Basic study on effectiveness of tactile interface for warning presentation in driving environment

The aim of this study was to get insight into the development of tactile interface for automobile warning system. In other words, it was investigated whether the important driving information in the right and left peripheral visual fields can be recognized faster using tactile warning system as compared with auditory warning system. The participants were required to simultaneously carry out a tracking task (main task), a switch pressing task such as selection of light-on function, and a judgment task of important information which randomly appeared to the right or left peripheral visual field. The tracking error, the number of lane deviation, the percentage correct of switch pressing, and the response time to right and left peripheral stimulus were measured. It was examined how age, the modality of alarm presentation (no alarm, auditory, and tactile), the addition of direction in alarm presentation, and the existence of disturbance sound, and the location of tactile sensor (steering or foot) affected the measures above. The young adults performed better than older adults. The response time was not affected by the modality of alarm presentation, and the disturbance sound. The addition of direction of alarm presentation affected the performance. The tactile sensor attached to the foot led to faster response than that attached to the steering wheel.