Interactive touchscreen displays are increasingly prevalent in cars, providing direct manipulation access to information, communication and entertainment services. However, touchscreens are inherently associated with high visual demand and often require physical dexterity to manipulate them. Touchscreens may therefore distract drivers if used while driving. A simulator study investigated the impact of using three existing list-scrolling techniques on driving performance and preferences while driving in a medium-fidelity, fixed-based driving simulator. Twenty experienced drivers used page-by-page, flick-scrolling and page-swiping techniques to locate specified words within structured, vertical word lists displayed on a touchscreen located in the centre console of a right-hand drive car. Page-by-page performed worst during the study – objectively, it was associated with the longest task-times and the highest number of offroad glances and subjectively, was least preferred by participants both before and after driving. Flickscroll and pageswipe performed equally well with respect to task completion time, glance behaviour and driving performance. Drivers preferred flickscroll before driving but favoured page-swipe afterwards as it was perceived to be “easiest to use” and “less distracting.” Page-swipe offers the benefits of both flick-scroll (large interaction area) and page-by-page (displays discrete ‘chunks’ of information). It may therefore be more easily incorporated into the self-paced nature of driving. Further research is required to quantify the perceived benefits. (Author/publisher)
Abstract