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Evaluating the Effects of In-Vehicle Technologies (Telematics) on Driver's Performance

Verbal and Spatial Loading Effects on Eye Movements in Simulators: a Comparison to Real World Driving

Kim R. Hammel, Graduate Research Assistant
Donald L. Fisher, Ph.D., Professor, Director Human Performance Laboratory
Anuj K. Pradhan, Research Assistant, Asst. Lab Manager Human Performance Laboratory
Human Performance Laboratory, University of Massachusetts
220 ELAB Building, Amherst, MA 01002
Phone: (413) 545-3393
Email: hpl@ecs.umass.edu
WWW: www.ecs.umass.edu/hpl/
 

Overview

  
 

Purpose

  • Big Picture
    • information acquisition (vehicular control, risk perception, etc.)
    • attention allocation (time sharing, telematics)
  • Immediate Goal (basic research)
    • investigate the validity of eye data in static based, VR simulation (esp. HPL simulator)
  • The Future
    • applied research
 

Recarte & Nunes, 2000

See:
Recarte & Nunes (2000). Effects of Verbal and Spatial—Imagery Tasks on Eye Fixations While Driving. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Applied, Vol. 6, No.1, pp. 31-43.
  • Dashboard mounted eye tracker recorded scanning behavior
  • Participants drove highway and rural segments while performing 1 of 3 tasks
  • Tasks
    • No Task
    • Verbal Tasks
    • Spatial Imagery Tasks
  • Recorded affected scanning patterns due to performing verbal and spatial tasks concurrent to driving
  • Found sig. differences between both loaded vs. unloaded conditions
  • Found sig. differences between loaded conditions (i.e. verbal vs. spatial)
  • Ocular Parameters:
    • Pupillary Dilation
    • Mean Fixation Duration
    • Variability of Fix Dur. Across Fixations
    • Mean Horizontal Location and SD
    • Mean Vertical Location and SD
    • Mean Saccadic Size
  • Driving Parameters:
    • Vehicle Speed
    • Glances at Mirrors
    • Speedometer References
 

HPL Replication

  • Subjects: 24 students in Mass. 5 Coll. Cons. (M = 20.75, SD = 1.39)
  • Materials: Simulator & ASL HM Eye Tracker

    Simulated road
    Simulated road

  • 4 drives X 3 conditions = 12 driving conditions
  • Results

    Mean pupil diameter
    Mean pupil diameter

    Mean saccade size
    Mean saccade size

    Variability of horizontal and vertical fixation position
    Variability of horizontal and vertical fixation position

    Mean fixation duration
    Mean fixation duration

    Speedometer checks by task type
    Speedometer checks by task type

 

Conclusions

  • Eye movements recorded during simulation reflect ‘real world’ results
  • Secondary cognitive tasks while driving significantly affect scanning behavior
  • In most cases, visual tasks have a more severe impact on scanning behavior
 

The Future

  • Link Foundation Extension
  • Communication Technologies
  • Goal: Cell vs. Passenger?
 
 
     
     

 

© 2002-2003 • contact Matthias Roetting • last revision November 21st, 2003