Driving while using a smartphone-based mobility application: Evaluating the impact of three multi-choice user...

Area of Science:

• Human-Computer Interaction
• Automotive User Experience
• Cognitive Psychology

Background:

• Modern vehicles integrate smartphone applications, increasing visual-manual demand.
• Multi-touch gestures, like kinetic scrolling, present challenges for in-car use.
• Prior research indicates difficulties with specific mobile interaction techniques in vehicles.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the usability and safety of three common mobile interaction prototypes in a driving context.
• To analyze task completion, driving performance, and eye gaze patterns during in-car smartphone use.
• To identify design implications for optimizing mobile interfaces in dual-task driving scenarios.

Main Methods:

• A repeated-measures design was employed with 29 participants.
• Participants performed three prototype tasks within a driving simulator.
• Driving performance, task completion, and eye gaze data were collected and analyzed.

Main Results:

• The slider widget in the filtering task proved overly demanding, leading to decreased performance.
• Kinetic scrolling resulted in substantial visual distraction, comparable to other demanding tasks.
• Lower finger pointing accuracy was required for kinetic scrolling, yet distraction levels remained high.

Conclusions:

• Slider widgets for filtering tasks require redesign to reduce cognitive load in vehicles.
• Continuous list browsing methods need optimization for safe dual-task performance.
• Minimizing visual distraction is crucial for the safe integration of mobile applications in driving environments.