- The Toyota Research Institute study was quite damning
- Lane deviation increased significantly thanks to touchscreen interaction
- Findings suggest automakers should reduce the number of menus in cars
The results of a new study conducted by the University of Washington (UW) and the Toyota Research Institute have provided some pretty damning evidence against the use of large, distracting touchscreens while driving a vehicle.
Quite eloquently titled “Moving Touchscreens: Quantifying the Impact of Cognitive Load on Distracted Drivers,” the study saw 16 participants placed in ultra-realistic, high-fidelity driving simulators while researchers tracked eye and hand movements, pupil dilation, and skin conductivity.
Participants were asked to drive in a typical urban environment and then interact with various secondary tasks presented on the touchscreen; nothing major, just adjusting the car’s features or changing the radio station.
Their driving ability and accuracy when interacting with the touchscreen were measured.
According to Car Scoops, researchers measured a mix of driver performance metrics and physiological markers, from eye movements, index finger tracking and steering consistency to reaction time and stress signals. This helped them get a better idea of the stress and cognitive load of the human at the controls.
As expected, the results weren’t pretty for those advocating an increased reliance on touchscreens rather than physical buttons. First, the pointing accuracy on said touch screen and the speed of use were reduced by more than 58% compared to non-driving conditions.
This already reveals that we humans struggle to physically interact with a touchscreen when we’re busy processing what’s happening outside the windshield of a moving vehicle. This in turn forces the driver to concentrate more on using the digital menu screens.
As a result, the study found that lane deviation increased by more than 40% once touchscreen interaction was introduced. The vicious circle then continues.
Bring back the buttons
We’ve covered this topic extensively before, but some manufacturers are reintroducing physical buttons for often-used features in a vehicle. This is partly a reaction to consumer backlash, but also because some major safety agencies will penalize automakers that rely too heavily on touchscreens in the future.
I firmly believe that things like volume control, lighting, window defoggers, and wipers should all be mapped to physical buttons that can be committed to muscle memory after a few uses.
This means drivers don’t need to navigate through often hypersensitive touchscreens to activate very basic features. Getting stuck in a loop of wrong taps, navigating incorrect menus, or activating the wrong function is frustrating but also very dangerous.
Research from the University of Washington (UW) and the Toyota Research Institute suggests that automakers are looking to reduce the number of menus required to perform a function, by implementing physical buttons that can be customized to access the most used items.
Otherwise, he says future systems should become smarter and adapt when they detect that the driver is becoming increasingly distracted, making buttons larger or limiting certain functions when they think things are getting dangerous.
Unfortunately, it’s just a lot cheaper for modern automakers to entrust everything to a touchscreen and then rely on software updates to make things better. Not only are we now faced with completely seamless healthcare interiors, but also the prospect of an increasingly button-free future.
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