Behind the Glass: Driver Challenges and Opportunities for AR Automotive Applications

As the automotive industry moves toward the car of the future, technology companies are developing cutting-edge systems, in vehicle and out, that aim to make driving safer, more pleasant, and more convenient. While we are already seeing some successful video-based augmented reality (AR) auxiliary displays (e.g., center-mounted backup aid systems), the application opportunities of optical see-through AR as presented on a drivers' windshield are yet to be fully tapped; nor are the visual perceptual and attention challenges fully understood. As we race to field AR applications in transportation, we should first consider the perceptual and distraction issues that are known in both the AR and transportation communities, with a focus on the unique and intersecting aspects for driving applications. This paper describes the some opportunities and driver challenges associated with AR applications in the automotive domain. We first present a basic research space to assist in these inquiries, which delineates head-mounted from heads-up and center-mounted displays; video from optical see-through displays; and world-fixed from screen-fixed AR graphics. We then address benefits of AR related to primary, secondary, and tertiary driver tasks as well as driver perception and cognition challenges inherent in automotive AR systems.