The Dashboard Examined

 What is the information that needs to be presented to the driver.  What format should it be presented in?  Can a quality design of the dashboard information convince subjects that they have all of the correct information?  Should a traditional car interface be used, or should it be adapted to electric vehicles? [1, p178]

 Electric vehicles are not well understood by the drivers of gas powered vehicles.  A standard proven design has not been implemented for the electric vehicle dashboard.  A way for allowing drivers to obtain the knowledge to get the max distance off of a battery charge is needed.  Needs to be easy to interpret.  Auditory and sensory feedback is different than a gas powered car. [1, p ]

 Two dashboard interfaces were presented to Saab employees in Sweden.  The interfaces were used in a simulator of a full-sized Saab 9-3 that did not move.  Participants had a mean age of 44 and were 50% male and female.  Button pushing was logged. [1, p ]

 Questionnaires / and thinking aloud was also documented.  The participants were asked to identify the different gauges once in the drivers seat.  They were asked to accelerate and brake hard to test the eco-meter.  They were asked to determine how much power the car had left. [1, p ]

 Is the auxiliary accessory gage effective?  Do the warnings convey the necessary message?  How does the driver know how long a charge is going to last?  Do they have enough energy stored to make it home?  Do drivers understand the eco-meter and regenerative braking? [1, p ]

 Concept 1 was preferred since it was similar to gas powered cars.  The distance to empty was thought to be a tachometer by half the subjects for concept 1 though easily noticed on concept 2.  State of charge was clear on both concepts.  The auxiliary load meter left the subjects with questions about how much the distance was effected.  Concept2 warnings were perceived better than concept 1 since they were easier to notice.  Battery temp on concept 2 was not understood. [1, p ]

 Both concepts had issues with the propulsion system ready symbol.  The eco-meter was “perceived as quite irrelevant compared to other gages” [1, p181]. Half did not understand what the function was for and why it went down when braking.  The question for some of the users if a just in time power meter would be better than a eco-meter.  Most users wondered if both distance to empty and state of charge meters are needed?  The conclusion stated that drivers do not understand how to drive an electric car, and these gauges do not assist. Author made references to other articles. [1, p ]

 Format Presented: The drivers preferred the conventional format, but they then expected the vehicle to act the same as a gas powered one.  Are either dashboard perfectly intuitive? The current dashboard designs require training for the users to understand them.  Traditional or new dashboard be used? No decisive conclusion. Users preferred conventional.  Need further understanding.  Subjects lose interest in detailed explanations. [1]

 From the Mini E [4] study, it appears that the moment a foot is taken off the accelerator, regenerative braking is applied.  60% very strongly agree that electric vehicles are suited for daily use, and leasing one changed their attitudes towards it. 71% stated they were more likely to purchase one after leasing. All had to adjust to it. [4]  Users do not seem to understand the computer print outs of the Prius either. One subject did not know when it was on engine versus battery. [3]  Weather effects the battery life, and driving one takes some getting used to. [3]  Cluttered car dashboards can impair driving abilities, as drivers spend more time analyzing information. [2]  Older drivers have slower response times. [2 & 5]

prius-tops-50-mpg-easily / experience.html & car/interior-pictures.html

 The users did not seem to know how to drive an electric car, which was the case the first time I drove a Prius.  Written off of an opinion of another paper on users understanding of how electric vehicles work.  The article does not quantify the surveys it collected. It just states the outcomes of them…I presume.  The article did not include any reasoning behind what information would actually be displayed.  How do subjects know if the dashboard information is correct, when they do not understand the internal workings?  UX Design Principles - GUEPS – KISS, Mental Model, Consistency  How does a battery meter actually work?  Is the distance consistent through the charge. Aka 10km to half life and 10km to empty.

 [1] Strömberg, H., & Andersson, P., & Almgren, S., & Ericsson, J., & Karlsson, M., Nåbo, A. (2011). Driver interfaces for electric vehicles. ACM - Automotive UI, doi: /  [2] Kim, S., & Dey, A., & Lee, Joonhwan., & Forlizzi, J. (2011). Usability of Car Dashboard Displays for Elder Drivers. ACM – CHI’11, 493 – 502. doi: /  [3] Kurani, K.S., Axsen, J., Caperello, N., Davies-Shawhyde, J. and Stillwater, T Learning from Consumers: Plug-In Hybrid Electric Vehicle (PHEV) Demonstration and Consumer Education, Outreach, and Market Research Program. Technical Report. Institute of Transportation Studies, University of California, Davis  [4] Turrentine, T., Garas, D., Lentz, A. and Woodjack, J The UC Davis MINI E Consumer Study. Technical Report. Institute of Transportation Studies University of California.  [5] Salvucci, D. (2009). Rapid Prototyping and Evaluation of In-Vehicle Interfaces. ACM Transactions on Computer-Human Interaction (TOCHI), Volume 16, Issue 2, doi: /

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