Driver Cognition & The Sense of Time

Driver Cognition
&
the Sense of Time
Foreword
This project was proposed owing to sheer fascination with the concept of time, and an interest to experiment. WHAT??? was one question, how do I incorporate this fascination of time with transportation design? was another. I had nothing more than a vague answer to these questions while starting, and I knew that I was signing up for a tough task. From the moment of commencement of the project, I knew there was a huge amount of literature study required. Firstly, I wanted to get a clear textbook understanding of driver cognition. I soon realized what I had read during Ergonomics & System Design projects was just a meagre percentage of what I had signed up for. Second, I realized it was extremely necessary for me to get hold of philosophical as well as psychological aspects of time. Textbooks, hence, had to be supplemented with discussions with batch mates, seniors and peers. Third, the project deliverables under the Ford Foundation funding scheme included two research papers, publishable in design journal(s). This meant that my theoretical foundation had no excuse for lapses. Lastly, I wanted to understand methods used in design research and felt the need to work around marrying qualitative, quantitative and simulative research techniques. At the end of a rather prolonged literature study phase, I was proud of myself on two accounts: a) for managing to get a grip on the above mentioned points and b) for spending more time in the library than my two years at NID combined! Mid-way into the literature phase, it was agreed upon between me and my project guide that my first paper could be a complete review of literature followed by a pilot study to set a research framework. The second paper could, then, be in-depth research and analysis concluding into design blueprints, which were the other deliverables for my project. The pilot studies were carried out in three parts. The first one was to get an understanding of how different drivers perceived time. What time meant to them, had a direct bearing on their driving behaviour, and this helped me select a user group for further detailed study. The second part was a market study, where the current Indian four-wheeler market was studied with respect to safety features/interfaces available. The aim of this study was not to analyze vehicle safety, but instead, to understand the average perception of safety amongst the Indian population. Also, this study would give the threshold level that any new design should meet, and take off from. The third study was a road study, where the four most accident-prone road stretches of Ahmedabad were studied and analyzed as to what factors contributed to accidents on Indian roads. Combined, the three pilot studies gave a picture of whom to design for, what to design up from, and where to design for. In other words, this helped define a broad context for further detailed studies to be carried on. Henceforth, the task was getting clearer. I figured that to reach a conclusion, all I needed to do was follow the research, and narrow down the context at every step. So this time, I started with the vehicle selecting what type of vehicle was a slightly confusing task, but once the vehicle was selected, the driver would automatically fit in. The options were passenger car, bus and truck. Going ahead with a truck would mean social weight in the project, but the logistics involved were many and too difficult to control at least alone. The final call was between the passenger car and the bus, and attractiveness bias got the better of me and the passenger car was selected as my vehicle for further study. This automatically gave me my user group the cab driver. The detailed study was carried from a pure systems perspective. The first aspect of study was a cab agency. The sub-system was built around the most common task at a cab agency booking a cab. At each node, informational needs were mapped. As support case studies, a hierarchy of cab services was made and higher end services (Meru) were studied for comparisons and possible design interventions. The next aspect of study was the vehicles employed by the cab agencies. The most commonly used cabs in Ahmedabad were selected and made to go through an anthropometric and interface audit. Again, as a support case, the Tata Indica was studied as to how it revolutionized the taxi scene in India. Finally, it was the most important component of any driving system the driver. Now that everything had narrowed down at each step, it was the drivers turn. The third aspect of my studies involved extensive research on the drivers mental models, day in the life of study, awareness towards safety/technology, perception of their profession etc. Through this, I was able to narrow my entire research down to a certain Wanjibhai Parmar, 32, who drives a Tata Indica for RR Travels, an Ahmedabad-based cab agency. Wanjibhai is the average user for my research, and is the persona for whom the guidelines have been designed.
Kshitish Purohit
Transportation & Automobile Design PGDPD 07, National Institute of Design
Driver Cognition and the Sense of Time
National Institute of Design
Kshitish Purohit
Transportation & Automobile Design
PGDPD 07
Acknowledgement
Throughout the duration of the project, Ive had immense amount of cooperation and support from my guide, Dr. Bibhudutta Baral, who, despite being constrained by geographical locations, was always present to assist me, and despite not being an automobile design expert, made sure he was always a step ahead of me so that he could guide me at each step. Such is the attitude students need from their guides and I feel fortunate to have had this throughout the project. Dr. Prabir Mukhopadhyay, an expert in Ergonomics made sure in the beginning that I dont fall lax and gave me enough impetus to be able to read more and get my basics right. This project couldve gone without a logical element had it not been for Dr. Prabir in the beginning. A word of gratitude to Mr. Praveen Nahar, ex-coordinator, Transportation & Automobile Design and guide for my System Design project, for guiding me on Wayfinding the project that made me select this topic. Also, Mr. Bhaskar Bhatt gets a vote of thanks for putting me in touch with the cab agency, and for helping me at certain crossroads in the beginning and at many other stages of the project. Then there were people who helped in any-which-way possible. Some formed a part of the pilot studies (Vikramsinh Ji, Sagar Bhai, Bharat Bhai, Narainsinh Ji, Malav Sanghvi, Hiren Rana, Prassun Saha), while some just made me reflect upon what I was doing and where I was headed (Aditya what IS your project all about Narayan). A special word of gratitude goes to the bunch at Mediashala@NDBI (Himanshu Khatri, Nalin Avasthi, Sumiran Pandya, Adithya Ananth, Kiran Pandya & Deepak Singh) for giving me space to work from and work smooth. This project wouldve never got the human element had it not been for my peers. From the early discussions with Jaikar Lump Marur, Kanishk iKeny Gajjar, Ameya Batman Nabar to the assistance and discussions I got from Hrishikesh Neve on the pilot studies, I was guaranteed enjoyment working. And no Transportation Design project is complete without mentioning TAD 07 Neeraj Pathak, Sunil Kharat, Imlisashi Aier, Sudarshan Rathod, Harsha Raju, Sanjay Urikoth & Nikhil Sharma. Of course, Transportation & Automobile Design itself is not complete without the inclusion of Shradha Jain, Anuj Sharma, Poornima Garg, Pratyusha Reddy, Sangram Soni and Malhar Salil. No journey would ever be complete without the real pillars of support my parents. From the moment I decided to do a self-driven project within the walls of NID to the time I finished, Smt. Pramila Raghavendran and Sh. P.S.Raghavendran gave me nothing but support and limitless love. The one very special person, my grandmother Smt. Malati Rao, for making me want to finish fast and come home for food, and my aunt Smt. Nirmala Rao and uncle Sh. Vasudeva Rao for taking care of grandma and being really cool people, my brother Anand Purohit I owe one to all. Finally, with so many people to thank for little things, there is just one person to thank for so many things my real reality check, Kavita Myles, for showering endless amounts of love and support since forever, for constantly making me realize who I am, and for making me live one dream and work towards another. This page has been intentionally left blank. Please turn over for the next section.
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Contents
introduction
literature study
16
framework
32
research & analysis
48
design
74
conclusion
122
National Institute of Design Transportation & Automobile Design Ford Foundation Project Brief
The Driving Task Time - The Fourth Dimension Factors Affecting Perceived Time Time and Cognition Microstrategies and Recognition Driver Behaviour Vehicular Interfaces Interface Design
How do Drivers Perceive Time? Safety Trends Where do Accidents Occur? Conclusion
Introduction The Cab Agency Case Study: Meru Cabs Case Study: Tata Indica The Vehicle Space The Driver: Mental Models Persona: Wanjibhai Parmar
Information Structure Concept Guidelines Summary Dashboard Integration Relevance of the Design
Project Reflection Future Scope Bibliography
Kshitish Purohit
PGDPD 07
INTRODUCTION
INTRODUCTION

The National Institute of Design (NID) is internationally acclaimed as one of the foremost multi-disciplinary institutions in the field of design education and research. The Business Week, USA has listed NID as one of the top 25 European & Asian programmes in the world. The institute functions as an autonomous body under the department of Industrial Policy & Promotion, Ministry of Commerce & Industry, Government of India. NID is recognised by the Dept. of Scientific & Industrial Research (DSIR) under Ministry of Science & Technology, Government of India, as a scientific and industrial design research organisation.
introduction
National Institute of Design Transportation & Automobile Design Ford Foundation Project Brief
9 11 12 13
NID has been a pioneer in industrial design education after Bauhaus and Ulm in Germany and is known for its pursuit of design excellence to make Designed in India, Made for the World a reality. NIDs graduates have made a mark in key sectors of commerce, industry and social development by taking role of catalysts and through thought leadership. NID Gandhinagar is situated in the city of Gandhinagar, in Gujarat. As part of expansion plan, NID has started building a new postgraduate campus at Gandhinagar, the capital of Gujarat State. Commerce and Industry Minister Kamal Nath laid the foundation stone for this campus. The upcoming campus will be spread over 11,362 square meters and the building will cost around Rs 195 million. The campus has been proposed to consist of a jewellery and automobile design centre along with Lifestyle Accessory Design, New Media Design, Toy and Game Design, Strategic Design Management, Transportation and Information Design centres. NIDs R&D Campus at Bangalore was set up as a joint initiative of and funding from the Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion (DIPP), Ministry of Commerce and Industry and the Ministry of Information Technology, Government of India and was inaugurated in March 2006. The R&D Campus commenced two research intensive PG Programmes namely Design for Retail Experience and Design for Digital Experience, from the academic year 2007-2008. From the academic year 2008-2009,
Driver Cognition and the Sense of Time 8
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INTRODUCTION
INTRODUCTION
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the campus has also commenced one more research intensive PG Programme, namely Information and Interface Design. NIDs Research & Development Campus addresses the immediate need for an exclusive Design Research centre in the country, by fostering the creative design spirit and sighting new opportunities and frontiers through NIDs design acumen nurtured over the four decades of intense teaching-learning process. Having entered the 5th decade of design excellence, NID has been active as an autonomous institute under the aegis of the Department of Industrial Policy & Promotion, Ministry of Commerce & Industry, Government of India; in education, applied research, service and advanced training in Industrial, Communication, Textile, and I.T. Integrated (Experiential) Design. NID offers a wide spectrum of design domains while encouraging transdisciplinary design projects. NID is a unique institution with many problem-solving capabilities, depths of intellect and a time-tested, creative educational culture in promoting design competencies and setting standards of design education. The rigorous development of the designers skills and knowledge through a process of hands on minds on is what makes the difference. The overall structure of NIDs programme is a combination of theory, skills, design projects, and field experiences supported by cutting edge design studios, skill & innovation labs and the Knowledge Management Centre. Sponsored design projects are brought into the classroom to provide professional experience. Interdisciplinary design studies in Science and Liberal Arts widen the students horizons and increase general awareness of contemporary issues. A unique feature of NIDs design education programme is the openness of its educational culture and environment, where students from different faculties and design domains interact with each other in a seamless manner. The benefit of learning in such a trans-disciplinary context is immeasurable. Transportation is an indispensable need of humanity and the basic power of any economy, and is essential for survival today. Transportation as understood at NID includes not only cars and other vehicles or off road vehicles but also vehicles on tracks, water vessels and other mobility devices and equipments. In India, where there is still a value base for resource conservation and adopting one product for multipurpose use, transportation of both people and goods has many co-existing modes. Transportation in India so far has been technologically driven with minimum or little attention paid to the users needs in terms of comfort, safety, information and even the considerations of cultural sensitivities and preferences. In the context of an emerging market economy in India, it is essential to strengthen basic infrastructure facilities. Transportation is one of the most important links towards this end. Designers have a very important contribution to make towards the way they make objects in our environment work, and in turn, influence our perception towards them. This course seeks to establish a credible relationship of products and services with the user, technology and environment. The course aims to train young professionals with a thorough grounding in the systems approach to holistic problem solving processes, a sensitivity of concerns towards the environment and needs of different user groups. The objectives of this Programme are to develop an understanding of the field of Transportation Design with respect to the discipline of Industrial Design and to develop skills in analysis, concept generation, formulation of design strategies, problem solving, product detailing, communication and teamwork.
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Ford Foundation
The Ford Foundation is an independent, nonprofit grant-making organization. For more than half a century it has worked with courageous people on the frontlines of social change worldwide, guided by its mission to strengthen democratic values, reduce poverty and injustice, promote international cooperation, and advance human achievement. With headquarters in New York, the foundation has offices in Latin America, Africa, the Middle East, and Asia. The Ford Foundation was established on Jan. 15, 1936 by Edsel Ford, whose father Henry, founded the Ford Motor Company. During its early years, the foundation operated in Michigan under the leadership of Ford family members. Since the founding charter stated that resources should be used for scientific, educational and charitable purposes, all for the public welfare, the foundation made grants to many kinds of organizations. Edsels son, Henry Ford II, was a key figure in the foundation from 1943 to 1976. Serving variously as president, chairman and member of the board of trustees, he oversaw its transformation from a local Detroit foundation to a national and international organization. Today, the Ford Foundation, led by Luis Ubias, remains committed to advancing human welfare. Headquartered in New York City, Ford Foundation makes grants in all 50 states and, through 10 regional offices around the world, supports programs in more than 50 countries. The Ford Foundation supports visionary leaders and organizations working on the frontlines of social change worldwide, with a goal to: Strengthen democratic values Reduce poverty and injustice Promote international cooperation Advance human achievement and strengthen organizations and networks. The Ford Foundation diploma/research funding scheme at the National Institute of Design has, over the years, become a crucial component that assures in-house funding for diploma projects for students and also for faculties, and supports research-based projects that go in-line with the Ford Foundation ideology.
Project Brief
A research based study on driver behaviour and cognition, with a focus on temporal orientation, aiming to improve vehicle safety. To reach any destination, one needs to know three basic things Where am I?, Where do I have to go? and How to get there? In the bigger picture, the answers to these questions form the basis of any mobility task. The kind of information that acts as indicator may be architectural, graphic, auditory, olfactory or even astronomical. However, how the human mind interprets this information, is purely psychological & rooted deep down the Hippocampal section of the brain. Mobility, from a wayfinding perspective, can be considered as a spatial problem solving technique. The information provided at each node & landmark act as cues that help reach the destination with minimal loss of time and with maximum safety, thus, most efficiently. For proper processing, the information needs to be provided at the right place & in the right amount, so that necessary action can be taken at the right time. This is essential for safety & other critical functions. The design of any human-machine interface is based on these principles of information processing. However, in addition to the three basic questions regarding mobility, there is another aspect that is often taken for granted. The question how much time will it take?, even if not expressed explicitly, always has an estimated answer to it. The human mind has the tendency and the capacity to automatically estimate the time duration for a particular event. This aspect of information processing is called temporal orientation orientation with respect to time. We, as humans, inadvertently expect and measure the changes that occur from start to finish, and guess the expected time, for time is the measure of change. This body clock is what dictates our behavioral patterns and thats how we move with the times. In the field of vehicular design, research is underway & a lot of assistive interfaces are already prominent in the market. Technologies like Adaptive Cruise Control, Lane Departure Warning, Collision Warning Devices, Adaptive Headlamps etc. are already available in cars abroad. The primary aim of these interfaces is to assist the driver in case of uncontrollable conditions and provide a safe solution to escape any obstacles or aberrations on the road. These technologies, however, are based on spatial & behavioral pattern recognitions and little has been done in the field of temporal orientation. This project is aimed at studying the behaviour of the driver from a temporal perspective, and how these principles of cognition can be applied to vehicular safety. The total number of accidents reported by all the States/ Union Territories (UTs) in India in the year 2005 were 4,39,255 of which 19% were fatal; the number of persons killed in the accidents were 94,968 (i.e. an average of one fatality per 4.6 accidents) and; the number of persons injured at 4,65,282 exceeded total number of accidents (4,39,255) in 2005. Furthermore, 80% of all the road accidents have been attributed to the drivers negligence/fault. The so-called human element of error could be due to inhospitable conditions (e.g. heavy vehicles), time of day, or sheer negligence, but most importantly, it is due to insufficient information provided to the user on how to tackle the problem and the user having to rely upon his/her limited mental functions. In Ahmedabad, over 2600 cases of road accidents have been reported in the year 2001 alone, with about 160 to 200 persons getting killed. India, being a country run mostly according to ones own free will, cannot rely solely on training programmes and policies. Nor can it rely on technology alone. Thus, considering mobility as one of todays most basic needs, and considering safety as todays biggest concern, design needs to go hand-in-hand with knowledge-based methods if vehicular safety is to be strengthened.
The Ford Foundation works mainly by making grants or loans that build knowledge
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The Driving Task System

