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IN-VEHICLE
DISPLAY ICONS AND OTHER INFORMATION ELEMENTS
PRELIMINARY
ASSESSMENT OF VISUAL SYMBOLS
Publication No. FHWA-RD-99-196
December 1999
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FOREWORD
This is one of
a series of reports produced as part of a contract to develop precise
and detailed human factors design guidelines for in-vehicle display
icons and other information elements. The contractual effort consists
of three phases: analytical, empirical, and integrative.
This report is
the second product of the analytical phase. It provides design guidance
for the joint use of visual, auditory, and tactile information presentation
and builds a foundation for future design tools that will assist designers
in specifying icon design for in-vehicle information technologies, particularly
as they relate to Advanced Traveler Information Systems (ATIS).
Copies of this
report can be obtained through the Research and Technology Report Center,
9701 Philadelphia Court, Unit Q, Lanham, Maryland 20706, telephone:
(301) 577-0818, fax: (301) 577-1421, or the National Technical Information
Service (NTIS), 5285 Port Royal Road, Springfield, Virginia 22161, telephone:
(703) 605-6000, fax: (703) 605-6900.
Michael F. Trentacoste
Director, Office of Safety
Research and Development
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Technical Report Documentation
Page
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1. Report No.
FHWA-RD-99-196
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2. Government
Accession No.
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3. Recipient's
Catalog No.
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4. Title and Subtitle
IN-VEHICLE DISPLAY
ICONS AND OTHER INFORMATION ELEMENTS: CONDUCT PRELIMINARY ASSESSMENT
OF VISUAL SYMBOLS
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5. Report Date
December,
1999
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6. Performing
Organization Code
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7. Author(s)
John D. Lee, Cher
Carney, Steven M. Casey, and John L. Campbell
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8. Performing
Organization Report No.
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9. Performing
Organization Name and Address
Battelle Human
Factors Transportation Center
4000 NE
41st Street
Seattle,
WA 98105
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10. Work Unit
No. (TRAIS)
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11. Contract or
Grant No.
DTFH61-97-R-00061
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12. Sponsoring
Agency Name and Address
Office of Safety
and Traffic Operations R&D
Federal
Highway Administration
6300 Georgetown
Pike
McLean,
VA 22101-2296
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13. Type of Report
and Period Covered
Preliminary
Assessment of Visual Symbols
12/97
- 6/98
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14. Sponsoring
Agency Code
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15. Supplementary
Notes
Contracting Officer's
Technical Representative (COTR): Thomas Granda, HRDS
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16. Abstract
This report describes
the methods and results associated with Task B: Preliminary Assessment
of Visual Symbols. The purpose of Task B is twofold: (1) it identifies
credible procedures, heuristics, and principles for the joint use of
visual, auditory, and tactile information to present in-vehicle messages,
and (2) it defines message characteristics that should guide symbol
design. Defining these characteristics and their interactions helps
to identify design tradeoffs and provides the basis for future design
guidelines and tools. The methodology employed to complete Task B included:
refining a list of previously generated IVIS messages, conducting a
review of the literature relevant to sensory modality, evaluating the
IVIS messages using a sensory modality decision tool, defining messages
according to their contextual characteristics and information processing
elements (IPEs), clustering messages according to their contextual characteristics,
grouping those clusters to identify general design categories, and examining
the IPEs and design tradeoffs within each cluster and category.
Through the process
of devising these design tools and decision aids and analyzing the list
of relevant IVIS messages, we developed the following conclusions: (1)
a review of existing literature regarding visual, auditory and tactile
information presentation provided numerous general principles for modality
selection, which was the basis for an effective sensory modality decision
tool, (2) classifying IVIS messages according to ITS technologies and
general functions is insufficient for providing effective design guidelines,
(3) understanding the driving context under which IVIS messages are
presented is critical for successful design guideline development, (4)
the IPEs associated with an IVIS message can successfully be used to
develop the design guidelines that consider the perceptual, memory,
and motor control limits of the driver, (5) the cluster analysis technique
provides a powerful tool to focus future analyses on a meaningful subset
of possible combinations of contextual characteristics and IPEs, (6)
the tools and decision aids developed as part of Task B have provided
the project team with a solid analytical foundation to begin guideline
development in Task C of this project, and (7) a key challenge associated
with Task C will be to integrate the information provided in this report
and develop clear, relevant, and easy-to-use design guidelines for in-vehicle
icons.
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17. Key Words
Human Factors,
In-Vehicle Icons, ITS, Display Modality, Driver Information
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18. Distribution
Statement
No restrictions.
This document is available to the public through the National Technical
Information Service, Springfield, VA 22161.
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19. Security Classif.
(of this report)
Unclassified
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20. Security Classif.
(of this page)
Unclassified
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21. No. of Pages
196
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22. Price
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Form DOT F 1700.7 (8-72)
Reproduction of completed page authorized
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