In-Vehicle Touchscreen Interaction: Can a Head-Down Display Give a Heads-Up on Obstacles on the Road?

Even though they are a known source of distraction, touchscreens have become increasingly commonplace in in-vehicle infotainment systems (IVIS). We explore a novel approach to possibly make the use of in-vehicle touchscreens safer, by displaying the road ahead directly above a touchscreen-based IVIS. This may allow the driver to keep the road in his field of vision through the head-down display (HDD) during IVIS interaction. A within-group study was conducted with 24 participants in a simulated automotive environment, comparing a configuration with and without livestream HDD. Reaction rates and times to obstacles were measured and subjective ratings recorded with the NASA TLX and a qualitative questionnaire. While qualitative measurements indicate that the concept may hold the potential to improve the driver's interaction with an IVIS, differences in quantitative metrics were not statistically significant. We reflect possible reasons for this based on an analysis of participants' behaviour and our qualitative results.