The initial set of guidelines in the form of the driving task system model.
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LITERATURE STUDY
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The Driving Task

Driving is a multi-sensory task. While driving, we see, we hear, we smell, we touch. Most importantly, we experience and we remember. The sights we see, the sounds we hear, the smells we smell, the road bumps we feel - all register in our memory as experiences that help us plan our next drive. As the saying goes, you never forget how to drive! Driving in an environment requires not only physical skill, but also involves highly complex strategies (or micro strategies) that dictate the action(s) being taken. Driving, thus, requires continuous processing of information - information that comes in the form of space and time. ing the way some displays are read. On the same lines, a rainy day might change a persons driving plans, without necessarily directly interfering with his/her driving capabilities.
literature study
The Driving Task Time - The Fourth Dimension Factors Affecting Perceived Time Time and Cognition Microstrategies and Recognition Driver Behaviour Vehicular Interfaces Interface Design
17 19 21 22 24 27 30 31
The driving system is made of interactions that happen at three different levels. The first level of interaction is that between the driver and the vehicle. This includes various information displays and controls primarily within the vehicle. The displays are in the form of indications regarding speed, fuel, gear markings etc. and the controls are primarily in the form of steering, accelerator & braking. This forms the control component of the driving task. The next level of interaction is that between the vehicle and the road. Road geometries, surfaces, the transportation networks etc. help the driver in negotiating a route and thus, form the guidance aspect of driving. Guidance also includes interaction between different vehicles. The third level is the interaction between the road and the driver. From a psychological standpoint, this is an important level of interaction, as the traffic signs and landmarks encountered en route shape the drivers perception of the next journey. At the same time, these are informational cues that help the driver plan his/her route. This forms the navigational aspect of the driving task. The outermost layer is the environment, which does not directly interact with the elements of the driving task system, but aids in the different levels of interaction. For example, ambient illumination directly affects visual perception, thus modify-
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Time - The Fourth Dimension

Time has different definitions based on different interpretations. In the shortest possible definition, time is the measure of change. Change in what?, if someone asks - time is a measure of change in events, an event being anything having a spatial and a temporal presence. Mathematically, time is a first-order derivative of any event. Time is the constant in the universe with respect to which, we measure everything else. The phrase passage of time could merely translate to a perception of changes in events around us. Why do we measure time? Why do we look at the clock for everything? With technology, weve given in to the need for measuring time to the very second (and millisecond in case of racers). Is it technology that is dictating our perception of time? Or is it our need to measure precise time durations thats driving technology? What seems as a chicken-egg analogy led to another question - if the clock werent there, what would we measure against? We would probably revert to seasons (or larger frames of reference) but again, seasons prove as being a clock of sorts. This argument, then, modified the discourse to if we didnt have a constant reference of change, how would events be measured? The human body has definitive cycles: sleep cycles, hunger, menstrual cycles etc. These patterns constitute a certain rhythm, called Circadian rhythm (circa around, diem - day). The human body tends to adjust to the environmental change patterns and in ways, we can assert that the circadian rhythm is an adaptation to the environment. This body clock is what makes us move with the times and repeats itself in a uniformly fashion. The human body, thus, is a metronome. This led to the argument that if the clock really werent there, would there actually be a need to measure events? The answer to the question above lies in the perception of time - what exactly it is that we feel passing. Lexically, there can be sense made out of time in man ways: Duration sense (time is passing) Event sense (5 minutes from time) Moment sense (now is the time) Instance sense (5 times in a row) Agentative sense (time heals) Measurement-system sense (standard time) Commodity sense (time is money) Matrix sense (time is eternal)
Navigation
Driving Task
The Driving Task
The driving task system at the macro level, as the interaction between control, guidance & navigation, and the share of environmental inputs.
Environment
Time perception is an experience (as it involves a sense) and time can be considered as the space occupied by the mind (as it is purely psychological).
Guidance
Control
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Factors Affecting Psychological Time
Characteristics of the time period. These include the duration and size of the stimulus, and also the activities between two stimuli.
Age. Age has a direct relation with information processing capacity of the brain and hence, affects perception.
Gender. Males have superior prospective duration judgements while females are better at retrospective judgements.
Psychological Loads. Stressors prolong information processing while motivators reduce information processing.
The Unified Field Theory

A famous 1930 comic strip on Albert Einstein by Sidney George Strube. This strip has been cited in a number of time-perception studies.
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Time and Cognition

Information processing takes place in the human brain in stages. These stages of information processing, in turn, register in the memory as experiences, and shape future situations. How does one define future situations? A situation is defined in terms of a number of factors. These include the surrounding environment, goals, the system, the crew, the available human/physical resources etc. Sensation and perception occur in the human brain in terms of space (landmarks, signage etc.) and time (speed, environmental time etc.). Furthermore, sensation could be in terms of different types of sensory input (visual, auditory, tactile etc.). The interpretation of this spatial and temporal information, and the projection of this interpretation onto the immediate future, decides the course of action for the user performing a task. Also, the action(s) taken by the user are stored in the memory as experiences that help in the next cycle of information processing. The most important link in the cycle of information processing is of expectancies and estimations. Estimations are essentially calculations made in the mind about certain events that are about to happen. These have a cyclic relation with expectancies, which are beliefs about the future. Based on what to expect, the human mind makes calculations in terms of space and time. These could be the field of safe travel, time to impact, speed of the vehicle in front, traffic speed etc. Experienced time (prospective and retrospective durations) and cognitive time (semantic and episodic experiences) are based on expectancies that help make estimations regarding situations. Psychological time is, hence, an important ingredient of situation awareness.
Situation Awareness
Representation showing the stages of information processing and their analogous situation awareness stages.
Driving as a Memory Process

Flowchart model showing the components of the driving task and the associated memory processes. At each level, there is a cyclic relation between expectancies and estimations, which translate into actions.
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Microstrategies and Recognition

Strategic
The driver is the human component of the vehicle system, which is responsible for maintaining vehicle path and speed while in motion. This is achieved through an interaction between the drivers visual, cognitive & psychomotor actions (which form the constituents of the driving task system). The task is accomplished at three different adaptation levels strategic, tactical & operational. While the task at the strategic level involves route planning and other navigational aspects, tactical and operational levels directly involve the drivers visual, cognitive and psychomotor abilities. Tactical sub-tasks involve negotiating speed limits, maintaining time-headway etc (control). Operational sub-tasks are concerned with the drivers cognitive abilities such as seeking information at traffic intersections, increased attention while taking turns etc (guidance). At each of the three levels, the driving task involves formation of microstrategies, involving the drivers aforementioned abilities. Microstrategies are information processing activities at the cardinal level, i.e, when the time required for an action is of the order of 1-100 ms. Consider a rather complicated scenario where a driver has to take a detour through a residential road, where while taking a U-turn, a child comes in the way to catch his football. Taking the detour involves planning an alternate route thatll take the driver to his/her destination with minimal delay. Driving through the residential neighbourhood is a tactical task as the driver needs to negotiate speeds and timeheadways owing to the population distribution (vehicular as well as human) on the residential road. While taking the U-turn, the task demands increased attention (seeking road extremity, watching out for intervening traffic etc) in addition to the reduced speed. The child appearing in front of the car suddenly is a hazard to both the driver and the child. This requires the driver to first perceive the situation as a hazard, and apply brakes immediately at a safe gap from the child. Also, the driver needs to make sure that his/her sudden braking does not put the traffic behind his/her vehicle to an abrupt stop (which in most cases is inevitable) and that there is no damage to any entity on the road. At each level of the above-mentioned scenario, the driver is confronted with situations that need not necessarily conform to his/her expectancies. In such cases, the perception of events (in space and time) imposes a greater load on the drivers information processing activities and hence, demands greater attention. In turn, this increased load on information processing increases the drivers reaction time. The driving task, hence, is a task that involves continuous strategy formation essentially to optimize time and in cases of impulse situations as the one considered above, immediate action to optimize safety in the situation. The behavior of a driver in different situations can be explained through the Recognition-Primed Decision Making (RPD) model. The model defines typicality in terms of expectancies, courses of action, goals and relevant cues in the environment. In case of routine activities, the situation is recognized as typical, and the course of action is, generally, obvious to the user.
Navigation
Tactical
Driving Task
Environment
Guidance
Control
The Driving Task - Level 2

The driving task system showing operational, tactical & strategic components.
Operational
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Driver Behaviour
Driver behaviour can be defined as the actions a driver takes in order to maintain a safe travel path. These actions not only depend on external factors, but also rely heavily on psychological factors. E.g., a woman driving to meet her hospitalized mother would behave completely differently as compared to a man dropping his son to school, who in turn, would have different behaviour as that of a truck driver. The primary actions - steering, accelerator and brake - are those that are performed continuously and are necessary to maintain a safe path while driving. Actions like pressing the clutch lever, shifting gear etc. can be considered as secondary functions that supplement the primary actions. Other actions like rolling down the window, horn etc. are tertiary functions that are not required throughout the driving task. Driver behaviour is affected by a number of psychological and physiological factors. The first of these is distraction. A distracting activity could be anything from wandering thoughts to billboards, or a flash of light at the corner of the eye, or changing the song on the car-stereo. Another psychological factor that affects driver behaviour is motivation. A high motivation level increases the mental well-being of a driver and affects the primary actions. Motivation also has an inverse relation with perceived duration. Highly motivated journeys (or journeys towards a certain goal), thus, seem to pass quickly. Emotions also play a major role as an internal factor. Segregative emotions (anger, hatred etc.) generally tend to make a driver behave in a rash and erratic way, while intergrative emotions (love, friendship, reunion etc.) tend to calm the driver down. For example, driving to the hospital to meet her ill mother would tend to make a woman drive without much control. The driving task is derived of the drivers visual, cognitive and psychomotor abilities human characteristics that depend on a variety of factors. Age is an obvious such factor. With age, there is a proven decline in visual and physical abilities. Older drivers have problems while negotiating turnings, intersections, crowds etc. Vision deterioration resulting in a failure to read/understand traffic dynamics only adds to their woes. The same vision problems give them a higher degree of field dependence as they are unable to separate relevant visual cues from the overall picture. Attention span gets affected, and so does memory capability. All this lead to a decline in spatial problem solving and wayfinding abilities, hence directly affecting their driving behaviour. Although gender does not have any direct relation to how people drive, gender differences do have an impact on certain underlying principles of cognition and behaviour. Where motor skills are concerned, males have been known to be better at movements that involve larger amplitude (e.g. throwing a ball, stopping/catching a moving object, aiming etc). Females, on the other hand, are adept at finer movements (e.g. manipulating hand shapes, finger movements etc). Men and women are known to show different spatial abilities as well. While men find it easier to visualize an object in different orientations (mental rotation), women have memory to their advantage. This leads to a major difference between the sexes when it comes to wayfinding mens mental rotation ability makes it easy for them to visualize directions egocentrically. Men find it easier to break down a journey into directions and segments. Women, on the other hand, use landmarks as reference, owing to their memory ability. Although there are differences between the abilities of the sexes, there is no answer to which one is better, or more specifically, who the better driver is. Driving, as a task, relies as much on mental rotation as it does on memorizing landmarks. The fact that there are more male drivers in India than female drivers is not because of capability, but because of social conditioning, and should not be taken as indicating one gender being superior/inferior to the other. Driver fatigue is a human factor that is largely responsible for accidents. Seen mostly in extreme driving conditions (e.g, truck drivers), fatigue is the feeling of tiredness resulting from long hours of work, long periods since sleep, and also from the
Recognition
Expected course of action.
Situation Assessment
Situation Typical? Expectancies Relevant Cues Goals Typical Action
The flowchart shows the RPD model applied to each decision node in the adjoining scenario.
Take Action
Encountered Similar Situation?
Situation Recognizable Situation Not Recognizable
Analogy/ Storybuilding
Risk
Situation
A rather unforeseen one.
Micro-strategies
Tackling unfamiliar situations.
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Strategic Navigation
time of the day. Fatigue usually results in a decline in the drivers appraisal of his own capabilities, and hence, affects driving behaviour, resulting in accidents in extreme cases.
Factors affecting driver behaviour

Various factors contributing to driving behaviour. Gender Spatial Tasks Memory Tasks Risk Perception Motor Skills
Tactical
Driving Task
Environment
Events Colour Detail
Salience Attention
Distraction
Inattention Sudden Change
Situational Blindness
Age
Medicinal Dependence Decline in Abilities Cognitive Wayfinding Information Processing Spatial Problem Solving Vision Deterioration Field Dependence
Primary
Steering Acceleration Brake
Secondary
Clutch Gear Horn Headlamp Turn Indicator
Tertiary
A/C Wiper Window Ignition Integrative Segregative
Alcohol Drugs Medication Stress/Anger
Temporary Impairments
Driver Behaviour
Psychomotor Visual
Guidance
Control
Goals Emotion
Motivation
Fatigue
Time of Day Time since Sleep Hours of Work
Operational
Kshitish Purohit
PGDPD 07
30
LITERATURE STUDY
LITERATURE STUDY
31
Vehicular Interfaces
An interface is defined as a platform on which interaction between human and the machine takes place. An interface, thus, consists of controls to operate the machine and displays to show relevant information. In the field of vehicular design, interfaces range from the simple dashboard/instrument panel to more advanced assistive interfaces. Technologies like Adaptive Cruise Control, Lane Departure Warning, Collision Warning Devices, Adaptive Headlamps etc. are already equipped onto vehicles. The primary aim of these interfaces is to assist the driver in case of uncontrollable conditions and provide a safe solution to escape any obstacles or aberrations on the road. Vehicular safety systems can be grouped into in-built, information, warning and assistive systems, with each type of system having a different degree of operator control. In-built systems, e.g anti-lock braking, traction control, adaptive highbeam, autonomous cruise control etc. are mostly fully automated and require almost no operator control. In-built systems are integrated to the vehicle speed and trajectory and regulate any deviating trends in vehicle movement. Information systems, or in-vehicle navigation systems, are satellite-based route guidance systems. As an interface, these systems give route information from a survey perspective (top-view, north-up) or a route perspective (first person, heads-up). Warning and assistive systems are automated to the extent of not interfering with operator control, and let the operator decide the best action based on the information output. Feedback is given in the form of visual indications, auditory signals and/or in some cases, tactile feedback. While standard vehicular interfaces adhere to guidelines deviced on the principles of cognition, most new technologies work on spatial & behavioral pattern recognitions of the drivers. The difficulties in measuring psychological time has made technology rely on distance and speed calculations to include the dynamics of driving. A little thought can be given to the efficacy of the existing assistive interfaces owing to the different degrees of distraction that they offer. Visual feedback is mostly concentrated within the interface, which forces the driver to look for and look at the incoming signal. Auditory feedback may not always be salient and may tend to get subdued in the loud and chaotic environment, especially in a country like India. In terms of research underway, active safety is taking the spotlight. Active safety is the term being used for interfaces that adapt to the drivers characteristics and drive conditions. The question is, however, what level of safety do vehicles in India really require? Subsequently, are the safety features equipped to automobiles today sufficient? In other words, this could even spawn a debate over the need for advanced safety systems for India.
Interface Design
An interface is considered humane if it is responsive to human needs and considerate to human frailties. In other words, an interface should understand a) the scope of the user in the system, and, b) the users conscious and unconscious triggers that invoke a response or an action. Going by the pedagogy that information should be present at the right place, right time and in the right amount, an interface can be considered as that information system which takes into account the users information needs and presents the required information in a form that is easy for the user to read, comprehend and act upon. In case of the driving task, this is essentially in the form of control, guidance and navigational information (which has been discussed in detail throughout the document, and especially in the Design section). Since driving is a task where information acquisition happens while on the move, there are limitations to providing information inside as well as outside the vehicle. User-centered design of automobile interfaces, hence, focuses majorly on information presentation as well as information hierarchy. The following guidelines are followed while designing any information system: Keep systems simple. Provide visual and auditory information in emergency situations. Provide as much control to operator as possible. Use special-purpose lighting to make low-contrast targets more visible. Use colour and shape coding. Provide illustrated instructions. Minimize small print. should be taken as driving is a task that is carried out in different light conditions and after-image formation poses a serious cognitive threat to drivers. For deciding the information structure, an abstraction hierarchy is followed for which, it become mandatory to know what the functional meaning of different informational parameters is (e.g., time means sensing change, speed means sensing movement etc.). Deciding the physical form is usually the last stage of user-centered design, where the users mental models are used for designing graphics, text messages and even colours. Following the abstraction hierarchy, the physical form should map to the functional meaning in order for the interface to be more efficient and hence, more usable.
Concerns
Can technology measure psychological time? Can experiential design mitigate errors? How efficient are the interfaces? How distracting are the interfaces? What level of safety is required in India? What level of safety is available in India? Can an alternative to active safety be proposed for India?
Various legibility scales can be used for graphics and type and generally as a guideline, high-contrast colours are used. However, while choosing colours, care
Kshitish Purohit
PGDPD 07
32
FRAMEWORK
FRAMEWORK
33
How do Drivers Perceive Time?

