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Enabling Multitasking by Designing for Situation Awareness within the Vehicle Environment

Accepted version
Peer-reviewed

Type

Article

Change log

Authors

Langdon, PM 
Sawyer, Ben 
Mouzakitis, Alex 
Clarkson, P 

Abstract

In the driving environment, competition exists between Driving Related Activities (DRAs) and Non-Driving Related Activities (NDRAs). This is a source of inattention and human error. Continual proliferation of in-vehicle information systems (IVIS) presents drivers with opportunities for distraction. Drivers simultaneously manage DRAs alongside unrelated but cognitively demanding NDRAs. Vehicle designers need ways of understanding human capability in such situations to provide solutions that accommodate these conflicting demands. This paper proposes a framework intended to address such challenges, rooted in the widely accepted construct of Situation Awareness (SA). However, SA theory does not presently accommodate disparate unrelated goal-driven tasks performed in parallel. This framework reconciles the present reality of drivers simultaneously devoting cognitive resources to attain SA for multiple activities by proposing a separate body of knowledge for each active goal. Additionally, the process of achieving SA is expanded to incorporate this concurrent development of separate bodies of goal-directed knowledge. The advantage of reconceptualising SA for driving allows consideration of interface design which minimises the impact of competing activities. The aim is a framework facilitating creation of IVIS that help drivers succeed in multi-goal multitasking situations. Implications of the proposed framework for theory, design, and industry-driven automotive safety efforts are discussed.

Description

Keywords

Automotive, human-machine interface, Situation Awareness, multitasking

Journal Title

Theoretical Issues in Ergonomics Science

Conference Name

Journal ISSN

1463-922X
1464-536X

Volume Title

Publisher

Taylor & Francis
Sponsorship
EPSRC (via University of Southampton) (515532101)
This research is funded by Jaguar Land Rover Research Department in collaboration with the Centre for Advanced Photonics and Electronics (CAPE) and the Engineering Design Centre at Cambridge University.