© MIT AgeLab 2009

Technology Makes Things Easier

Bryan ReimerMIT AgeLab & New England University Transportation Center

Edmunds’ Safety Conference: Truly Safe?Washington, DC

May 24th, 2011

© MIT AgeLab 2009

Fundamental Relationship between Workload & Performance

Workload / Stress

Perf

orm

ance Active

Distraction

Optimal Range

Inattention

Fatigue Overload

Yerkes-Dodson LawThe relationship between performance and physiological or mental arousal

© MIT AgeLab 2009

© MIT AgeLab 2009

Visual Distraction Is Obvious

≠Eyes on road Mind on road

Cognitive Demand Harder to “See”

© MIT AgeLab 2009

Leaving the Consumer BehindDriving is an extreme environment - Intuitiveness is critical • Balance – needs of novice users vs.

desires of lead adopters

• Designs that vary from previous experiences or provide little connection to experiences can be difficult to learn and may compromise safety

• Successful designs build on users’ existing experience (mental models)

© MIT AgeLab 2009

Where Are We and Where Do We Go from Here?

• Technology info today– The manual– DVD’s & the web– Sales staff– Friends– Trial and error

• The opportunity – designs that are intuitive will engage consumers and minimize workload– “Technology delivery”

– Interactive assistance

© MIT AgeLab 2009

Aware Vehicles

Workload / Stress

Perf

orm

ance

Active Distraction

Optimal Range

Inattention

Fatigue Overload

AlertRefresh

• Improve self control• Increase trust (person as an active vs. passive partner)

• Tailor to individual reactivity profiles and capacity

?

Individualized Real-time Feedback for the Driver

© MIT AgeLab 2009

MIT Experimental Platforms On-Road, Simulation & Laboratory

For more information, agelab.mit.edu utc.mit.edu reimer@mit.edu