Methodology
Personal Information
Age Vehicle Experience Shift/Drive Hours Distance/Trips per day Rest between trips? Activities between trips? Route (constant/variable) How familiar are you with the route? How long did it take for you to familiarize? Can you explain the route you take? How do you encounter sudden changes to the route?
framework
How do Drivers Perceive Time? Safety Trends Where do Accidents Occur? Conclusion
33 37 39 46
9 male participants in Ahmedabad were interviewed, with questions based on a questionnaire. The 9 participants included 6 professional drivers, and 3 personal car drivers. The professional drivers, in turn, consisted of taxi drivers as well as drivers employed for personal service. The questionnaire aimed at understanding the drivers perception of time and what importance time actually held as part of his driving profession/task. The questions were slotted according to the following: The drivers profile - age, experience, type of service/vehicle. The drivers daily activity pattern distance/trips per day and activities inbetween trips. Familiarity and attention how does the driver familiarize with a route, how he remembers the same route, and how sudden changes are encountered. Time-behaviour study what time means to the driver and how does that dictate his behaviour. Certain indicators that were identified were discomfort in different parts of the body, the drivers manner of presenting himself (indicating to what degree he achieves his primary driving goal) and speed, which was considered as the primary indicator of driving behaviour.
the area.
How do you tackle sudden obstructions on the route? What is your primary goal?
Time
AM S

LE P
Reaching on time Reaching safe Least vehicle damage Other (specify)
What are the implications of losing time? How do you make up for lost time? When/where do you speed up? Why do you speed up? Does it ache after a drive?
Behaviour
Kshitish Purohit
PGDPD 07
34
FRAMEWORK
FRAMEWORK
35
pain/discomfort in body
time buffer
high self-esteem well-spoken level-headed clientelle cautious

Fatigue Stress
RESPECT
keeps track of time
loses time
does not speed up
speeds up occasionally
speeds up often
safety indicator
the clientelle he serves indicates his standing as a professional. he cant afford to lose punctuality and maintains upto 30 minutes buffer time.
due to his low temporal demand, he never speeds up and almost always, reaches his destination on time.
Head
Vision Illumination Fatigue
Eyes
high self-esteem well-spoken panics often enjoys driving cautious
SAFETY
driving is a very functional and occasionally recreational activity for him. safety is always his priority and he maintains buffers upto 30 minutes to avoid any panic.
he speeds up only on recreational drives. he generally keeps low temporal demands and does not speed up to make up lost time.
Shoulders
Fatigue
The findings of the survey were consolidated and analysed by building six different personae based on their driving goals. As per the literature review, perceived time is the rate of achievement of a goal. Hence, it has been assumed that how a driver perceives time is his ultimate goal for which he drives a vehicle.
behaviour loop
personality
start track time
Motivation Experience Sense of Duration Timing Device Coordinate with Timing System moderate high
Goal
indicators
Clientelle, Livelihood, Thrill Familiarity, Confidence Intuition, Body Clock, Traffic etc. Clock Music, Train Timings etc.
Temporal Orientation
Elbows
Fatigue
low self-esteem anxiety panics often livelihood temperamental
MONEY
Lower Back
driving is his only source of livelihood and he sees time as a commodity that has a monetary equivalent. he has to keep track of time as that is essential to his service & money and often needs to make up for lost time.
urgency?
time is money for him and he always has an urgency to reach his destination. he often speeds up to reach his clients/destination.
speed up
Combination of goal and temporal orientation
Temporal Demand
Panic, Temperament
low
Fatigue Discomfort
maintain speed
enjoys stature free speech panics often thrill temperamental
Behaviour
FREEDOM
Hands
Grips
Fatigue Over-usage of components
Knees
he loves the thrill of driving, and also his own stature on the road. his daily commute requires coordinating with a standard timing and that coordination dictates his behaviour.
Accelerator, Brake, Steering Horn, Gearshift, Clutch
speeds up often on empty roads. also, he takes advantage of his stature and tries to dominate subordinate traffic.
COMMITMENT
Fatigue Posture Over-usage of components
Feet
respects others over-confident level-headed profession selfless
delivery of service and his commitments is his prime objective. his confidence and familiarity with the routes he takes gives him a high degree of freedom and very less anxiety about time. occasionally, he tries to make up for lost time.
he is committed to the delivery of his service and often speeds up to ensure quality. however, his confidence makes him adept at handling speeds.
Left - Gearshift, Steer Right - Steer Left - Clutch Right - Accelerator, Brake
What came across as interesting was how the participants of the interview regulated their temporal loads by keeping track of time in different ways. For some service drivers (cab, taxi etc.), reminders from clients served as a track of time. The most interesting case was one participant who used music and song durations to estimate time.
he likes to drive with complete peace of mind. getting late by a few minutes is acceptable to him as long as it ensures a peaceful commute.
no
destination?
Spatial Orientation
Spatial Confirmation
Destination
yes
end
Achievement
PEACE of MIND
casual well-spoken practical profession temperamental
even though he has professional demands to be met, he prefers having complete peace of mind. he maintains time buffers upto 15 minutes and does not feel the need to hurry up.
A comprehensive flow model was built for analysis, showing the link between driver behaviour and safety.
9 -a
Personal Professional Psychological
Safety, Livelihood Money, Respect, Commitment, Service Peace of Mind, Freedom
physiological
personality
temporal
behavioral
Figure 2. Personae building and behavioral and physiological implications of temporal orientation
Kshitish Purohit
PGDPD 07
36
FRAMEWORK
FRAMEWORK
37
Safety Trends
Expected Distance/Time Phone Calls Messages Rhythm
Track of Time
Distances Travelled Calls from Clients Music Traffic Speed Instinct Timing Device Standard Timing
Song Duration No. of Songs Played Traffic Speed Intuition Environmental Time Body Clock Experience Familiarity with Place Wrist Watch Dashboard Clock Train Timing Siren Rush Hour Expectancy/Estimation Episodic Memory Semantic Memory Attention
In retrospect, it is worthy to think about how this internal time-keeping affects temporal loads of drivers. All the driver groups kept track of time, and the efficiency of their individual time-keeping techniques could depend upon a variety of factors. For example, a phone call from a client means immediate distraction, which could, in turn, cause a lot of safety issues while driving. An analysis was done for the temporal orientation of the driver groups. It can be established that extrinsic time-measures are often attention-demanding, while intrinsic time-measures come across as and with experience.
Methodology
The four-wheeler market of India was studied with respect to safety features in the vehicles available. Showroom brochures and official websites of four-wheeler manufacturers were referred for this part of the study. The aim of this part of the study was to understand the average safety level of the traffic in India, and to generalize that into the average safety requirement of the Indian driver.
Summary
The 9 major automobile brands available in India were compared. The number of car models currently available from these manufacturers is 54 (excluding phased out models), with the total number of variants amounting to 162. All the 162 variants provide structural safety, in terms of child lock, collapsible steering column, crumple zones etc. This is the mandatory level of safety that is required by ARAI standards. 47 variants provide airbags. Dual airbags are optional in certain cars, but driver side airbag is provided. Anti-lock braking (ABS) is available across 62 variants out of which, 25 provide ABS with Electronic Brakeforce Distribution (EBD). Advanced features such as brake assist, traction control (TCS), reverse assist and stability control are available only on higher range models.
Stability Control ABS TCS
Reverse Assist Airbags
Brake Assist Structural
ABS w/ EBD 0 60 90 Automobile models 30 studied using showroom brochures, internet information etc. 120
PGDPD 07
150
Kshitish Purohit
38
FRAMEWORK
FRAMEWORK
39
Where do Accidents Occur?

This study opened up a discussion as to what the average safety level in the Indian traffic scenario is. A quick comparison to the global market would surely mean Indian automobiles are lagging far behind, but the question is, what is the safety requirement for vehicles in India? Rugged terrains and the average maintenance level of roads in India make structural stabil`ity a must for any vehicle. Airbags may not be deemed extremely necessary as most traffic in India is bumper-to-bumper and high speeds are attained mostly on highways and at rare times on empty city roads. Features like ABS and traction control may be considered required owing to pertinent slippery/kaccha road conditions in India, while those such as reverse assist are upcoming trends owing to the increased number of parking spaces, urban land use patterns etc. The safety features available in the Indian automobile market today are all passive. The question would now move on to whether India needs active safety at all? Or is there a scope for dynamic information interfaces to make their way into the market, complimenting the passive features that are already available?
Methodology
4 road stretches of Ahmedabad were identified with the highest accident rate per km and taken for study of road, traffic and other factors contributing to the high accident rates. Observations were made and informal interviews were conducted with the local population of these areas, regarding: Road characteristics - road profile, length, obstructions on the road stretch, rush hour timings etc. Traffic characteristics - traffic speed, traffic direction, vehicle distribution etc. Accident characteristics - nature and time of accidents, accident-prone zones on the stretch, impact on surrounding traffic, cause of accidents. ? Vasna Sarkhej: 261 Mirzapur - Vijali Ghar: 348
Income Tax - Commerce College: 296
Summary
Accident rates on each of the 4 segments and the overall vehicle distribution between these segments. The grey sectors indicate the share of each vehicle type and the yellow area indicates proneness to accidents for each vehicle type.
Parimal Garden Mithakali: 221
Kshitish Purohit
PGDPD 07
40
FRAMEWORK
FRAMEWORK
41
Road
Length - 1 km (approx.) Type - city road, no lanes High traffic hours - 10 am - 12 pm, 4 pm - 8 pm Other - busy bus route, vehicles parked on road, buses take up entire road width, school/court on road
Accident
Frequency - high Nature/damage - mild - moderate Critical zones - triangular intersections, school/court crossing, other intersections Time - mostly during rush hours, school timing Effect on traffic - hold-ups for 15-20 mins Reason - speeding, overtaking on narrow lanes, buses negotiating blind curves
Accident
Frequency - high Nature/damage - mild - moderate Critical zones - intersections, school crossing, construction site Time - mostly during rush hours, school timing Effect on traffic - mild hold-ups Reason - speeding, absense of speedbumps
Road
Length - 2 km (approx.) Type - city road, 3/3 lane on Ashram Road, no lanes otherwise High traffic hours - 8 am - 8 pm Other - busy bus route, CG Road intersection, railway crossing on route, vehicles parked on road
Traffic
Direction - commercial areas on both ends, school/college towards Commerce College Type - mixed Speed - 50 km/h (approx)
Traffic
Direction - both sides Type - mixed Speed - 30 km/h (approx)
Mirzapur - Vijali Ghar
Income Tax - Commerce College
Kshitish Purohit
PGDPD 07
42
FRAMEWORK
FRAMEWORK
43
Road
Length - 1.5 km (approx.) Type - city road, 2/2 lane High traffic hours - 8-11 am, 6-8 pm Other - vehicles parked on road, no bus-stops, traffic signals/circles at every intersection, shopping area lights/ billboards
Accident
Frequency - high Nature/damage - mild - high Critical zones - signals Time - mostly during rush hours, night time on empty road Effect on traffic - mild hold-ups Reason - speeding, jumping traffic signals
Accident
Frequency - high Nature/damage - mild - moderate Critical zones - intersections Time - mostly during rush hours, school timing Effect on traffic - mild hold-ups Reason - speeding, blind intersections, absense of speedbumps, absence of traffic signal on the stretch
Road
Length - 3.5 km (approx.) Type - city road, 2/2 lane High traffic hours - 8-11 am, 6-8 pm Other - 4 bus-stands on the stretch
Traffic
Direction - towards Sarkhej in morning, towards Vasna in evening Type - mixed Speed - 50 km/h (approx)
Traffic
Direction - equal, slightly towards Parimal Garden in evening Type - mixed Speed - 50 km/h (approx)
Parimal Garden - Mithakali
Vasna - Sarkhej
Kshitish Purohit
PGDPD 07
44
FRAMEWORK
FRAMEWORK
45
Vasna Sarkhej
Parimal Gdn Mithakali
Income Tax Commerce College
Well-developed roads Traffic circles at intersections Signage well-placed Busy bus route
No traffic signal on entire stretch Absent/misplaced speed bumps Busy bus route Connection to highway
School crossing Blind intersections Traffic signals
Except the Mirzapur - Vijali Ghar segment, all segments have end points in commercial areas and/or residential areas. This could lead to one possibility that rush hour accidents are caused by temporal urgency regarding reaching workplace and/or returning home. While reaching workplace is a case of pure urgency, returning home is more motivational and regressive. Another possibility for a high accident rate on these stretches is that each of these segments falls on a busy bus route. The Vasna - Sarkhej segment has 4 bus-stands over a length of 3.5 km, and timing clashes between buses is a common scenario. On the Mirzapur - Vijali Ghar stretch, which is a transit edge, the roads are not laned and there are 3 traffic intersections on the 0.75 km stretch of road. Buses overtake each other on these narrow roads which is not only a risky endeavour, but also proves hazardous for other traffic. Erratic behaviour by bus drivers could be attributed to a number of psychological factors. Firstly, since buses ply on routes, there is a high degree of familiarity with the routes that the drivers hold. This often leads to over-confidence while negotiating tricky maneuvers and situations while driving. Also, bus drivers live on very low perks professionally. This makes time-based incentives extremely important for them (the number of trips made per day directly contributes to any additional income they get). This leads to competition between bus drivers plying the same route due to which they overspeed and try to out-do each other. As per the vehicle distribution, buses constitute only 10% of the traffic on these roads, but carry a good 60% of Ahmedabads population. Erratic behaviour by bus drivers poses a threat not only to vehicle safety, but also proves as a public safety issue.
All segments fall on busy bus routes

Speeding Overtaking Speeding/overtaking on turns Bus-stand placement Competition between buses
Mirzapur Vijali Ghar
No speed bumps Certain segments are without lanes Busy bus route Triangular intersections Buses overtaking on narrow lanes Busy bus route Time (hrs)
8 10 12 14 16 18 20
School crossings Itnersections Construction site School crossing Overtaking Intersections
Possible reasons for erratic behaviour

