Human-computer interactions: research challenges for in-vehicle technology

The proliferation of affordable in-vehicle technology has made the potential for driver distraction a pressing road safety concern in terms of crash risk and causation. In-vehicle technology introduces new safety and usability constraints that challenge existing Human Computer Interaction (HCI) and Intelligent Transport Systems (ITS) approaches. Too often HCI and ITS research approaches isolate the study of interactions – between human and in-vehicle computers – from the rest of activities in which the driver is involved. Our main assumption is that in-vehicle interactions activities are intrinsically linked with the setting in which they occur. Such interactions are often unpredictable and volatile. In-vehicle interactions activities arise out of particular setting and are constrained by the very same setting. To date, there appears to have been little research examining design principles that describes how in-vehicle technology interactions manifest in the driving environment and how they can coherently blend into other drivers’ activities. This paper explores research challenges that need to be addressed in order determine how in-vehicle technology can be safely and seamlessly used in cars. We present set of design principles for in-vehicle technology that exploit drivers’ preferences, abilities, needs, physical and social settings.