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 A research team at Nottingham University led by Dr
Gary Burnett is using a purpose built driving simulator to study
how the use of different Sat-Nav systems affects the driving of
members of the public of all ages, even measuring how long they
look away from the road when performing different functions.
Their initial studies of this area of “Human-Computer
Interaction” (HCI) show marked differences in the software
design of different systems, which has significant safety
implications, for example the same functions that took just
eighteen seconds to complete on one system took almost a minute to
do on another.
In Japan, where the technology has been available for ten years,
over 3.5 million vehicles have systems installed, and in the late
nineties the Japanese transport ministry began to identify
accidents caused by drivers distracted by their route guidance
displays.
Today all cars for sale in the Japanese market have standardised
the controls of in-car navigation systems so that many functions
are blocked once the vehicle is in motion. While the Nottingham
team's research continues, the marked disparities between systems
suggests that similar steps may be needed in other countries too,
as the use of Sat-Nav systems grows.
Footage:
- Man driving car using Sat-Nav
- Driving simulator
- 4-screenm camera feedback for use by researchers
Interviewees:
- Dr Gary Burnett, School of Computer Science and IT, University of
Nottingham
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