Familiarity with route Over-confidence Time-based incentives Low perks on job Feeling of driving a big vehicle
Road Characteristics
An analysis of road characteristics, accident times and critical zones. The road characteristics were observed while accident times were found out from interviews/conversations with locals. The causes and critical zones are a result of analysis of all factors.
Afternoon rush 2 - 3 PM
Morning rush 8 - 11 AM
Evening rush 6 - 8 PM
Analysis
Causes/ Critical Zones
Kshitish Purohit
PGDPD 07
46
FRAMEWORK
FRAMEWORK
47
Conclusion
too much could cause cause too much could
Driving was understood as an interaction between the driver, road and vehicle, and the drivers psychology with respect to time was studied as the core aspect of this research. The studies were carried out to realize the literature review findings and models in the Indian context, more specifically, in the context of Ahmedabad, and to propose a framework for research on psychological time and the driving task. The overall conclusion from the literature review and the pilot studies is that there is an urgent need for automobile manufacturers to understand the psychology of the driver before arriving at design solutions. While structural safety and spatial information systems are pre-requisites in any vehicle, it is considered extremely important that the dynamics of the driving task are tackled using a driver-centered approach. Especially in a country like India where active safety and ADAS have not yet made their foray, there is tremendous opportunity for introduction of systems that combine the static and dynamic aspects of in-vehicle information, rather than blindly going for the hi-tech systems available abroad. At the same time, traffic conditions in India are highly random and mostly disorganized due to which, introducing new design solutions needs to be dealt with tactfully. As the causes of road accidents are also random, the efficacy of design solutions being implemented abroad can be deemed questionable in the Indian context. Before arriving at a design direction, one needs to consider certain basic points about vehicular interfaces. The primary purpose of an interface is to provide information to the user regarding the current situation, and give enough cues to ease the users decision-making process, which are enacted through the controls. The question is - how much information is required? Before that, what information is required? Certain displays in a vehicle are used only while starting (engine temperature, oil temperature, battery etc), while certain displays need to be continuously monitored (speed, fuel level etc). A complete task analysis of a car
Signals Animal/other Animal/other Signals
Signage Vehicular Vehicular Signage
Landmarks Human Human Landmarks
Kaccha Kaccha Intersections Intersections Routes Routes
Paved Paved Edges Edges
display/control system forms the central framework for detailed research and analysis.
could cause erratic erratic usage could cause usage
Information
Information
has
has
controls controls navigation/planning navigation/planning
Speedometer Speedometer Odometer Odometer Tachometer Tachometer
Damage to human life life Damage to human Damage to vehicle Damage to vehicle Other damage Other damage
prevent accidents prevent accidents
Miscalculations Miscalculations
Steering Steering Primary Speed Primary Speed Secondary Inattention/distraction Secondary Inattention/distraction
Also forming the framework is, based on the user groups studied, an in-depth study of the driver. The pilot study gave an indication of the different ways time is perceived in, and the challenge was, now, to select one particular group and do a complete system study for that group.
Surface Geometry
Geometry
Surface
Damage to infrastructure Damage to infrastructure

caused by by caused
Highway
Highway
Control elements
Control elements
Faulty/unforeseen conditions
type type
Physical Psychological
Psychological
Physical
National National StateState Express Express

attributes attributes
on
on
Laned Laned No laneslanes No
Road Road
Gauges Gauges Fuel Fuel

are equipped with with are equipped
Temperature Temperature Oil Oil Battery Battery
Primary
Primary
Tertiary
caused by
caused by
could cause
for
Age Age Fitness Fitness
Familiarity Familiarity
goal goal
Attention/memory Attention/memory
components
Commitment Commitment Peace of mindmind Peace of Money Money
Safety Safety Respect Respect
Structural Structural Passive Passive Active Active Inappropriate information Inappropriate information Urgency Urgency
causes causes
Professional Personal cab service Professional Personal cab service Cab service for company/organization Cab service for company/organization
Horn Brake Brake Horn
Window Window
components
Personal Commute Personal Commute Recreational Recreational
for
Controls Controls
Stereo Clutch Stereo Steering SteeringClutch Acelerator Gearshift A/C A/C Acelerator Gearshift
panic panic
rate of achievement Freedom Freedom rate of achievement Time Time
Temporal
Physical Cognitive
lowers lowers
tracking
tracking
is/causes is/causes to achieve to achieve
Intrinsic Intrinsic Extrinsic Extrinsic BodyBody clock clock Intuition Intuition
Long driving hours Long driving hours No sleep/rest No sleep/rest
Fatigue Fatigue Workspace Workspace Information overload Information overload

could cause cause could
Direct Direct Clock Clock Siren/alerts Siren/alerts Estimative Estimative
Cognitive
Temporal
Physical
Stresses Stresses
could cause
Skill Skill
Experience Experience
Tertiary
Driver Driver
drivesdrives
4-wheeler 4-wheeler
Car Car Van Van has has MUV/cab MUV/cab Mini-bus Mini-bus
Display Display
Secondary
Secondary
Vehicle Safety Vehicle Safety
Faulty/unforeseen conditions
Human error
Human error
City
City
Speed Speed Horn Horn
Framework
A complete model of the driving task. Values in red denote the framework for detailed research.
Calls/messages Calls/messages Music Music Speed Speed Environmental time time Environmental Coordinative time time Coordinative
Kshitish Purohit
PGDPD 07
48
RESEARCH & ANALYSIS
RESEARCH & ANALYSIS
49
Introduction
The research framework that followed the literature review suggested a direction in the form of drivers who drive for money. It was suggested that this driver group is more susceptible to systemic lapses and hence, more prone to human error. The vehicles identified as falling under this user segment were trucks, buses & cabs. The truck was understood to be a very huge topic, not feasible to be studied alone. The bus, generally, does not have a design and it is extremely challenging to standardize any design. For this reason, considering marketability and standardization as factors alongwith an attractiveness bias, the cab segment was chosen for detailed study. The year 2007 saw another revolutionary business model - the Meru cab service - that promised to deliver world-class service and maintain higher standards of driver behaviour and etiquette. Meru formalized the driver selection process even more by including health and background checkups, as opposed to the word-ofmouth selection criteria earlier. The line between personal car and a cab has blurred even more now. The number of taxis plying on Indian roads is approximately 2,35,000. The business along with the industry has become much more organized, efficient and rewarding with many new car rental services popping up in the industry, which has also given a reason for the unorganized cab agent to seek. For the purpose of this project, an Ahmedabad based travel agency, Ashapura Travels, has been studied. Also, case studies have been done on Meru and the Tata Indica.
research & analysis

Introduction The Cab Agency Case Study: Meru Cabs Case Study: Tata Indica The Vehicle Space The Driver: Mental Models Persona: Wanjibhai Parmar
49 50 52 54 56 70 72
The taxi has had its own journey in India. Started in 1910 as a replacement for horse-driven carriages, the taxis that became the most popular in the 1980s were the black and yellow Hindustan Ambassadors and Premier Padminis. These were state run and metered, and were available to the public on a non-sharing basis, thus giving the comfort of an owned vehicle. The taxi business didnt take off until 2000, when a certain flaw with the newly released Tata Indica triggered off a revolution. A whole new segment - the luxury cab - spawned off, that came off as extremely interesting for business-minded individuals. The Indica became an instant favourite amongst tour operators as it gave a mugh higher comfort and luxury as compared to the pass Ambassadors and Padminis. The Indica was, overall, a much better designed vehicle, and had the designed for India tag attached. The line between a personal car and a taxi had began to blur. Soon, vehicles like the Maruti Esteem, Ford Ikon etc. followed suit and the word taxi had become obsolete. By 2005, the cab business had already seen its next demand. In September 2006, the Dial-a-Cab service was started, which was a radio taxi service. These agencies (Dial-a-Cab, EasyCabs, Wings Radio Cabs, Forsche etc.) used latest technology to run and track their service, and were the first to employ a formal driver training programme.
Kshitish Purohit
PGDPD 07
50
RESEARCH & ANALYSIS
RESEARCH & ANALYSIS
51
The Cab Agency

The cab service agency operates through a network or branches or friends/ other operators. The clientelle is usually regular, and vehicles are always made available for the clients. In case of non-availability, other operators/ branches are contacted and vehicle booked accordingly. Night travel is usually avoided, except in emergencies and in case of receiving someone from the airport. Driving shift starts at 5 AM and goes on till midnight, while office begins at 10:30 AM through 6:30 PM. In case of reporting time earlier than office timings, the memo is prepared the previous night, and its the drivers responsibility to report on time. Drivers usually reach well before reporting time, and are most often made to wait. The agency requires a minimum driving experience of 2 years. This, they require so that the driver is already familiar with Gujarat and outer roads before commencement of service. No special skill is required, but a taxi license is mandatory. Billing shifts are of 80 km/8 hr or 100 km/12 hr. In case of dropalone shifts, billing is done according to the 8 hr period. In case of trips exceeding the 12 hr shifts, over-billing is done as per the 8 hr period. However, a margin of 1-1.5 hrs is allowed in such cases, depending on how much distance has been travelled. The agency maintains strict rules and follows a code of conduct. Drivers are motivated through a uniform, giving them a degree of selfesteem. There is an informal training programme before vehicle dispatch, where the drivers are instructed on what kind of etiquette/manners are expected out of them. Vehicle tracking is done through a GPS-based web interface, which gives the vehicle number and its geographic location on a map at intervals of every 20-25 km. Speed is monitored with respect to mileage, and is
Corporates Corporates Delegates Delegates Families Families
80 km/8 hr shift 80 km/8 hr shift 100100 km/12shift km/12 hr hr shift Drop charges Drop charges FullFull trip charges trip charges Overtime charges Overtime charges
capped at 80 km/hr. In case of emergencies, depending on the severity or the breakdown, replacement cabs are sent.
BILLING BILLING
margin of ~1 of ~1 hr allowed margin hr allowed
BOOKING BOOKING
Contact Contact other branch other branch Cab available? Y memomemo prepared Cab available? Y prepared
N N
Battery Battery Oil levels Oil levels TyreTyre pressure pressure Mechanicals Mechanicals
Speed Speed Emergency Emergency Tracking Tracking
Speed maintained below 80 km/h Speed maintained below 80 km/h Monitored by checking mileage Monitored by checking mileage
Transfer to to Transfer nearest branch nearest branch

N N
Transfer to to Transfer other branch other branch
GPS-based GPS-based Tracks position Tracks position Updates every 15-20 km km Updates every 15-20
Repairable? N Repairable?
Y Y
Replacement? Y Replacement?
N N
Call sent Call sent
Check Check Dispatch Dispatch
MONITORING MONITORING
Halt/repair Halt/repair Service centre Service centre
Near to to Near breakdown Y breakdown location? location?
Replacement Replacement available? available?

Y Y
Dispatch Dispatch
Pick-up point Pick-up point
Tasks Tasks Information Information required required
Check fuel Check fuel Check battery Check battery Check other components Check other components Destination Destination Client details Client details
Reach client on on time Reach client time Wait for for client Wait client Directions to pick-up point Directions to pick-up point Distance to pick-up point Distance to pick-up point Time required Time required
Reach sitesite safely Reach safely Reach sitesite on time Reach on time Wait at sitesite Wait at Directions to sitesite Directions to
Wait at sitesite Wait at Rest Rest Eat/smoke/ Eat/smoke/ tea tea etc. etc. Vehicle status Vehicle status Fuel, battery, Fuel, battery, water etc.etc. water
Drop-point Drop-point
Drop client to drop-point Drop client to drop-point Prepare billbill Prepare Collect money Collect money Directions to drop-point Directions to drop-point Within shift? Within shift? Billing information Billing information RETURN RETURN
Driver Driver
Client Client
Fleet Fleet
Site Site
8 cabs, diesel 8 cabs, diesel Indica x 2x 2 Indica Indigo x 2x 2 Indigo Qualis x 2x 2 Qualis Sumo x 1x 1 Sumo Innova x 1x 1 Innova 1 driver perper cab 1 driver cab
Min. driving experience Min. driving experience 2 yrs yrs required 2 required Drivers trained Drivers trained Etiquettes Etiquettes Mannerisms Mannerisms Timeliness Timeliness Driver Uniform Driver Uniform Avg. 200 kmkm per day Avg. 200 per day
Home Home Other Other
Home Home Other Other
Leave vehicle Leave vehicle Deposit money Deposit money
The Cab Agency

The schematic is representative of Ashapura Travels, an Ahmedabadbased travel agent, but can be considered as a general representation of a cab service system.
OFFICE OFFICE
TRIP TRIP
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Case Study: Meru Cabs

24-hr cab booking facility Door-to-door pickup/drop Fares based on State regulations Credit & prepaid card payment GPS-based vehicle tracking GPS-based fleet management Vehicle can be flagged down if vacant Pays a refundable deposit amount to Meru. Is put through a series of medical tests. Pays daily fees to Meru for the use of the cab. Makes around 4-6 trips at the maximum (in and around the city, airport to-fro trips). Typically earns about Rs. 2500-3500 per day. Pays for all the diesel used by him. Takes home the entire earned amount, after paying the daily fee. Is free to make private arrangements with any patrons. There are no scheduled leaves for the driver.
Service
Availability
Service
The Meru cab service was started in April 2007, with a fleet growing to 150 in January 2008. In the past 2 years, Meru has grown across 4 cities, with a GPS-tracked fleet of 3500 vehicles.
Driver Fleet
Fleet
Operates in Delhi, Mumbai, Hyderabad & Bangalore ~3500 cabs all over India Maruti Esteem, Mahindra Logan, Tata Indigo cabs 1 cab shared between 2-3 drivers Air-conditioned GPS-based metering unit Speed alert alarm system First aid kit Selection based on driving experience and background check Medical checkup & formal training Versed in Hindi, English & regional language of State Trained in customer service, safe driving & hygiene
The Driver at Meru Drawbacks
Meru
Vehicle
System does not indicate weather & traffic conditions. No map/voice on GPS device. No multilingual support. The current system only works in English & Hindi.
The Meru System

Client can make a booking anytime. Lost & found tracking system helps track missed/left out luggage in the vehicle. Drivers ID and printed receipt help report any complaints efficiently. Has to pay toll, parking etc. charges in addition to the fares. Observations and insights about the Meru service. Although Meru has received excellent reviews in the 3 years of functioning and there have been very few accidents/ misbehaviours reported, there are clear indications of human factors issues regarding the driver at Meru.
Vehicle
Technology
The Client
Driver
Driver Cognition and the Sense of Time National Institute of Design
Kshitish Purohit
PGDPD 07
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Case Study: Tata Indica

In the year 1996, Ratan Tata envisioned a small car that would look good in black. In the year 1998, this was realized in the form of the Tata Indica, a car which would soon become a favourite amongst the Indian middle class, and at the same time, revolutionize the public transport scene in the country. The launch of the Indica was amidst competition from the existing small cars, the Maruti Zen and the Fiat Uno. The Uno, highly overpriced and riding only on the Fiat brand name, would soon see the end of its stint on the Indian roads, while the Zen, even though providing good ride quality and comfort, was a little too inaccessible to the Indian middle-class pocket. Tata Motors, hence, had their task cut out clearly in terms of on-road competitors. However, the threats were many. The Indica was Tata Motors (then Telco Motors) first venture into the passenger car segment. Known for building trucks and buses, entering the car market at a price lower than that of the Zen and the Uno only meant a tough challenge. But perhaps the bigger threat was in the form of other car models slated for release in the same year. Hyundai, Maruti, Daewoo and Fiat were all looking at the newly created B segment with their announced cars, the Santro, the WagonR, the Matiz and the Palio, respectively. Also, the fact that the Indicas release date was 30th December, it just meant that the marketing team had to do their job with pin-point accuracy. And there it was - the Indica (abbreviated from INDIan CAr). Clever print ads, followed by TV commercials promising more dreams per car had made the Indica enter into the Indian hearts, warranting 11,500 bookings in the very first week of its release. At a starting price of Rs. 2.59 lakhs, the Indica offered superb mileage, a tough body, a good ride, high stability, a rugged car, and heaps of space and comfort. The higher end Indica variants also featured A/c and power windows (at Rs. 2.9 lakhs), which were available only in up-market imports till then. The Tata Indica became an instant favourite and remained that way until Tata Motors started receiving complaints on ride quality and horsepower issues on the Indica. The 1999-2000 period saw a huge dip in sales of the Indica after Tata Motors decided to call back all the models for necessary repairs - and this was the time when mobility in India took a turn towards minimizing the divide between owned and shared transport. At a meagre price of Rs. 2.6 lakhs, the Indica had created a whole new segment - that of the Big...Small Car. The Indica was offering comfort at a level higher than any other car in the B-segment. Also, the fact that the Indica was designed for India made it suitable on a variety of road conditions. Options in petrol and diesel meant that the car could be used for long-distance travels as easily. Moreover, the Indica was aesthetically a well balanced design. These factors, along with the supposed failure of the Indica as a drivers car, meant a huge opportunity for taxi operators, who were at the most, concerned only with costs and passenger comfort - and the Indica was alredy winning on those fronts. Capitalizing on these factors, a new system of transport emerged on the Indian roads - the shared cab. Taxis, which used to be black and yellow state-run Hindustan Ambassadors and Premier Padminis, soon found themselves a competitor, a car that would become synonymous with the word taxi in India and knock them off the roads. By the time Tata Motors released the Indica V2 in 2001 after rectifying the errors in the first edition, the Indica had already revolutionized the taxi scene in India. From the middle class to high officials in corporates, here was now a car that would give them the comfort of a luxury car, at the on-demand service of a taxi. The Indica soon started gaining popularity over the existing taxis and became the ideal hired vehicle for corporates as well as families going on long trips. The release of the Indica V2 was accompanied by a CNG variant to add to the fleet. This further strengthened the taxi operators faith in the Indica, as CNG proved to be cheaper than petrol or diesel. By now, the Indica had begun its journey again on the Indian roads - as a passenger car and as a cab.
More car per car
Advertising the Indica

