Impact of Infotainment System Complexity on Driver Situation Awareness in Manual Vehicles

The complexity of automotive user interfaces impacts cognitive load and situation awareness of drivers. The aim of the present study is to empirically investigate the relationship between the complexity of the infotainment system in manual vehicles and driver situation awareness. In this experiment we compare the differences between a simple and a complex infotainment system, comparing the independent variable of infotainment system complexity at two levels (low and high complexity) within a simulated driving environment. The Situation Awareness Global Assessment Technique (SAGAT) was utilized to measure situation awareness in a sample of n=6 licensed drivers, this work is an exercise as part of a lecture. Our findings indicate a variation in SAGAT scores between the two complexity conditions, though there is no statistical differences. These findings indicate the necessity of balancing infotainment system complexity with user-centered design principles to enhance driver safety in manual vehicles. The study advocates for more extensive and diverse investigations in future research.