%0 Journal Article
%T Haptic Addition to a Visual Menu Selection Interface Controlled by an In-Vehicle Rotary Device
%A Camilla Grane
%A Peter Bengtsson
%J Advances in Human-Computer Interaction
%D 2012
%I Hindawi Publishing Corporation
%R 10.1155/2012/787469
%X Today, several vehicles are equipped with a visual display combined with a haptic rotary device for handling in-vehicle information system tasks while driving. This experimental study investigates whether a haptic addition to a visual interface interferes with or supports secondary task performance and whether haptic information could be used without taking eyes off road. Four interfaces were compared during simulated driving: visual only, partly corresponding visual-haptic, fully corresponding visual-haptic, and haptic only. Secondary task performance and subjective mental workload were measured. Additionally, the participants were interviewed. It was found that some haptic support improved performance. However, when more haptic information was used, the results diverged in terms of task completion time and interface comprehension. Some participants did not sense all haptics provided, some did not comprehend the correspondence between the haptic and visual interfaces, and some did. Interestingly, the participants managed to complete the tasks when using haptic-only information. 1. Introduction As complexity in vehicles increases, new techniques are being developed to reduce the demands on a driverĄ¯s attention [1¨C5]. Because driving is mainly a visual task [6], many new systems have been developed to reduce visual load by providing supporting auditory or haptic information. For example, a haptic rotary device can provide haptic information intended to support interaction with a visual user interface. In this paper, we focus on this type of haptic information. Today, several cars are outfitted with haptic rotary devices to help the driver handle secondary tasks [7]. This type of haptic information includes kinaesthetic and tactile sensations [8] provided through active touch [9]. An exploratory procedure of repeated hand movement [10], in this case turning the rotary device back and forth, is required to perceive the haptic information. Haptic information includes the placement of a ridge between menu items [7] and special haptic effects for scrolling through a list or searching for radio stations. These kinds of haptic effects could help a driver if designed to extend or correlate with the visual information. That is, the haptic interface provides similar information as the visual interface. This redundant information may help drivers perform actions without looking at the visual display. If the driver knows that a desired function is three steps to the right in the menu, the driver can select the correct function by simply counting the haptic ridges, a
%U http://www.hindawi.com/journals/ahci/2012/787469/