The very first print ads for the Indica sporting a clever designed in India slogan that promised more car per car.
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The Vehicle Space

One could broadly divide human factors into physical and cognitive components. While physical factors contribute to fatigue and discomfort in different parts of the body, cognitive factors could cause information overloading and hence, psychological stresses. Errors in information acquisition could also cause physical stresses (e.g visibility issues in the night), and more often than not, distractions. Inter/intra-state cab drivers are faced with both types of the above-stated factors. Having to drive 200-250 km sometimes, fatigue is very common in cab drivers. In many cases, these journeys could be overnight, in rain, on slippery roads, in dusty conditions etc. The workspace of these vehicles, thus, needs to incorporate human factors seriously and go much beyond comfort and stylish interiors. The needs of the driver were divided into work zone and informational, and the vehicles most commonly used as cabs in Ahmedabad (and India) were audited with respect to these. ranged hierarchically into primary (distance, speed), secondary (battery level, fuel level etc.) and tertiary (on-road information, directions, signage etc.). In addition, time is the information that the driver can measure his rate of achievement of goals against.
Task
Knowledge required
Feedback
Task
Knowledge required
Feedback
Ignition Insert key Rotate key clockwise Check levels Check neutral Ignition ON Move vehicle Press clutch Clutch position Gear positions Gear markings Parking brake location Parking brake indicator Pedal movement Smooth motion, engine sound Change gear to 1 Release parking brake Accelerate Monitor Neutral position Key slot location Gear markings Icons on dashboard Gear markings, gear lever play Engine sound, vibration
Speed Time Direction
Speedometer, traffic Clock, instinct Road, safe travel path
This constitutes dynamic mental models, as explained later in this section.
Stop vehicle Press clutch Press brake Release brake Change gear to neutral Ignition OFF Rotate key Remove key Two-step rotation Engine sound off Neutral position Clutch position Brake position Vehicle motion Gear markings
Working Zone Needs: Anthropometrics

The primary physical requirement for any work is comfort. In the case of driving, comfort is achieved through good seat design, accessibility of control components (primary, secondary and tertiary), and an overall friendly atmosphere in the working zone. This friendly atmosphere could include lighting, smell, sound-dampening etc., all of which contribute to a comfortable workspace.
Informational Needs: Interface

In todays scenario, vehicles are offering all the information ranging from vehicle speed to what the air-conditioner level is. Vehicular interfaces are designed to give all necessary information that would aid the driver in his task. However, it is important to analyze to what detail can the information be deemed as relevant and to what extent these information agent act as distractors. The drivers information needs can be ar-
Hierarchical Task Analysis: The Driving Task

A hierarchical task model was made for the driving task before doing a detailed interface audit.
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Clutch
Brake Accelerator
The auxilliary panel (clock etc.) are often outside the cone of vision.
Repeated component usage is a major cause of fatigue and bodily pain/discomfort.
Workspace Schematic
General schematic for a 4-wheeler interface. A detailed link analysis was carried out for the same.
Auxilliary Panel Instrument Panel Ignition Switch Turn Indicator Steering Wheel
Gearshift Lever Auxilliary Lever Parking Brake
Link Analysis
A link diagram based on the hierarchical task model. The combined task flow was broken down for further detailed analysis. The dotted nodes show the monitoring elements.
Start the vehicle

Starting the vehicle mainly needs static mental models and training knowledge of the driving task.
Monitor
Monitoring is the task that requires judgements and dynamic mental models. The yellow shaded triangle shows the monitoring area and the lines show the actions associated with the monitoring task.
Stop the vehicle

Stopping the vehicle also needs training knowledge on when to press the brakes and by what amounts.
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PGDPD 07
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Chevrolet Tavera Toyota Innova
Landmark Chevrolet Tavera
Acceptible range
seat
seat
The vehicle space was divided into the anthropometric workspace and the interface. A complete workspace audit was carried out for the vehicles selected and a benchmark was decided, based on the Indian anthropometric dimensions. This benchmark was considered to be the minimum requirement for any design intervention.
Acceptible range Analysis
Toyota Innova Toyota Qualis
Toyota Qualis Tata Indigo
Tolerances 95th %ile
Tata Indigo
Tolerances
Landmark
50th %ile 5th %ile
95th %ile 50th %ile
Contact points
Contact points
backrest
425 Backrest width Backrest width mm Backrest angle Seat height Seat width Seat angle Backrest angledeg 13 Seat height310 mm Seat width 435 mm Seat angle 9 deg
backrest
620 Backrest height Backrest heightmm
600 mm 620 mm 510 mm 425 mm 270 mm 310 mm 420 mm 435 mm 199 deg deg 470 mm 470 mm 370 mm 400 mm 6065 mm mm 3328 deg deg 9075 mm mm 9075 mm mm 180 mm 180 mm 260 mm 210 mm 1313 deg deg 320 mm 330 mm 3025 mm mm 3028 deg deg 1313 deg deg
600 mm 600 mm 520 mm 510 mm 310 mm 270 mm 450 mm 420 mm 8 deg deg 19 460 mm 470 mm 460 mm 370 mm 6060 mm mm 3333 deg deg 8590 mm mm 7590 mm mm 180 mm 180 mm 210 mm 260 mm 1313 deg deg 320 mm 320 mm 3030 mm mm 2730 deg deg 1313 deg deg
570 mm 600 mm 470 mm 520 mm 310 mm 310 mm 470 mm 450 mm 490 mm 460 mm 420 mm 460 mm 5560 mm mm 7585 mm mm 7575 mm mm 200 mm 180 mm 220 mm 210 mm 345 mm 320 mm 3030 mm mm 2427 deg deg 1613 deg deg 5333 deg deg 6 deg 8 deg 1613 deg deg
570 mm Acromion 470 mm Bi-deltoid - 16 deg 310 mm Popliteal - 6 deg
Acromion -
Bi-deltoid Popliteal -
484 mm 379 mm 380 mm -
551 mm 484 mm 426 mm 379 mm - 425 mm 380 mm - -
608 mm 551 mm - -
482 mm 426 mm 471 mm 425 mm - 405 mm 331 mm 512 mm 455 mm 517 mm 464 mm - 274 mm 248 mm 354 mm 324 mm 106 mm 94 mm 162 mm 134 mm 574 mm 544 mm - 489 mm 409 mm 5649 mm mm - -
clothing, adjustibility etc.(50 mm) 608 mm clothing, adjustibility etc.(50 mm) - -
interpolate w/95th Bi-acromion (422Bi-acromion (422 mm) 482 mm interpolate w/95th mm) clothing (5-10 mm) 471 mm clothing (5-10 mm)
590 - 610 mm 390 - 410 mm 360 - 380 mm 7 - 10 deg 17 deg
590 - 610 mm 390 - 410 mm 360 - 380 mm 420 - 440 mm 7 - 10 deg
Analysis
5th %ile
minim
17 deg Acceptible seating angle is 17 deg. How Acceptible seating ang
minim
470 mm Hip breadth
Hip breadth
272 mm
331 mm 272 mm 399 mm 455 mm 418 mm 464 mm - 227 mm 248 mm 299 mm 324 mm 9483 mm mm 94 mm 134 mm - -
470 Seat pan depth Seat pan depth mm pedals pedals Foot pedal length Foot pedal 65 mm length Foot pedal angle Foot pedal 28 deg angle
Foot pedal - seat Foot pedal 400 mm edge - seat edge
490 mm 399 Buttock-popliteal Buttock-popliteal mm 420 mm Mid-patella 55 mm Foot length - 53 deg 75 mm Ball of foot Mid-patella Foot length Ball of foot 418 mm 227 mm 299 mm
- -
420 clothing (5-10 mm), extra (5-10 mm), extra (10-15 mm each side) - 440 mm clothing (10-15 mm each side) 405 mm clothing (5-10 mm), calf clearance (100 mm) 512 mm clothing (5-10 mm), calf clearance (100 mm) 290 - 300 mm clothing (5-10 mm), footwear (10-25 mm) 517 mm clothing (5-10 mm), footwear (10-25 mm) 95 footwear (10-25 mm each (10-25 mm1/3rd area min. 1/3rd area - 100 mm footwear side), min. each side), 274 mm 30 deg 400 - 420 mm -
290Seat pan depth shouldpan able to should - 300 mm Seat be depth accom 400 - 420 mm
75 pedal Clutch - brake pedal Clutch - brakemm 75 mm Brake - acc. pedal Brake - acc. pedal headrest 180 mm Headrest length Headrest length 210 Headrest width Headrest widthmm Headrest angle Headrest angle 13 deg steering 330 mm Steering wheel dia. Steering wheel dia. 25 mm Steering grip dia.Steering grip dia. Steering angle Steering angledeg 28
- -
95 - 100 mm surface contact should becon Minimum Minimum surface 1/3 100 - 120 mm 110 - 130 mm
75 mm Foot breadth
headrest
200 mm Neck length max. Neck length max. mm 94 - 16 deg -
Foot breadth 83 mm
100 - mm) radius 52 mm, footwear 52 mm, footwear (15 mm), clearance (30-40 120 mm 354 mm radius (15 mm), clearance (30-40 mm) footwear (10-25 mm), clearance (50 mm) 106 mm footwear (10-25 mm), clearance (50 mm) adjustibiilty (50 mm) 162 mm adjustibiilty (50 mm) - diameter 174 mm, adjustibility mm,mm) 574 mm diameter 174 (50 adjustibility (50 mm) steering cover (10 mm), gloves (5-10 mm) 489 mm steering cover (10 mm), gloves (5-10 mm) steering cover (10 mm), gloves (5-10 mm) 56 mm steering cover (10 mm), gloves (5-10 mm) - clothing (5-10 mm), footwear (10-25 mm) 644 mm clothing (5-10 mm), footwear (10-25 mm) centre of palm (80 mm) of palm (80 mm) 449 mm centre 110 - 130 mm 150 - 200 mm 200 - 250 mm 270 - 300 mm 25 - 30 mm 25 deg 17 deg
30 deg Acceptible footrest angle is 30 deg, and Acceptible footrest ang
220 mm Head circumference circumferencemm Head 520 345 mm Elbow-elbow closed Elbow-elbow closed 346 mm 30 mm Grip inside dia. max. inside dia.42 mm Grip max. - 24 deg 500 mm -
520 mm 544 mm 346 mm 409 mm 4942 mm mm - -
150Headrest lengths Headrest lengths are a - 200 mm are adjustible by 80-
200Headrest should be wide enough too wi - 250 mm Headrest should be ac
steering
270Steering posture should be an interpola - 300 mm Steering posture shoul 25 - 30 mm
17 deg Headrests are not reclineable, but have a Headrests are not recli
550 mm Steering wheel height Steering wheel height gear
Anthropometric Study
Values in green are conforming dimensions while those in red are on-conforming dimensions. Values in bold are take-off points from the Indian anthropometric data.
primary secondary tertiary primary secondary tertiary
clearances
Head clearance Head clearance mm 120 385 mm Window clearance Window clearance
clearances
Gear grip 55 mm 190 mm Floor height (ground) height (ground) Floor Gear grip
gear
500 mm Gear lever - H-point lever - H-point Gear
470 mm 550 mm 550 mm 500 mm 5055 mm mm 480 mm 190 mm 110 mm 120 mm 345 mm 385 mm 690 mm 635 mm
650 mm 289 mm Mid thigh breadth relaxed breadth relaxed Mid thigh 60 length Palm mm 500 mm Mid-patella - 110 mm Palm length Mid-patella 92 mm 419 mm
530 mm
530 mm 587 mm 289 mm 369 mm 92 mm 103 mm - 419 mm 464 mm 774 mm 859 mm 489 mm 558 mm
644 mm 587 mm 449 mm 369 mm 114 mm 103 mm - 517 mm 464 mm 959 mm 859 mm 615 mm 558 mm
630 - 650 mm 550 - 650 mm
25 degdeg steering angle gives a comfortabl 25 25 deg steering angle g 630 - 650 mm 85 - 95 mm
85 - 95 interpolate w/5thinterpolate w/5th Hand breadth with thumb (86 mm) mm 114 mm Hand breadth with thumb (86 mm) 390 - 410 mm footwear (10-25 mm) 517 mm footwear (10-25 mm) - 420 1/2 span (480 mm), resting clearance resting mm) 959 mm 1/2 span (480 mm), (25-40 clearance (25-40 mm)- 440 mm clothing (5-10 mm), at knee (5-10 mm) knee (5-10 mm) 615 mm clothing (5-10 mm), at 590 - 610 mm 100 - 130 mm
550 - 650 mmmaximum range maximum r and was der 390 - 410 mm 420 - 440 mm 590 - 610 mm
Dashboard clearance Dashboard635 mm clearance
330 mm Span akimbo
710 mm 489 mm Buttock-knee length Buttock-knee length
Span akimbo 774 mm
100A headmm - 130 clearanceA head - 130 mmof 10 of 100 clearance is re
localized trim
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PGDPD 07
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Display
Display
Control
Control
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Display
Display Control
Control
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Function Function
km/h RPM
Form
Icon on switch Key slot
Detail
Colour/shape coded Text instructions
Mental Model
Remarks
Criticality
Form
Dial Dial Icon on dial Blinking icon
Detail
Gradations of 5 km/h Gradations of 1000 rpm Empty, full, reserve & mid-way markings Left/Right arrow
Mental Model
Red zone for unsafe speeds Red zone for high engine speeds Red zone for reserve tank Direction of motion to activate appropriate indicator Engine silhouette
Remarks
Criticality
Hazard Switch Ignition
Triangle is the univer- New models have LED for critical Very critical in case of emergensal warning sign. speed feedback. cies Screw rotation Key slot is always kept unreachable as accidental operation would switch off the engine. _____ One time operation
Speed Engine RPM Fuel Level Turn Indicator
New models have LED for critical Very high speed feedback. _____ _____ Turn indicators are the only means of communicating with traffic (other than horn). Critical for engine safety High High
Gear Mark- Numbers ings Air-conditioner Wiper Headlamp Horn Icon on switch, sliders Icon on selector Icon on selector Icon on steering wheel
Engraved
Location of numbers conforms to the gear stick movement. _____ Universal snow symbol _____ Bulb icon _____
High
Auxilliary control, but pre-fitted in most cars today. _____ _____ Means of communicating with other traffic. The horn is one of the most frequently used controls and is hence placed centrally. _____
Important feature for passenger comfort, but could act as a distractor from primary tasks. Useful only in rainy conditions _____ Critical for the driving task, but often a source of auditory discomfort.
Engine Check
+
Icon Icon
15mm X 15mm 15mm X 15mm Cold, hot markings 15mm X 15mm 15mm X 15mm 15mm X 15mm 15mm X 15mm
Battery Check
Engine Tempera- Icon on dial ture Oil Pressure Water Level Parking Brake Headlamp Beam Icon Icon Icon Icon
Cab drivers dont understand all icons/functions. However, due Battery icon, +/- signs to their experience, they know Red zone for critical that these icons glow only durtemperature ing ignition check. Anomalies are detected in the form of the Oil can icon icon not glowing off. Water pump icon _____ Beam icon Glows only when on high beam
Critical for pre-driving checks. Even though the icons are not able to communicate the function on their own, drivers understand the functioning of the icons.
Markings for high, low & intermediate Markings for beam & parking lights _____
Critical for driving etiquette and visual comfort for traffic coming from opposite directions.
Pedals
Motion control
_____
_____
The C-B-A is the standard model for Indian vehicles.
Primary operations along with steering.
Display Panel Analysis

