Design of head-up display interfaces for automated vehicles

This study aimed to identify which information should be displayed on a head-up display (HUD) in semi-automated vehicles to enable the driver to maintain better situational awareness during the manual operation of the vehicle. It further explored how does the size of the field of view of the HUD affects such information presentation, while taking into consideration user's personal preferences and opinions. Four head-up display interfaces were developed differing in the amount, frequency and field of view of visual information presentation, and were implemented in a simulated semi-automated vehicle. The HUDs were evaluated in a user-study with a within-subject design with 30 participants. The obtained results revealed that versions with smaller and larger field of view HUDsevoke similar driving performance, levels of cognitive load, user experience and perceived usability, suggesting that the HUD's field of view size does not have an overall significant effect on the driver's situational awareness. The results reveal that display of information, which can help with obtaining and maintaining higher situational awareness levels, contribute to better driving performance. Drivers on the other hand, prefer also display of information for lower situational awareness levels.