How does motion influence the use of touch screen in-vehicle information systems?

While the use of in-vehicle touch screen devices is currently common in both military and civilian settings, the effects of motion on the use of such systems has not been researched extensively. This paper presents the findings from a driving simulator study that aimed to explore the influence of motion on task performance when using a touch screen device. The touch screen task was a mock battle management system intended for use in military surface transport vehicles. Twenty participants engaged in a series of battle management system tasks that required both the pull and push of information, for example, reading symbols and entering text. This was done while participants were seated in the front passenger seat in the simulator with an experimenter driving at a constant speed. High motion was simulated by driving along the road edge way, while low motion was simulated by driving along a sealed rural road. Motion profiles confirmed the greater amplitudes in acceleration across multiple axes of movement. The findings illustrate that almost all aspects of battle management system performance were degraded in the high motion condition, although the level of degradation was not as severe as participants gained more experience with the system.