The potential of using vibro-tactile displays for automobile drivers was investigated. Technological developments in the field of driver support systems and tactile displays, combined with the increasing struggle for the driver's attention by driver support systems, form the reason to review the possibilities of in-car tactile displays and to identify some promising applications. One potential promising application is the use of a tactile navigation display. Such a display can consist of small vibrators located in the driver's seat. Direction and distance can be coded by using different spatio-temporal patterns in the vibrations or by using different locations. A tactile in-car navigation display was tested in a driving simulator. Participants drove different routes through a simulated city. Navigation information was presented via a visual display, a tactile display, or both. The results show that the tactile navigation display resulted in better performance compared to a visual display, and that it reduced the driver's workload. It was concluded that vibro-tactile displays seem to offer a valuable answer to the demand of the automotive industry to improve the man-machine interfaces in cars. The experimental results support the claim that employing the tactile channel may release other heavily loaded sensory channels and may lead to major safety improvements. (Author/publisher)
Samenvatting