Application of ecological interface design to driver support systems

This paper presents the results of two experiments to assess the benefits of using Cognitive Work Analysis (CWA) and Ecological Interface Design (EID) to guide the development of driver support systems. EID suggests novel interface alternatives that have substantial theoretical promise. However, it is not possible to anticipate how drivers will perceive and respond to these displays. Two experiments compared a traditional display with three EID-inspired displays and found complementary results regarding the ability of these displays to support the judgment of safe gaps in a lane change situation. The first experiment showed that participants adapted with a similar speed to the traditional and EID-inspired displays and that one EID-inspired display performed at least as well as the traditional display while promoting more precise calibration between judgment accuracy and confidence in the judgment. The second experiment showed that when participants could only view the situation for a short period, an EID-inspired display substantially outperformed the more traditional display. Importantly, not all the EID-inspired displays outperformed the traditional display. The results are discussed in terms of alternate evaluation venues for emerging in-vehicle technology.