User-Adaptive Reconfigurable Interface for In-Vehicle Information Systems

To reduce the visual workload produced by information systems and their use during vehicle operation, we propose a user-adaptive, reconfigurable vehicle information interface with a reconfigured navigation sequence and reshaped operating switches (buttons). Our proposed user-adaptive interface consists of user modeling using a hidden Markov model (HMM) and reconfiguration of a preferred navigation sequence. The interface learns a user's navigation patterns based on accumulated navigation sequences. The navigation sequence with the highest likelihood is recommended as preferred among possible sequences, and the navigation sequence is reconfigured omitting intermediate steps. The reconfigurable keypad we propose reflects personal differences because information is customized through the physical reconfiguration of switches corresponding to recommended contents. Information is displayed tactilely and visually together through tactile and visual displays. To analyze the effect of navigation sequence and switch reconfiguration, we conducted experiments using two examples. Experimental results showed that reconfiguring the navigation sequence and switches reduced navigation reaction time.