Abstract
- New European telematics & ITS report from SBD - HMI Trends in Europe -
balancing functionality with safety
- Present and future HMI challenges, trends and technologies assessed
- HMI strategies of 16 leading vehicle manufacturers detailed and appraised
- Informed recommendations on the most effective solutions
Consumer demand for sophisticated infotainment systems has forced vehicle
manufacturers to increase the availability in their model ranges of features
such as satellite navigation, integrated telephones and multi-function audio
equipment. Although these features in themselves can make journeys more
pleasurable and time-efficient, the design of their human-machine interface
(HMI) presents a challenge in balancing ease of use with safety.
SBD's new telematics and ITS report, HMI Trends in Europe - balancing
functionality with safety, shows how vehicle manufacturers have adopted a
driver-focused HMI for their embedded systems, clustering the controls on and
around the steering wheel and duplicating information in the instrument
cluster display. While this supports ease of use, it can also present an
increased risk of driver distraction and compromise safety.
The report looks in detail at both generic and specific approaches to HMI
design, detailing current trends in central controllers and touch screens and
looking ahead to future technology, such as gesture recognition and
dual-screen displays. The HMI strategies deployed by 16 of Europe's leading
car manufacturers are also illustrated and appraised.
In its research, SBD identifies those HMI solutions which have the greatest
impact on safety, such as the head-up display systems pioneered in Europe by
BMW and Citroën, and the wider availability of voice recognition control,
a technology which is moving beyond the premium car market to feature in more
high-volume models.
It cautions, however, that achieving the right balance between the
functionality motorists expect and safety will become increasingly difficult
and that none of the present or future HMI strategies will achieve significant
improvements. It recommends the development of workload management systems,
which restrict the information provided to the driver and the functions that
can be accessed, according to driving conditions, as offering the best
potential.
While manufacturers can focus on the HMI of their embedded systems, SBD
acknowledges the limited scope they have to ensure safe driver operation of
portable devices, such as telephones and digital music players. These issues
together with the technical integration challenges are fully explored in SBD's
recent report entitled "Portable device integration ~ strategies for the
automotive industry".
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