the telephone)
� Mismatch between perceived and actual safety
Conclusion
� The CI was identified as a valuable approach to investigate
the driver’s behavior in the car
� As an improvement an additional observer and/or a video
camera could be added