Evaluation of Haptic Patterns on a Steering Wheel

Shakeri, G., Ng, A., Williamson, J. and Brewster, S. A. (2016) Evaluation of Haptic Patterns on a Steering Wheel. In: 8th International Conference on Automotive User Interfaces and Interactive Vehicular Applications, Ann Arbor, MI, USA, 24-26 Oct 2016, pp. 129-136. ISBN 9781450345330 (doi: 10.1145/3003715.3005417)

Abstract

Infotainment Systems can increase mental workload and divert visual attention away from looking ahead on the roads. When these systems give information to the driver, provide it through the tactile channel on the steering, it wheel might improve driving behaviour and safety. This paper describes an investigation into the perceivability of haptic feedback patterns using an actuated surface on a steering wheel. Six solenoids were embedded along the rim of the steering wheel creating three bumps under each palm. Maximally, four of the six solenoids were actuated simultaneously, resulting in 56 patterns to test. Participants were asked to keep in the middle road of the driving simulator as good as possible. Overall recognition accuracy of the haptic patterns was 81.3%, where identification rate increased with decreasing number of active solenoids (up to 92.2% for a single solenoid). There was no significant increase in lane deviation or steering angle during haptic pattern presentation. These results suggest that drivers can reliably distinguish between cutaneous patterns presented on the steering wheel. Our findings can assist in delivering non-critical messages to the driver (e.g. driving performance, incoming text messages, etc.) without decreasing driving performance or increasing perceived mental workload.

• Item Type: Conference Proceedings
• Status: Published
• Refereed: Yes
• Glasgow Author(s) Enlighten ID: Brewster, Professor Stephen and Williamson, Dr John
• Authors: Shakeri, G., Ng, A., Williamson, J., and Brewster, S. A.
• College/School: College of Science and Engineering > School of Computing Science
• ISBN: 9781450345330
• Copyright Holders: Copyright © 2016 ACM
• Publisher Policy: Reproduced in accordance with the copyright policy of the publisher

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