Multi-function in-vehicle interfaces are an increasingly common feature in automobiles. Over the past several years, these interfaces have taken on an ever-greater number of functions and the ways in which drivers interact with information have become more complex. Parallel with these technical developments, interest in ensuring that these systems minimize demand placed upon the driver has also increased. Voice command capability has become a popular and desirable feature, as interacting with a vehicle interface through auditory/vocal interactions is often hypothesized to allow the driver to keep their eyes on the road and hands on the wheel. However, research has shown that production level voice command systems may still impart considerable visual demands on the driver [18]. These demands might be due in part to screen displays associated with extensive confirmatory dialogue and the driver's desire for visual confirmation that commands were accurately recognized. This study extends this work by comparing the default mode of a production voice system with an "Expert" mode which streamlines tasks by removing several confirmatory steps. We found that, although the use of the Expert mode significantly reduces overall task completion time, it has no appreciable effect on the amount of visual engagement; drivers still glance off the road for durations that are consistent with the Default mode. Implications for interface design and driver safety are discussed.

Vehicle manufacturers have developed advanced driver assistance systems (ADASs) to reduce driver workload and enhance safety. The delivery of these systems to consumers occurs through dealerships not owned by manufacturers. Limited research is available on how dealerships provide consumers with information and training on ADASs. In an exploratory study seeking information on new safety technologies, semistructured blind interviews of salespeople at 18 Boston, Massachusetts, area dealerships were conducted in the context of potential vehicle purchase across six vehicle brands. Although some dealerships were making concerted efforts to introduce and educate customers on ADASs, a number of salespeople interviewed were not well positioned to provide adequate information to their customers. In select instances, salespeople explicitly provided inaccurate information on safety-critical systems. The dealerships in the sample that represented mass-market brands (Ford and Chevrolet) were the poorest performers. Sales staff at Subaru dealers were well trained and had print and digital content to drive consumer engagement. Educational staff, or “geniuses,” at BMW dealers presented a potentially innovative way of segmenting the sales process from technology education. In the absence of some technology introduction and education at dealerships, consumers may remain underinformed or misinformed about the disruptive safety technologies that are rapidly being introduced across the vehicle fleet.

Summary:Interaction with a voice-command interface for radio control, destination entry, MP3 song selection, and phone dialing was assessed along with traditional manual radio control and a multi-level audio-verbal calibration task (nback) on-road in 60 drivers. Subjective workload, compensatory behavior, and physiological indices of cognitive workload suggest that there may be both potential benefits and cautions in the implementation of a representative production level interface.

Summary:Voice interface use has become increasingly popular in vehicles. It is important that these systems divert drivers' attention from the primary driving task as little as possible, and numerous efforts have been devoted to categorizing demands associated with these systems. Nonetheless, there is still much to be learned about how various implementation characteristics impact attention. This study presents a secondary analysis of the delay time between when users finish giving commands and when the system responds. It considers data collected on 4 different production vehicle voice interfaces and a mounted smartphone in field driving. Collapsing across systems, drivers showed an initial increase in heart rate, skin conductance level, and off-road glance time while waiting for a system to respond; a gradual decrease followed as delays continued. The observed attentional and arousal changes are likely due to an increase in anticipation following a speech command, followed by a general disengagement from the interface as delay times increase. Safety concerns associated with extended delay times and suggestion of an optimal range for system response times are highlighted.

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