An analysis of display parameters used in vehicles. Driver Cognition and the Sense of Time National Institute of Design Kshitish Purohit Transportation & Automobile Design PGDPD 07
Controls Analysis
An analysis of controls used in vehicles.
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Discussion
The aim of the ergonomic study was to identify thresholds for design intervention. This study was done with the belief that there would be a lot of scope for design intervention. However, the anthropometric workspace was observed to conform to ergonomic standards, barring a few anomalies that are overcome with adjustibility in design. The control/display interface was also observed to conform to ergonomic standards of feedback, functionality and information details. Also, the drivers mental models regarding the currently used system only validated the existing designs. The Toyota Qualis, which is out of production but still used widely across India, was the only vehicle found to be employing text messages rather than complete iconic indication. However, these were messages that were not found to be critical while driving. The question is, how to arrive at a design solution based on this. Worthy of discussion, in this scenario, are the dynamic mental models. These expectancies are highly contextual as they depend on policies, rules, and behavioral patterns of the population. The dynamic mental models, hence, were believed to provide opportunities for design intervention.
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The Driver: Mental Models

Mental models are the users representations of the task at hand. These expectancies are built with experience and help the user in familiarizing with unforeseen situations. For cab drivers, there are clearly defined goals - to deliver punctual service. This goal is perceived by different drivers in various ways. However, in order for the travel agency to follow codes of conduct, drivers are trained in developing the goalbased mental models. Navigational mental models are knowledge-based. These are often not contextual, and are purely built over time, with experience (semantic expectancy). These allow for planning the next journey effectively. Guidance mental models are rule-based and highly contextual. These expectancies (episodic) are functions of traffic behaviour, and include tasks such as starting/stopping a car, safe headway, traffic speed, knowing when to activate certain controls etc. Control mental models are skill-based and are functions of driver behaviour (in terms of vehicular displays and controls). These include the functional aspects of driving sub-tasks and are most important for monitoring a safe drive.
client requires be present reach client be on time rainy day will get stuck be on time job well done before start check mirrors
Monitoring Driving Planning/preparation
Goal
Navigation
Guidance
Control
if not familiar ask area unsafe at night trouble rush hour leave early check seatbelts construction site will get stuck before turning indicate signal green change to red high gears not good in city while at halt left turn free road change slow down when road clear speed up abnormal weather drive slow
heavy vehicle let it pass
safe speed
foot on clutch emergency situation engine start dont press accelerator before ignition on
take vehicle
Dynamic Mental Models

A cause-effect representation of mental models based on Rasmussens classification.
Knowledge-based
Goal-based
give way
not safe before overtake blow horn
Rule-based
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Skill-based
tailgate not safe
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Persona: Wanjibhai Parmar

Wanjibhai Parmar, 32, works at RR Travels as a driver. He has been driving for 3 years and has been with RR Travels, an Ahmedabad based cab agent, for 1.5 years. He has a Tata Indica (diesel variant) assigned to him by the agency, and has driven a Toyota Qualis prior to this. His job demands him to commute clients from one city to another (e.g. Ahmedabad to Surat), and occasionally, from Gujarat to Rajasthan or Madhya Pradesh. Within the city, his commute involves reaching the client, and then reaching the highway. Having started driving at the age of 28, he took close to a year familiarizing with the main roads of Gujarat. At the moment, he is familiar with all highways and all major centres of Gujarat. Wanjibhai reports to duty at 7:00 AM everyday. More often than not, his daily duty is ready by the time he arrives for work. However, in case of pickings before 7:00 AM, he takes his Indica with him the previous night so that he is able to reach the client directly, without having to pick up his vehicle. Wanjibhai has not undergone any formal training regarding behaviour and etiquette. RR Travels selects drivers purely based on driving experience (minimum 2 years required). However, for the first 3 months of his service, he was under probation where before each trip, he used to be given instructions regarding the kind of behaviour and etiquette expected of him. Wanjibhai has had basic primary education, and can not understand English. He finds it difficult to read specific instructions and/or symbols in his vehicle. He is, however, comfortable with icons, but needs instructions to understand the icons. For this purpose, he carries a service manual with him. He also considers distance, fuel and engine information as the most important. Wanjibhai earns Rs. 7500 a month, which is just about enough to support his family (wife and 10 yr-old daughter in a Govt. school). Timely service is, hence, of utmost importance as that alone earns him a major chunk of his salary.
I AM EXPERIENCED
Im highly familiar with highways I asks for directions if unsure of routes I know basic repair/maintenance knowledge of my vehicle I know all the functions on my vehicle I know features on other cars as well
TIME IS MONEY
Driving is my source of livelihood I have to support my family I have to reach client on time I have to always be available to the client My timely delivery of service will reap me rewards I have to maintain etiquette with client
As far as driving is concerned, Wanjibhai maintains a safe driving behaviour. He can negotiate most traffic and obstructions comfortably. However, errors due to fatigue and urgency can not be ruled out. Although he has maintained a safe record till present, the value of time and the need for money make him prone to accidents, thus posing a threat to both his and his clients lives.
Profile
Age 32 yrs 3 yrs experience At current service for 1.5 yrs Is aware of new technologies
Livelihood
Has had primary education Earns Rs. 7500 a month Lives with his wife & daughter
I CAN DRIVE 150 km AT A STRETCH

I have driven many vehicles before I maintain speed limits I dont tailgate I judge speed by traffic I can drive as well in the city as on the highway
SPEED LIMITS ARE MOST ESSENTIAL

Engine temperature & fuel levels are important to me I always do vehicle checks before starting my duty Steering and brakes should be functioning properly I carry a service manual
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DESIGN
DESIGN
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Information Structure
Informational Needs
design
Information Structure Concept Guidelines Summary Dashboard Integration Relevance of the Design
75 86 96 109 111 118
The entire research findings were synthesized into informational needs. These needs were grouped according to navigational, guidance and control needs, and also, informational needs pertaining to the drivers knowledge of the task at hand.
OFFICE
TRIP
RETURN
Mandatory information Destination Client details Reporting time
Cautionary information Fuel levels Oil levels Water levels Electricals/mechanicals
Breakdown management Vehicle repair knowledge Road rules
Emergency information Service numbers Emergency contacts
NAVIGATION GUIDANCE CONTROL

Landmarks Signage Distance markers Direction markers In-vehicle information Display/controls Speed Time Distance meters Engine RPM Monitoring information Speed Distance Fuel/oil/water level Engine temperature Battery
OTHER
Billing information Distance travelled Time travelled for Billing charges
Pre-driving task Driving task
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DESIGN
DESIGN
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Where to go?
Destination Distance Time
Exact Directional
Signage
Distance to destination Directional markers
Directions en route
Navigation
Which route to take?
Shorter route Easier route Faster route
Natural Architectural
Landmarks Guidance Left/right? Turn allowed? Intersecting traffic Intersections Safe gap Traffic speed Communication with traffic When/where to turn?
Driving Task
Alternate route How long will it take? Time of day Day of week Traffic Weather Other factors Public gatherings Constructions Diversions Railway crossings Navigational information needs for the driver. Rain Fog Windy Human Animal Obstructions
Driving Task
Traffic direction Non-vehicular traffic
Weather Day/night?
Environment
Guidance information needs for the driver.
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DESIGN
DESIGN
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How fast am I going? How long have I been driving for? How much distance have I travelled? Control How much fuel is left? Time Interface Display Can information be read? How sufficient is the information? Is the information necessary? Is the information in the right amount? Is it indicating critical points appropriately?
Basic repair Maintenance Road rules Service numbers Emergency contacts
Breakdowns
Emergency Other Knowledge Billing
Driving Task
Distance travelled Time driven for Time waited for Billing charges Time travelled for
Driving Task
Controls
When to accelerate? When to use clutch? When to change gear?
Control information needs for the driver.
When to put brakes? Where are other controls located?
Other information needs for the driver.
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DESIGN
DESIGN
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Network Plan
Start Location Destination Distance Estimated Time
Database
Common database for the interface as well as back-end, based on GPS.
System Architecture
A macro-view of the proposed system
Guidance
Landmark Direction to Landmark Distance to Landmark Estimated Time to Landmark
Vehicle
Fuel Level Estimated Distance on Fuel Temperatures/Other Checks
Maintenance
Vehicle Information Recommended Levels Basic Repair Tips
Billing
Metering Distance Travelled Time Travelled for Billing Cycle Unit Fare Amount
The network space binding the digital elements.
The information needs were further refined and grouped into functions and functional components. A system architecture is proposed for the cab system. The proposed system is a simulation of real-world activities and has a back-end as analogous to the cab agency. The back-end shall administer various activities, e.g., cab booking, fleet management, vehicle tracking, reports etc. The vehicular interface is the simulation of the driver and will have functions that are relevant only to the driver. This system aims at the cab agents who run the so-called unorganized cab service. This system has been proposed with the understanding that the existing system needs to be streamlined. Also, the market component has been considered here, focusing on two main points, a) India still does not have an in-vehicle information and monitoring system and new systems need to be designed for the Indian context, and, b) introduction of a new system would give a competitive edge to the unorganized cab sector and elevate them to the level of organized services like Meru.
Information to be handled by the information system
Monitoring
Distance Travelled Speed Fuel Level Vehicle Checks Traffic Environment
Activity
Information to be handled by the monitoring system Physical space where all agency activities shall be performed.
Back-end
Back-end application for managing agency services, fleet management, tracking, reports etc.
Interface
Synchronized monitoring and information systems.
Interaction
Vehicle space housing the driver-vehicle interactions.
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Information Architecture
A hierarchical analysis of input/output modes
Task
Navigation
Sub-task
Plan
Parameter L0
Start Location Destination Estimated Distance Estimated Time
Parameter L1
Data Input
Text, sync. with back-end Text, sync. with back-end -------
Data Display
----Calculated using GPS data Calculated using GPS data GPS/Google Maps sync. Sync. with vehicle odometer On-board calculation Direction & landmark, GPS GPS/Google Maps sync. Calculated using GPS data Sync. with speedometer Sync. with fuel gauge Calculated using GPS data Sync. with temp. gauge Sync. with vehicle --Odometer, GPS GPS sync. ---
Guide
Map Meter Active Signage Distance Travelled Metered Amount Next Landmark Distance Estimated Time Vehicle Status Running Speed Fuel Level Distance on Fuel Engine Temp. Oil, Battery etc.
--------------------Text, sync. with back-end -----
Bill
Client Distance Travelled Time Travelled for Amount Billing Cycle
Complete map for the information system interface.
Database
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Task
Tools
Sub-task
Maintenance
Parameter L0
Service Information Vehicle Information
Parameter L1
Unit Fare Last Service Next Service km Reading Fuel Levels Tire Pressure Temperature Oil, Battery etc.
Data Input
--Database Database ----------Database Database -----
Data Display
--Date, km reading Date, km reading Sync. with odometer Sync. with fuel gauge Sync. with tire monitor Sync. with temp. gauge Sync. with vehicle Text, brand Text, year Instructions Infographics Image Text Text Text Text Text Text
Task
Sub-task
Parameter L0
Parameter L1
Issue Date Expiry Date Issuing Authority
Data Input
Database Database Database One-touch call button ---
Data Display
Text Text Text --GPS/Google Maps sync.
Emergency Call Map
Service Manual
Vehicle Information Maintenance Tips Component Info.
Make Year
Driver Details
Personal Details
Photograph Name Employee Code Age Date of Birth Address
Database Database Database Database Database Database Database
License Details
License No.
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DESIGN
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Concept
Tasks Panel Dashboard/Home Screen
For tasks received through the cab agency
Wireframes
For the information system interface, wireframes were made, first on paper, and then detailed out digitally, and based on the information architecture decided. The conceptual layout thus gave the information structure as applicable in the digital world, and the wireframes helped realize information flow and screen-toscreen navigation.
Tools Panel
For non-task activities
Map View Snippet

For current position orientation
Navigation Pane
For planning and executing a trip
Trip Planner
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Active Guidance
Task Summary
Bill Generation & Printing
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Tools: Maintenance
Tools: Driver Details
Tools: Service Manual
Colour-coded for alerts
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Speedometer
Analog moving-pointer, fixeddial type speedometer.
alert
Event Monitor
The event monitor has been conceptualized keeping in mind the Indian drivers mental models. The event monitoring system will use a combination of sensors and actuators to map out behaviour triggers and behavioral actions.
Event Monitor: Internal Events

Internal events are the primary actions performed by the driver, and can be sensed using instrumented accelerator, steering & brake. These sensors are available in varied sensitivities, and can be hooked to microprocessorbased interpolation tables to detect realtime anomalies.
Brake pedal motion sensor

Resolution +/- 0.1 inch Last 10 pedal movement values Standard deviation 11th value Deviation
data value
deviation mean
Icon Cluster
The icon cluster shall house the standard icons. These icons are on/off type and are activated only in case of anomalies in the vehicle. All these icons display a similar functional behaviour and hence, were best perceived as a cluster.
data received every 0.1 seconds
Accelerator pedal motion sensor

Resolution +/- 0.1 inch Last 10 pedal movement values Standard deviation 11th value Deviation
non-critical alert
The System Dynamics

The monitoring system shall continuously interact with the information system and the server/database.
Timer/Fatigue Warning
Digital clock with trip features. The trip-timer shall be set to 0 (synchronized with the information system), for easy metering/billing.
Steering wheel motion sensor

Resolution +/- 1 degree Last 10 wheel movement values Standard deviation 11th value Deviation
Odometer
Standard digital odometer with trip features. Synchronization with the information system shall add a trip-meter reset feature, setting the value to 0 for easy metering/billing.
The fatigue warning alarm shall make use of the trip-timer feature and give a feedback to the driver in case of continuous driving for more than a set amount of time.
critical alert
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S/R1/R2 active
non-critical alert
Side Collision Sensing (S)

Low-range proximity sensor to detect probable collisions from the side. (S+R1)/(R1+R2) active critical alert
Rear-end Sensing (R1, R2)

High-range ultrasonic proximity sensor to detect probable collisions from behind/warn against overtaking vehicles.
Event Monitor: External Events

External events are events that trigger a specific action from the driver. These are real-world events (e.g. approaching danger, overtaking vehicles etc.).
Dashboard: Schematic
The conceptual layout for the dashboard with the icon cluster, speedometer, fuel gauge and the event monitor.
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Guidelines
The Driver Space
F
630 mm 25o
Speedometer
Startup Speed: 0-40 km/h
Colour-coded to white bordered zone. Dial: Type: Analog, moving pointer, fixed dial Viewing Distance: 630 mm (2 ft.) Viewing Angle: 15o Diameter: 75 mm (3 in.) Pointer: Length: 35 mm Thickness: 4 mm at base Deflection: 255o Colours: Back Colour: Gray (#6d6e71) Cruise: Gray (#e6e7e8) Higher Speeds: Red (#ed1c24) Pointer Colour: Orange (#f26922)
Ergonomically acceptible dimensions of workspace elements. The dashboard is shown in cyan in the side view and shows the orientation w.r.t the driver.
25o 400 mm 20o

180 mm
Cruise Range: 40-60 km/h

II III I IV horizon Colour-coded to white shaded zone.
220 mm
ii
i iv
+
F
mm
300 mm 640 mm
iii
horizon heads down
Colour-coded to red shaded zone. The speed limits have been thought of according to varied limits (60 km/h in city, 80 km/h on highways). Also, these are not regulated speed limits, but are safe speeds on the roads.
600
High Speed: > 80 km/h Dashboard Location

