Eye Tracking Study on Visual Search Performance of Automotive Human-Machine Interface for Elderly Users

The advancement of Intelligent vehicle is leading to a growing prevalence and importance of automotive interactive interfaces, attracting considerable research focus. With the increasing trend of global aging, the number of elderly drivers is on the rise. Research on the search performance of the automobile interactive interface for elderly users has yet to be carried out. Based on this, this research adopts eye tracking technology to explore the effects of varying icon colors on the preferences and perceptions of elderly drivers within car-human interfaces, employing eye-tracking technology to gauge their impact. This work aims to improve driving experience by enhancing drivers’ information processing capabilities and interaction comfort with in-car interfaces. In this study, we examined six distinct foreground colors against two background colors in icon designs, conducting eye-tracking experiments in standard indoor lighting. The analysis results show that elderly drivers have faster search speeds for orange icons and the slowest search speeds for yellow icons. Additionally, the variation in search times for different icon colors is more pronounced on a white background. These conclusions hold significant implications for future automotive interface designers. They can leverage these results to optimize the background and icon designs of interactive interfaces, thereby enhancing drivers’ safety and driving experience, and contributing efforts to the transportation industry.