IT faculty research awarded at prestigious conference on human-computer interaction
Ä¢¹½Ö±²¥ Associate Professor Tuomo Kujala and Doctoral Researcher Abhishek Sarkar were awarded the Best Paper Award at the ACM Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems (CHI) in Yokohama, Japan.
The research introduced the Ä¢¹½Ö±²¥'s new Drive-In Laboratory where studies are conducted in driver's inattention and the associated crash potential in traffic. The focus is on the effects of in-car information and entertainment systems on driver inattention. The results are used to evaluate and improve the safety of driver interfaces in cars.
The Best Paper Award is given to only 1% of the research papers submitted to the conference.
"It's amazing to receive such recognition for our research! This is the top conference in the field and one of the most prestigious conferences in computer science. The award is an incentive to continue the pioneering research on our chosen path," Kujala says.
The CHI conference is widely regarded as the most prestigious conference on human-computer interaction and one of the top conferences in the world on information technology.
First results are out - Kia beats Volkswagen on intuitiveness of interfaces
The award-winning article presented the first test results of the Drive-In laboratory, conducted last summer. The first vehicles whose infotainment systems were tested were the Kia EV9 and Volkswagen ID.7.
The driver’s user interfaces and their distraction effects were compared with 10 different tasks. A total of 64 drivers from four different age groups participated the study.
The studies were conducted in the laboratory with real vehicles.
"The Drive-In Lab at the Ä¢¹½Ö±²¥ is a unique test facility that allows any passenger car to be driven inside the laboratory and to be connected to a simulated driving scenario in which the driver's behaviour can be measured under safe and controlled driving conditions," Kujala explains.
In the laboratory a 180-degree view of a driving scenario is projected in front of the car. Behind the car there is another projection so that the driver is able to monitor the traffic from the mirrors, just like in a real driving situation.
"The projections allow us to simulate realistic distances to other cars and focus the research on the cognitive processes of the driver that are crucial for safe driving," Kujala says.
In the study, the drivers are inexperienced with the cars and they are not instructed on how to do the tasks with their user interfaces. The user interface of the Volkswagen ID.7 was found to be generally less intuitive and more distracting than that of the Kia EV9, although ID.7 was better at some individual tasks.
Funded by the Academy of Finland, research at the Drive-In Laboratory will continue until the end of August. The aim is to continue the research also after that.
New cars are tested and compared on an on-going basis. The laboratory is looking for test drivers with different backgrounds and age groups in social media and at the Ä¢¹½Ö±²¥ website.
"If you have a driving licence, you should volunteer," Kujala sums up.
