Automotive Central Console Interface Design

Abstract

This work was aimed at enhancing driving experience and safety by understanding the possibility of improving the central console physical interface experience, ergonomics and usability when dealing with in-vehicle tasks. An examination was carried out about some of the physical central console interfaces, measuring which one performed better concerning driver distraction and ease of use in double task situations. For that, a driving simulator was built, and a series of dual task tests were conducted to retrieve driving and performance data. The telemetry data about the driving line comparisons relative to a reference path, and the mean speed through the test sectors was compared to the eye tracking data, which was then compared and related to the modified self-perception subjective workload NASA Raw TLX test. It is expected that from this analysis some conclusions could be achieved that lead to an improvement opportunity to the central console interfaces. This could result from a combination of the systems, or could even give opportunity to develop an alternative new solution or a good practice guide for future design and developments.