Comparison Between Visual and Tactile Signal Detection Tasks Applied to the Safety Assessment of In-Vehicle Information Systems

The Peripheral Detection Task (PDT) is a widely applied method for safety assessment of in-vehicle information systems (IVIS). In this study, the PDT was compared to a Tactile Detection Task (TDT) where the visual stimulus used for the PDT was replaced by tactile vibrators, placed on the wrists. The sensitivity of the two methods to different cognitive and visual secondary tasks was investigated in different real-world driving conditions. The results showed that both methods were sensitive to visual and cognitive secondary task load in a range of different driving environments. The sensitivity was generally stronger for the TDT than the PDT. It was concluded that the TDT could be a viable alternative to the PDT for IVIS assessment.