Peripheral light displays can help manage interruptions in safety critical contexts like driving. A study tested whether peripheral light cues during interruptions and task resumptions could help link interrupted intentions to the task to resume. Participants had shorter resumption times and fewer errors with light cues. Cues were detected 95% of the time and helped prepare for interruptions and remember the task due after. Peripheral cues can create associations between intentions and task retrieval regardless of cue strength.

1. Peripheral Light Cues for
In-vehicle Task Resumption
Shadan Sadeghian Borojeni
Abdallah El Ali
Wilko Heuten
Susanne Boll
1
NordiCHI 2016, 27th Oct - Gothenburg, Sweden

2. 2
10 percent of fatal crashes, 18 percent of injury crashes, and
16 percent of all police-reported motor vehicle traffic crashes
in 2014 were reported as distraction-affected crashes (NHTSA)

3. Motivation
3

4. In-vehicle Interruption
4

5. In-vehicle Interruption
5
phone ring
[tertiary]
driving
navigation input
[secondary]

6. Using Cues to Support Task Resumption
Associative learning mechanisms claim that
the formation of a link between a goal and a
cue is by their co-occurrence.
Cues must be obvious enough during both
the interval:
(a) when the goal is stored (e.g., insert route)
(b) and when it is retrieved (where was I?)
This helps create a link between them.
6

7. Scenario
7
Begin
Secondary
Task
Alert for
Tertiary Task
Begin Tertiary
Task
End Tertiary
Task
Resume
Secondary
Task
Resumption LagInterruption Lag
Trafton et al. 2003
phone ring answering ending call navigation inputnavigation input

8. Peripheral Light Cues
◦ In-Vehicle Information Systems (IVIS)
tasks are always of lower priority in
comparison with driving.
◦ Peripheral displays provide users with
information while they are attending to
their primary tasks.
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9. Resumption Cues
9
Begin
Secondary
Task
Alert for
Tertiary Task
Begin Tertiary
Task
End Tertiary
Task
Resume
Secondary
Task
Resumption LagInterruption Lag
Trafton et al. 2003
Resumption Cues
[intention creation] [intention retrieval]

10. Research Question
Can peripheral light cues be detected and
associated with the tasks for retrieving
information at resumption, independent of
the strengths of the association?
10

11. Hypotheses
H1: The resumption time is reduced in the
cued condition in comparison with the non-
cued condition.
H2: The number of errors at resumption are
reduced in the cued condition in comparison
with the non-cued condition.
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12. Method
12
[primary]
[secondary]
[tertiary]

13. Apparatus
◦ Fixed right-hand traffic driving simulator with a field
of vision of 150°
◦ Simulation created using SILAB software
◦ Tablet PC used to show the navigation system
◦ RGB LED strip
13

14. Apparatus
14

15. 15

16. Pilot Study
◦ 10 participants (M = 29.1, SD = 10.04)
◦ Cued and non-cued conditions
Results
◦ Average time needed for switching from navigation to phone call =
7 s
◦ Resumption time varied between 2-25 s
Therefore, we chose to:
◦ Present cues during interruption lag for 7 s
◦ Present cues during resumption lag until the correct dialog box
button is tapped on
16

17. Participants
◦ 28 (10 female) participants (M = 25.9, SD =
4.17)
◦ 2-12 years driving experience
Training
◦ 10-15 min. (four trials) of driving, navigation
task, phone call
17

18. Study Design
Cuing Condition (IV):
• No cue
• Light cue
Dependent measures (DVs):
• Resumption time
• Number of errors
+ Questionnaire and Interview
18

19. Resumption Time
Wilcoxon Signed-rank test showed that
presence of cues had a significant effect on
task resumption time (W = 61.5, Z = 3.22, p
<0.01, r = 0.60).
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20. Resumption Errors
Wilcoxon Signed-rank test shows that there is
a significant effect of cue (W = 42.5, Z =
2.93, p <0.05, r = 0.55) on the number of
errors.
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21. Questionnaire
21
MD IQR
I felt confident using the system. 4 1
The light cue helps me remember the
interrupted task faster.
4 1
I make less errors when having the light cue. 4 1
The light cue makes it easier for me to
remember the task.
4 0.25
5-point Likert scale (Cronbach’s 𝛼 = 0.78)

22. Further results
◦ In 95% of the trials, the cues were successfully
detected.
◦ “Having cues prepared me for upcoming
interruptions, and after the call, the cue was
present again, and I knew what task was due”
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23. Discussion
◦ Presence of peripheral light cues in interruption
and resumption lag creates a link between intention
and retrieval of prospective memory tasks.
◦ Association was made between the cues and
the interrupted task regardless of presentation
color or strength of association.
23

24. Thank you
Summary:
◦ Peripheral light displays can be useful for
managing attention and interruptions, especially in
safety critical contexts
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