DRIVER INTERFACES FOR ELECTRIC VEHICLES

The Dashboard Examined

GOALS

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]

BACKGROUND 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, p177-179]

THE EXPERIMENT

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, p179 - 183]

THE EXPERIMENT(2)

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, p179 - 183]

THE EXPERIMENT (3)

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, p177-179]

THE EXPERIMENT (4)

THE RESULTS 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, p179 - 183]

THE RESULTS(2) 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, p179 - 183]

WERE THE GOALS MET? 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]

RELATIONSHIP TO OTHER PAPERS / CONCEPTS

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 / VOLT / INSIGHT DASHBOARD

http://www.geek.com/articles/mobile/car-review-2010-toyota-prius-tops-50-mpg-easily-20090326/

http://automobiles.honda.com/insight-hybrid/interior-photos.aspx

http://bobbleheadguru.blogspot.com/2011/10/volt-user-experience.html & http://www.chevrolet.com/volt-electric-car/interior-pictures.html

THE CRITIQUE 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.

BIOGRAPHY

[1] Strömberg, H., & Andersson, P., & Almgren, S., & Ericsson, J., & Karlsson, M., Nåbo, A. (2011). Driver interfaces for electric vehicles. ACM - Automotive UI, 177 - 184. doi: 10.1145/2381416.2381445

[2] Kim, S., & Dey, A., & Lee, Joonhwan., & Forlizzi, J. (2011). Usability of Car Dashboard Displays for Elder Drivers. ACM – CHI’11, 493 – 502. doi: 10.1145/1978942.1979011

[3] Kurani, K.S., Axsen, J., Caperello, N., Davies-Shawhyde, J. and Stillwater, T. 2009. 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. 2011. 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: 10.1145/1534903.1534906

NISSAN LEAF (FROM OWNERS MANUAL)