440 mm
The location of the dashboard monitor w.r.t. eye quadrants in mean and heads down positions. Colour-coded to red shaded sector. Sectors demand immediate attention and speeds greater than 80 km/h are dangerous.
10o
8 mm
300 mm
360 mm
4 mm 35 mm
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colour palette
Speed Limits: 60-80 km/h
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Event Monitor
F F
10 mm
Counters
Font Details:
30 mm
22 mm
30 mm
Odometer
Height-width = 2:1 Thickness = 0.5 mm Italic = 10o
Height-width = 2:1 Thickness = 1 mm
Display States: Event Monitor
Display: Type: Digital, iconic, segmented Viewing Distance: 630 mm (2 ft.) Viewing Angle: 15o Dimensions: Warning Indicator: 40 x 30 mm Symbol: 25 x 22 mm Event Monitor: 15 x 30 mm Colours: Back Colour: Gray (#333132) Critical (Inactive): Gray (#d1d3d4) Critical (Active): Red (#ed1c24) Symbol Back: Yellow (#fff200)
4 mm
30 mm
Alerts: Trip meter
Display: Type: Digital, segment display Viewing Distance: 630 mm (2 ft.) Viewing Angle: 15o Dimensions: 30 x 12 mm
25 mm 40 mm
15 mm
Clock
colour palette
Alerts: Trip: 150 km from last halt Timer: 75 min from last halt Colours: Back Colour: Gray (#939598) Font: Black (#000000) Alert: Orange (#f37032)
2.5 mm
Indicator for warnings based on internal and external events.
Indicator for external events and probable collision areas.
0.5 mm
25 mm
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Timer
Warning Indicator
External Events Monitor
Display States: Warning Indicator
colour palette
12 mm
100
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Icon Cluster
Inactive State: Display: Type: Digital, iconic Viewing Distance: 630 mm (2 ft.) Viewing Angle: 15o Dimensions: 45 x 50 mm Icons: Number of Icons: 8 Size: encl. 12 x 12 mm Colours: Back Colour: Gray (#333132) Icons: Yellow Chrome (#ffc22c) Beam Icon: Blue (#1b75bc) Parking Icon: Red (#ed1c24)
Fuel Gauge
Display: Type: Analog, moving pointer, fixed bar Viewing Distance: 630 mm (2 ft.) Viewing Angle: 15o Dimensions: 10 x 40 mm Colours: Back Colour: Gray (#686e71) Level Zones: Gray (#e6e7e8) Reserve: Red (#ed1c24) Pointer: Orange (#f26922) Pointer Details:
F
Level Indicator
colour palette
40 mm
Moving Pointer
Pointer in the reserve zone to generate the low fuel alert in the icon cluster.
Half-way
Icon Sample:
12 mm 45 mm
E
10 mm
Reserve
4 mm
8 mm
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50 mm
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The TRIPPER in-vehicle navigator and information system has been conceptualized as a systemic aid to the cab service. The TRIPPER is a touch-based interface that will assist the driver in activities relevant to the driving task, and his job as a taxi service employee. TRIPPER follows a hierarchy which is similar to that of the real-world cab agentdriver hierarchy. TRIPPER is the interface-level counterpart of the real-world driver, and the functions of TRIPPER have been designed keeping in mind the tasks and responsibilities of a cab driver. TRIPPER has the following components: Interface: touch-based simulation of the real-world relation between the agency, vehicle and the driver. Database: a record of the last 10 tasks executed by the current driver. This can be thought of as the semantic memory counterpart of the drivers memory. Intelligence: GPS-based assistive aid for the driver, in terms of traffic/weather monitoring. Assistance: GPS-based active guidance for en-route information.
Guidelines: Dashboard Elements

This section shows guidelines regarding appearance of elements on the home screen (dashboard) of TRIPPER.
Colours: Background: #ffffff Header: #578fb5 Body: grad. #ffffff - #e2e2e2 Header Text: #e2e2e2
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colour palette
Layout: Dimensions: 576 x 432 px
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Function: Tasks
Function: Navigation
8 mm
Function: Tools
5 mm
Functions: Position Map
Task Alert
Colour-coded alert for new task received from the agency.
Task Description
1-line description (sourcedestination) of the received task.
Plan
Details:
Guidance colour palette
Bill
Maintenance
Details:
Service Manual
Driver Details
Task History
Emergency Call
Display States:
colour palette
15 mm
Colours: Inactive: #7b95af, #485f77 Active: #f4646f, #b04449 Symbol: #e2e2e2
colour palette
10 mm
Colours: Background: #7b95af, #485f77 Symbol: #e2e2e2
15 mm 15 mm 30 mm
8 mm
20 mm
10 mm
Colours: Background: #7b95af, #485f77 Symbol: #e2e2e2
Current Position Marker
Details:
15 mm
10 mm
colour palette
Colours: Marker: #ff000000
30 mm
20 mm
Map: Level: District Type: North-up
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Colour Details:
colour palette
Temp: #00ff00 #00ff00 #bf0700 Hot Mid Cold #bf0700 #00ff00 #bf0700
Presentation: Active Signage

15 mm 35 mm
Colours: Signage: #415469 Sign Variations:
Presentation: Vehicle Running Information

Full Mid Reserve
Fuel:
20 mm
Symbol: #ff0000
8 mm
Direction to Landmark
Time to Landmark
Distance to Landmark
Next Landmark on route
colour palette
Running Fuel Level
Estimated Distance on Remaining Fuel
Running Speed
Engine Temp.
Alert
32 mm
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Summary
Presentation: Tracker Map Data Input: On-screen Keyboard The Driver Space
The workspace has been proposed keeping in view anthropometric data for the Indian male. However, since most components are adjustible these days, the proposed dimensions are merely guidelines and not strict blueprints. Backrest. The backrest should provide support to the bi-deltoid protrusions. The backrest width should be enough to support a 95th percentile Indian male driver, and also not give much movement space for a 5th percentile Indian male driver. The backrest should be reclinable upto 17o for postural adjustments and lumbar support. Seat. The seat should provide support to the buttocks and to the thighs. In automobile seats, however, the posture need not demand thigh support, but ergonomically, the seat pan should be deep enough to support the buttock-popliteal length of a 95th percentile male driver, and also not so deep that the seat fowls with the 5th percentile popliteal. The seat width should be enough to support the hip-breadth of the 95th percentile male, and also not give much movement space for the 5th percentile male. The seat height should keep the drivers popliteal height as close to the vertical as possible. The seat should have a 10o incline w.r.t. the horizontal for efficient foot movement. Pedals. The pedal dimensions should be enough to accommodate 1/3rd of the corresponding foot dimensions. Also, the distance between the pedals should accommodate foot movement keeping the heel fixed, and also non-interference of the two feet. Headrest. The headrest should provide support to the drivers head and also maintain a horizontal line of vision for the driver (or a 5o eyellipse). The headrest width should be enough to support a 95th percentile male and also not give much movement space to the 5th percentile male. The headrest height should be adjustable and should be fixed w.r.t. the backrest, so that the headrest reclines only with the backrest. Steering. The steering wheel diameter should accommodate the elbows in a closed/relaxed position. Also, the steering wheel should be placed such that the right elbow doesnt collide with the door while manoeuvring the vehicle. The steering grip diameter should conform to the human grip inside diameter. Gear. The gear lever should be within the secondary zone in its maximum position and provide enough clearance between the left elbow and the rest of the body in its minimum position. Clearances. While driving the vehicle, there should be mandatory head clearance, clearance between the knee and the dashboard and clearance between the elbow and the window. Also, for easy ingress/egress, there should be adequate ground clearance. General. For accessibility, dimensions should be taken off from the lower percentile and extrapolated to the higher percentile. For clearance, dimensions should be taken off from the higher percentile and extrapolated to the lower percentile. All tertiary controls (stereo, A/C etc.) should be placed between the secondary and tertiary zones so that they dont pose a distraction while driving the vehicle.
Details: Map: Level: District Type: Moving-up Colours: Best Route: #f37032 Alternate Route: #00a79d Minor Routes: #a7a9ac Tracker: #ff0000 Map Background: #282829
colour palette
Type: QWERTY Touch-screen Keypad
Keys:
Number: 40 keys Numbers: 0-9 Characters: A-Z Special: Back, Space, Cancel, OK
For dimensional values, refer to page no. 96.
Best Route
Alternate Route
Minor Routes
Tracker
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The Interface
The interface has been divided into two components: The monitor - for monitoring on-the-task events and giving relevant information to the driver. The TRIPPER information system - for meeting the informational needs of the cab driver, including navigation, guidance & billing functions.
Critical warnings: Red. Driver response indications: Orange.
Symbol sizes. Symbols in the icon cluster have been restricted to a 12x12 mm square. Variable stroke sizes have been used to enhance legibility of the icons for a viewing distance of 600 mm. The event monitor icons have been restricted to a 30 mm height and a proportional width. Alerts. Generate an alert whenever a reading exceeds an acceptable value. Alert the driver and demand drivers attention whenever critical events are recorded outside the drivers cone of vision. Use multisensory modality in case of critical events.
Present current position on the main screen. Present all functionalities in the least number of interface screens. Wherever possible, use collapsible components instead of adding a new screen. All screens should be navigable directly to and from the home screen. Provide confirmation screens before critical tasks, e.g., starting the billing cycle. Colour coding. Use minimum number of colours for information presentation. Use contrasting colours for presenting important information. Use colour-coded alerts. Wherever possible, show alerts on the home screen. The following colour convention has been followed for a comfortable viewing stress: Background: White to blue gradient. Alerts: Red.
The Monitor
The following guidelines have been followed for the design of the monitor: Layout. Arrange the most critical information (speedometer and event monitor) in the first and second visual quadrants. The fatigue warning should be placed in the third quadrant and the icon cluster in the fourth quadrant. This layout has been proposed considering the various degrees of criticality of the functionalities. Presentation of information. Present speed information in terms of safe, regulatory and critical limits. Present distance information in terms of total as well as trip distance. Present time information in terms of clock and trip time. Colour-coding. Use the least number of colours to display the desired information. The colours should be contrasted with the background and should not be visible when the icons are in a deactivated state. The following colour conventions have been used: Background: 90% grey. Safe values: 10% grey. Non-critical warnings: Chrome yellow.
For more details on individual components, refer to page no. 97-103.
For more details on individual components, refer to page no. 104-108.
The TRIPPER Information System

The following guidelines have been followed for designing the TRIPPER information system interface: Functional grouping. Function allocation to the TRIPPER system should be within the scope of the functions of the real-world driver. Group the functionalities according to tasks and tools. The tasks are the primary planning and billing tasks, while the tools are extra information that may be required for breakdown maintenance, servicing etc. Presentation of information. The TRIPPER should use a combination of textual and graphical information. Present map information as north-up on the home screen (spatial orientation confirmation) and as moving-up on the guidance screen (spatial movement confirmation). Screen content and navigation. Present all functionalities on the main screen.
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Dashboard Integration
As a future vision, the design guidelines were conceptually integrated with the vehicle dashboard. These concepts were divided into three levels of integration. The first one was based on the simple two-module configuration for the instrument panel and the Tripper system. The functionalities and sub-modules of the two interface components remain the same as proposed in the guidelines. However, colour treatment was changed in line with aesthetics. The other concepts aimed at futuristic integration of the interfaces in terms of form and layout.
Dashboard Integration: I
A rather pessimistic scenario considering the integration of the interfaces on the current dashboard (ref. Tata Indica/Indigo).
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Information system
Auxilliary controls (stereo, A/C etc.)
Instrument cluster
Instrument cluster detail
Dashboard Integration: II
A BAU scenario considering the integration of the interfaces on the current dashboard.
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Relevance of the Design

Information system functions Navigation screen Integrated interaction panel Logistics Freight management Fuel management Tolling
Interaction panel detail

Information system guidelines
Public transport
Passenger management Scheduling Route management Ticketing
Personal transport For whom to adapt
Navigation Vehicular performance management What to adapt
Adaptation of the information system guidelines to other vehicle segments/markets Dashboard Integration: III
An optimistic scenario considering the integration of the interfaces into a single panel. The guidelines for the vehicle space, instrument cluster and the information system have been designed based on human cognition and general workspace related needs. While the instrument cluster and the seating space can be generalized as ergonomically designed for both personal as well as passenger cars, the information system guidelines can be viewed as being specific to the cab system. This, however, can be generalized across the taxi market in India and could also be extended to trucks, buses and other fleet vehicles.
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Benefits of the instrument panel design guidelines

Reduced visual load
The usage of high-contrast and minimum number of colours is aimed at reducing the visual load while trying to read the messages. In addition, the message icons have been kept in accordance with the drivers existing mental model set.
Benefits of the information system guidelines

Complete process simulation
Simulation of the real-world sytem and its hierarchies helps in identifying human frailties at different levels, and also manage the tasks at these levels. The scope of the information system is same as the real-world driver and thus, defines his roles and responsibilities.
Reduced information processing time

Display of numbers and quantitative information in case of primary information has been kept minimal. All warnings have been kept as on-off type warnings with their states indicating the functional state of the corresponding vehicular function.
Spatial information presentation

The presentation of spatial information in terms of maps helps in wayfinding, navigation and planning.
Behaviour feedback
Feedback is important in any cognitive task. While most modern displays provide visual and/or auditory feedback for critical values, behavioral feedback is present only in expensive ADAS (e.g., lane-departure warning etc.). Here, behaviour feedback has been presented as another simple on-off type warning, thus indicating to the drier to review his actions in terms of steering, speed & brake controls.
Dynamic/temporal information presentation

The presentation of dynamic information such as vehicular information, realtime change of contextual information etc. adds to the spatal informatin processing capabilities and helps carry out the driving task with greater efficiency.
Vehicle maintenance information

Vehicle maintenance information and the service manual has been considered necessary in cases of breakdowns on the highway/ remote areas, as well as for regular vehicle checks.
Fatigue warning
The fatigue warning system has been conceptualized, based on the average distance & average time that the selected user group drove for comfortably without taking a break. Following the fatigue warning would ensure proper rests during a journey and reduce the risk of fatigue-related errors.
Collision warning
The external event monitor gives warnings against probable collisions and also indicates which side the threat is from. This also indicates the driver to review his actions in terms of driving path and speed.
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CONCLUSION
CONCLUSION
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Project Reflection
When the project was started, I had absolutely no idea how or where it would end. The brief I had chosen was extremely open \-ended and gave me a lot to explore in terms of cognitive psychology, time perception, vehicular information etc. The only thing that I was sure of was that the link between time perception and driving behaviour would give the project a solid direction. The literature review helped its bit as I was able to measure how the sense of time affected driving, in terms of fatigue and situation awareness. This, however, did require fieldwork and the framework research helped in that. It was oly through those three pilot studies that I could arrive at a context. Of course, there were crossroads, there were stalemates, there were standpoints, and there were straight passages throughout the project. Once again, I would like to thank all the people who helped me get through. Your names have already been mentioned in detail in the acknowledgements section, so I wont repeat. To end this part, I would summarize my learnings as follow: Read a lot. How much is too much? It never is. Always make notes. It helps a lot to write what you read and helps retain it longer and faster. Being clueless helps. This is rather debatable, but the innocent explorer is always more successful than the expectant one, e.g., Christopher Columbus discovering America while expecting India. Know your limits. If you cant do something on your own, dont be afraid to accept it. I wouldve done this project for a truck had I been a superhero, but I knew I wasnt and I accepted it. Observation is the best method. Ekalavya is a fine example to that. Whats more important is what to observe and how much to absorb. Automobile design is not all about styling. This is one of the myths that a lot of people often believe. Automobile design is a clear case of hardcore systems approach and I, for some reason, always wanted this to be a statement to those who think sketching a car beautifully is all there is to automobile design. Self-initiated projects can and will get delayed. Its just too relaxing. Be human. You cant do a project without discussing with peers, seniors and the layman. If a layman asks why? to a research project, youll end up either, a) arguing incessantly, b) without a reply, or, in rare cases, c) in a
conclusion
Project Reflection Future Scope Bibliography
123 125 128
The task was only about to get more challenging now. So I had a context, but then what? Again, even at this time, I didnt know how or where the project would go. It couldve very well turned to a futuristic interior design project, or it couldve just ended at workpace anthropometrics. Detailed research, hence, had to ensue. It was interesting, rather surprising, how the focus of the project just changed from safety/accident prevention to interface usability. This was mainly due to, a) the fact that accidents and road safety follow a very random pattern in India, and, b) the understanding that what is more usable is what is safer. In retrospect, it can very well be said that the road study was quite irrelevant! However, looking at a brighter side, accident analysis on Ahmedabad roads could be quite a challenging project! In terms of methodologies followed, I tried to maintain a highly non-intrusive method. Interviews were conducted wherever required, but most of the research was observational. This was due to the understanding that in order to study human cognition, the subject (for lack of politically correct words) should always be made to feel comfortable and not interfered with while carrying out his/her task. In such a scenario, one could question the efficacy of the methods followed as its more than natural to form a bias. I managed to maintain an unbiased method throughout the project, as there wasnt much to be biased for or biased against, except for a little attractiveness bias which made me choose the taxi over the truck.
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CONCLUSION
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Future Scope
fistfight. But, its all human. So the above was quite a humorous touch to some things I learnt during the course of the project.These arent the typical management class pointers, but actual first-hand experiences. On a serious note, I actually learnt how to incorporate hardcore research, ergonomics, interface design and interior styling into one single project. Also, some of the tools I learnt (Microsoft Expression Blend) are industry-standard tools and are bound to help me in my future endeavours. The outcome of this project has opened up a lot of opportunities in industrial, visual as well as technical design. As the project concluded in guidelines and directions, these can be realized in independent projects and/or subset projects spanning across various disciplines. The opportunities can be listed as follows: Integration. Integration with on-board computer(s), sensor integration, integration of GPS/GPRS systems.
Design Research
User Testing. Testing of the concept before implementation, prototyping. Standardization. Cross-platform standardization and generalization of interfaces. Contextualization. Realization of the system in different contexts of use, e.g., areawise, demographically etc. Accident Research & Analysis. Understanding contributors to accidents in Ahmedabad, accident studies, prevention etc.
Industrial Design
Ergonomics. Workspace design including seating, lighting, passenger interaction.
Workspace guidelines Links - temporal & physiological behaviour Terminologies The driving task model Basic links - behaviour & safety Driver personae Vehicular safety levels in India Probable accident causes Instrument panel guidelines Information system guidelines Dashboard integration concepts Stakeholder identification
Automobile Design. Vehicle packaging, design of a standard taxi. Styling. Exterior and interior aesthetics, use of colour to reduce mental loads. Materials. Optimization for dust-proofing, tamper-proofing etc. for the touch-screen interface.
Interaction & Experiential Design

future scope
Aesthetics. Adaptive interiors for enhancing driver cognition. Interface Design. Design of the dashboard to meet futuristic trends, interaction methods for human-machine interaction, interface design for the back-end.
Perception of time Driver behaviour Situation awareness Events and information processing Vehicular interfaces & safety
Final user group System & vehicle type Final driver persona Competitor & market specification Anthropometric & interface requirements
Graphic Design Process Summary

