Human Machine Interface
Return to Cars In The FutureOne of the most important areas that research to concentrate on in the future is Human Machine Interface (HMI). Human Machine Interface is an important part of getting the best out of informative systems.
As vehicle technology becomes more advanced, it will interact with the driver in more ways. The ways that it interacts with the driver needs to be looked at in depth. User errors need to be studied to see how frequently they occur, and the consequences of misunderstanding or over relying on the system.
It is important that this does not add to the driver’s workload and cause distraction in the vehicle, systems need to feed back information to the driver in a concise yet understandable manner. Systems that the driver interacts with need to be simple to use and always encourage the driver to maintain the primary task, which is to drive the car in a safe manner.
A good HMI system will prevent driver overloading, this is where a driver encounters a situation where there are too many things to respond to. This overloading can either be biomechanical or cognitive, and has been demonstrated to be a risk historically by mobile phones.
When using a mobile phone, it creates a significant cognitive distraction that is more than a driver can deal with. This increased attention to a conversation results in decreased attention to the road, and a similar effect will occur with all in vehicle systems which have not been designed to support the driver.
The use of nomadic devices that are not part of the vehicles overall controls may add to this as the feedback they give cannot be coordinated with the vehicle, especially if the HMI is poorly designed. The risks associated with in vehicle devices need to be assessed and managed.
One way of acclimatising drivers to the information that an HMI system gives them is by training, and training needs to be seen as a future tool to help drivers get the best out of active safety.
As different manufacturers develop more ADAS systems, different tactile, visual, and auditory communication methods with the drivers will be conceived. Standards urgently need to be set for active safety system HMI feedback so that drivers can confidently predict what their vehicle is telling them and how to respond appropriately in an emergency situation.
The driver should be able to make good decisions based on prior use of practically identical active safety systems in a different vehicle. Letting each car and information system manufacturer develop their own protocols is akin to changing the pedal layout between car models and expecting the driver to intuitively know what to do.
If a driver misinterprets what the vehicle is telling them, avoidable accidents will occur. This is why standards are needed.
The standards could be either qualitative, based on expert assessment and opinion, such as The European Statement of Principals on HMI (ESoP), or quantitative, such as the regime being developed as part of the Human Machine Interface and the Safety of Traffic in Europe (HASTE) project.
The European Statement of Principals on HMI is a good tool for manufacturers to use to ensure that the design of an IVIS is not overly distracting, and that the information that it gives a driver is predictable and manageable. It contains a number of design goals that give a good framework to make a judgment on the safety of a system and its HMI.
The ESoP on HMI also contains design goals for the accompanying manual. It is important that the manual is clear and concise, and gives the driver necessary information. The manual essentially acts as the training course on the IVIS use, in lieu of seeking further driver training with the system.
The ESoP does not contain pass/fail criterion however, and it depends on the judgement of an expert in HMI. This creates an element of subjectivity in any certification process.
Empirical data is a much better tool to assess a systems safety because it can then be compared against a benchmark level of safety. This is where RoSPA believes the assessment of HMI must head in the future.
Empirical tests that assess the effect that the amount and predictability of information has on driving safety could also form the basis of a consumer information program.
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