Diagram showing key findings in the different stages of the project. Instrument Panel. Alternative icons for dashboard. Information System. Branding, interface skinning.
Technical Design
Development. Programming, integration with real-time data.
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CONCLUSION
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Future Scope Vehicle Ergonomics Design Styling Aesthetics for Experience Interaction/ Interface Design
will affect Graphic Design
Research Design Development
Domain Ergonomics Vehicle Design Styling Aesthetics for Experience Interaction/ Interface Design Graphic Design Branding Development Standardization Contextualization
Branding
Development
Standardization
Contextualization
Opportunity/Stakeholder Map
The future opportunities can be considered as stakeholders in the future scope of the project. Mapping was done as a modified influence-interest map to identify and analyze cross-links between the various stakeholders in the different stages of the project.
How to read the map

The three columns on the left represent the three stages of the project, and the coloured cells represent overlaps/relevant stages for the stakeholders (column 4). Column 4 and beyond are shown as a distance matrix, representing the interlinks that each stakeholder would share with other stakeholders. The coloured cells show the affected stakeholder domains.
Interest
Stakeholder
Influence
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Bibliography
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European Road Safety Observatory (2006) Fatigue. Retrieved May 9, 2008 from http://www.erso.eu 19. Evans, V. (2007). How we Conceptualise Time: Language, Meaning and Temporal Cognition. In Evans, V., Berger, Benjamin K., Zinken, J. (Eds.), The Cognitive Linguistics Reader (pp 733-765). London: Equinox Publishing. 20. Fairchild R.G., Brake, J.F., Thorpe, N., Birrell, S., Stewart, A., Young, M., Felstead, Tim, J., Fowkes, M. (2009). Using On-board Driver Feedback Systems to Encourage Safe, Ecological and Efficient Driving: The Foot-LITE Project. Retrieved March 16, 2010, from http://www.aisb.org.uk/convention/ aisb09/Proceedings/PERSUASIVE/FILES/FairchildR.pdf 21. Forgus, Ronald H. (1966). Perception. New York: McGraw Hill. 22. Goodrich, Michael A., Boer, Erwin R. (1998). Semiotics and Mental Models: Modeling Automobile Driver Behavior. In Proceedings of the IEEE ISIC/ CIRA/ISAS Joint Conference (pp 771-776). 23. Gruber, Ronald P., Wagner, Lawrence F., Block, Richard A. (2004). Relationships between Subjective Time and Information Processed. In Harris, Paul A., Crawford, M. (Eds.), Time and Uncertainty (pp 188-203). Boston: Brill Leiden. 24. Guastello, Stephen J. (2006). Human Factors Engineering and Ergonomics. New Jersey: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates Publishers. 25. Gugerty, L. (in press) Situation Awareness in Driving. In Lee, J., Rizzo, M., Fisher, D. , Caird, J. (Eds.), Handbook for Driving Simulation in Engineering, Medicine and Psychology. Florida: CRC Press. 26. Halpern, Diane F. (2000). Sex Differences in Cognitive Abilities (3rd Ed.). Mahwah: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates. 27. Hancock, Peter A. (1999). Human Performance and Ergonomics. London: Academic Press. 28. Helander, M. (2006). A Guide to Human Factors and Ergonomics (2nd ed.). Florida: CRC Press. 29. Hines, M. (2005). Brain Gender. New York: Oxford University Press. 30. Ho, C., Spence, C. (2008). The Multisensory Driver: Implications for Ergonomics Car Interface Design. Vermont: Ashgate Publishing Ltd. 31. Johnson-Laird, P. N. (1980). Mental Models in Cognitive Science. In Collins, A. (Ed.). Cognitive Science Journal Vol.4 (pp 71-115). Cognitive Science Society. 32. Journey of Taxi-Cabs in India (n.d.). Retrieved March 24, 2010, from http:// www.carazoo.com/article/3006200803/Journey-of-Taxi-Cabs-in-India 33. Kappa effect. Retrieved October 7, 2009, from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ Kappa_effect 34. Kimura, D. (2000). Sex and Cognition, Boston: MIT Press. 35. Lees, Monica N., Lee, John D. (2009). Enhancing Safety by Augmenting Information Acquisition in Driving. In Castro, C. (Ed.), Human Factors of Visual & Cognitive Performance in Driving (pp 167-186). Florida: CRC Press. 36. Majumdar, D. (2006). Human Factors in Transportation Safety. In Chaturvedi, P. (Ed.), Challenges of Occupational Safety and Health (pp 105-109). New Delhi: Concept Publishing Co. 37. McDonald, N. (1984). Fatigue, Safety & the Truck Driver. Philadelphia: Taylor & Francis. 38. Meru Cabs (n.d.). Retrieved March 20, 2010, from http://www.merucabs. com 39. Meru Cabs: Technology on Wheels (n.d.). Retrieved March 20, 2010, from
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49. Salvucci, D., Boer, E., and Liu, A. (2001). Toward an Integrated Model of Driver Behavior in a Cognitive Architecture. In Transportation Research Record (pp 1779:9-16). 50. Schindhelm, R., Gelau, C., Keinath, A., Bengler, K., Kussmann, H., Kompfner, P., Cacciabue, Carlo P., Martinetto, M. (2004). Report on the Review of the Available Guidelines and Standards (Tech. Rep. No. IST-1507674-IP). Information Society Technologies Programme. 51. Schlesinger, George N. (1980). Aspects of Time (2nd ed.). Indianapolis: Cambridge. 52. St-Cyr, O. (2002). An Ecological Approach to Mental Models: Towards Assessing Ecological Compatibility. In Human Systems in Systems Design Engineering (Tech. Rep. No. HSSD-02-01). Department of Systems Design Engineering. University of Waterloo. 53. Strter, O. (2005). Cognition and Safety: An Integrated Approach to Systems Design and Assessment. Hampshire: Ashgate Publishing. 54. Tiwari, G. (2000). Traffic Flow and Safety: Need for new Models for Heterogenous Traffic. In Mohan, D., Tiwari, G. (Eds.), Injury Prevention and Control (pp 71-88). London: Taylor & Francis. 55. Warwick, W., McIlwaine, S., McDermott, Patricia L., & Stanard, T., Hutton, Robert J. B. (n.d.). Retrieved October 29, 2009, from http://ppc. uiowa.edu/driving-assessment/2001/Summaries/Driving%20Assessment%20 Papers/65_stand.pdf 56. Wochinger, K., Binder, S., Traube, E., Band, D., Foley, J. (2008). Human Factors Forum on Advanced Vehicle Safety Technologies: Summary and Proceedings (Tech. Rep. No. DOT HS 810 918). National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.
57. Woods, David, D. (1988). Coping with Complexity: The Psychology of Human Behaviour in Complex Systems. In Goodstein, Len, P., Andersen, Henning, B., Olsen, Svend, E. (Eds.), Tasks, Errors and Mental Models (pp 128-148). Philadelphia: Taylor & Francis. 58. Woodson, W., Conover, D. (1964). Human Engineering Guide for Equipment Designers. California: University of California Press. 59. Zakay, D., Levin, I. (1989). Experiencing and Remembering Time: Affordances, Context, and Cognition. In Block, Richard A. (Ed.), Time and Human Cognition (pp 333-363). North Holland: Elsevier Science Publishers BV.
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This project is dedicated to my grandmother (late) Smt. Malati Rao, who passed away the day I finished writing the project document.
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End Note
However, by the time the project neared completion, there were a few stones that remained left unturned. Certain links between the start and the finish could not be resolved. One of them is the significance of time that got lost somewhere along the way. Even though time perception dictated who the final user was for me, I feel time couldve been included in the final outcome in a more explicit way. There were certain decision that I, as a designer, took entirely out of gut instinct and/or seeming misinterpretation of research data, e.g., removing the numbers from the Speedometer. However, in defence of such a move, Chris Bangle did not design the BMW Gina considering peoples acceptance.
appendices
End Note User Feedback
135 136
Then there were other open issues like driver feedback on the Tripper system. An attempt has been made to gather critique from the cab driver on the Tripper interface and a user feedback is shown in the next few pages. There were critiques like not referring to international standards, and other UIrelated queries. International standards were referred (ATIS CVO, NavMan, TomTom etc.) and insights from those were applied to the design of the Tripper UI. However, as a context, the Indian cab scenario (or specifically, Ahmedabad) was studied as standalone and as representative of the national demographic. Certain miscalculations based on assumptions are but inevitable in such cases. Other points of concern were the studies on Meru & Tata Indica. The Tata Indica study, like the road study, did not bear any results. The study on Meru, on the other hand, did give a benchmark for the proposed system design, but since the service is not available in Ahmedabad and travelling was not feasible, I had to resort to an extensive internet research, the veracity of which could be questioned. The learning was immense in this project. Coming from a different background altogether, there was a steep learning curve for me and touching upon Cognitive Ergonomics, Systems Design, UI - all at once - was indeed a challenge - something that Im proud of having accomplished!
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User Feedback
Feedback Task summary lets me prepare for my task accordingly. Remarks
Zooming in/out not possible.
Methodology
The Tripper UI prototype was shown to a prospective cab driver who fit in the demographic of Wanjibhai Parmars persona. With each screen of the UI, the drivers feedback was noted. Correspondingly shown are remarks on the same feedback. To minimize the learning curve, the UI functionalities were first explained as in the user manual before conducting the feedback session. 3 Maintenance and Service Manual are good features. Tasks need not be repeated in the Tools panel as it is already present as a separate panel. 2 Plan icon not understandable.
This should be included in the position orientation map. Icons currently used are generalized symbols for respective tasks. Refinement of icons and graphics has been proposed as a future opportunity. Tasks should be removed from the Tools panel.
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Feedback Automatic starting location is good. I dont need to enter my current location. 1
Remarks
Feedback Metering is good. It wouldve been better if it gave the fare as well.
Remarks Fare depends on billing cycles. Also, fare does not fit in the context of guidance, and is not information that is required while driving. The signage would change as per realtime data. Due to the prototypic nature of this UI, the change could not be implemented. Tracker map need not have zooming enabled as it is only giving movement orientation. The Tripper is not intended to be used as a vehicle monitor, but as an information/assistance system. For best indication of speed, the dashboard display should be considered.
1 QWERTY keypad could be a possible learning curve for the driver. However, for best ease of alphanumeric data, the QWERTY arrangement shall be retained. Estimations are good. I can plan my speed and time accordingly.
Will the signage change?
2 Zooming in/out not possible.
Speed is better indicated through a dial.
3 4 This button takes me to an unfamiliar screen. I dont know what to do there. Navigation to the Tasks screen needs to be removed. Instead, this button should directly take the user to the Guidance screen. 4
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Feedback Can I modify the billing cycle? What happens when the billing rates change?
Remarks The billing cycle is automatically calculated based on booking and start time of journey. Also, billing rates need to be modified at the back end. The idea was to give a print command for the current bill, and a separate print button for previous bills. The two could be incorporated into one in the future iterations of the UI.
Feedback Can I edit my details? What if I change my phone number or address?
Remarks For good practice and to maintain a hierarchy, driver details have been made editable only through the back-end. Also, since Tripper does not work on a login-password basis, editable details could be a security threat as well.
Why are there two print buttons?
The previous bill details are useful but I cant contact the client in case theres some problem/ error.
There should be client information (at least contact number) in this section for cases of discrepancy of any kind.
Shouldnt my details be printed and permanently displayed and shown to the client? 2
There could be a print option for this.
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Feedback There is no indication of start or end of journey. How will I know when billing has started? History is a helpful feature as I can keep a record of my performance, vehicle performance and bills, and also be able to contact the concerned person if needed. The English used throughout the application is very friendly and easy to understand. It feels like the application is talking to me.
Remarks The next button on the Plan screen indicates start of journey. However, since this is not intuitive, there needs to be a direct indication to start metering the trip.
End of Document Maintenance and Service Manual are extremely useful features in cases of emergencies and general monitoring of the vehicle. Colours used are very pleasing to the eye. This session could not be conducted in low illumination condition and also, since the simulation was shown on a laptop LCD screen, the interface was always lit up. However, a neutral background was used in order to minimize after-images in light and dark. For this, there needs to be an alternate power source or an in-built battery, in which case, there needs to be an indication of the same.
Is there backup power for this? What happens if the battery is dead?
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Driver Cognition & The Sense of Time

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Driver Cognition

the Sense of Time

Driver Cognition and the Sense of Time

National Institute of Design

Transportation & Automobile Design

Driver Cognition and the Sense of Time

National Institute of Design

Transportation & Automobile Design

research & analysis

Project Reflection Future Scope Bibliography

Driver Cognition and the Sense of Time

National Institute of Design

Transportation & Automobile Design

National Institute of Design

Driver Cognition and the Sense of Time 8

National Institute of Design

Transportation & Automobile Design

Transportation & Automobile Design

Driver Cognition and the Sense of Time

National Institute of Design

Transportation & Automobile Design

Driver Cognition and the Sense of Time

National Institute of Design

Transportation & Automobile Design

The Driving Task System

Driver Cognition and the Sense of Time

National Institute of Design

Transportation & Automobile Design

The Driving Task

Driver Cognition and the Sense of Time 16

National Institute of Design

Transportation & Automobile Design

Time - The Fourth Dimension

Driver Cognition and the Sense of Time

National Institute of Design

Transportation & Automobile Design

Factors Affecting Psychological Time

The Unified Field Theory

Driver Cognition and the Sense of Time

National Institute of Design

Transportation & Automobile Design

Time and Cognition

Driving as a Memory Process

Driver Cognition and the Sense of Time

National Institute of Design

Transportation & Automobile Design

Microstrategies and Recognition

The Driving Task - Level 2

Driver Cognition and the Sense of Time

National Institute of Design

Transportation & Automobile Design

Situation Typical? Expectancies Relevant Cues Goals Typical Action

Encountered Similar Situation?

Situation Recognizable Situation Not Recognizable

Driver Cognition and the Sense of Time

National Institute of Design

Transportation & Automobile Design

Factors affecting driver behaviour

Events Colour Detail

Inattention Sudden Change

Alcohol Drugs Medication Stress/Anger

Time of Day Time since Sleep Hours of Work

Driver Cognition and the Sense of Time