Over the last years the number and quality of information and entertainment systems in automobiles has been rising constantly. This presents the challenge to provide safe and user-friendly interaction techniques, the implementation of which can lead to a higher level of efficiency, safety and user experience. One novel and promising approach is to use the drivers gaze as input for interaction with infotainment systems. We implemented a virtual car interior model to test the efficiency and user experience of gaze interaction with automotive infotainment systems. In a user study with 20 participants we compared a gaze-based interaction style to a haptic interaction technique. The usability of both techniques turned out to be very similar, while the user experience and the efficiency varied in parts. We used an eye-tracking device to investigate gaze behavior, but due to some technical problems with the device our quantitative findings are not as reliable and robust as we would have hoped for and have to be interpreted with care. Our qualitative data indicated a preference for gaze interaction.

The possible transition to fully autonomous cars represents a paradigm shift, which is likely to have a profound impact on driving experience and automobile technology acceptance. Using an online questionnaire, Rödel et al. [7] have found that measures for User Acceptance (UA) and User Experience (UX) decline with increasing autonomy level. In this study, we investigate the differences in UA and UX for vehicles with different levels of automation in a more immersive context. We used a simple driving simulator setup in a virtual reality environment (using an Oculus Rift headset). We designed three tasks which each represented a different level of automation and asked participants (N = 17) to fill out the Car Technology Acceptance Model (CTAM) questionnaire after using each autonomy level. The immersion of the simulator setup was assessed with a standardized questionnaire. In contrast to Rödel et al. [7] results do not show a general decline in UA and UX with increasing autonomy, but suggest that Performance Expectancy, Perceived Safety and Social Influence are significantly higher for the fully automated condition than for no automation. The scores for immersion ranging about the average of benchmark evaluations indicate that the users felt quite immersed, but that there is still room for improving the VR setup.

Since new technology is, in principle, accessible to users of all ages, it needs to be suitable for all generations. The purpose of this study is to identify usability issues of smartwatches and contrast the problems and issues that elderly encountered to those experienced by a younger age group. In total 16 test subjects, eight of each age group (under-30s and over-60s), were observed quantitatively and qualitatively while performing basic tasks on a common smartwatch. The results indicate that the voice command evoked issues for all ages, whereas the older participants were facing more difficulties concerning the menu structure, the user interface and performing gestures on the touchscreen. While the task completion rate did not significantly differ between the age groups and the ease of use was mostly perceived equally, the elderly needed significantly more time and more personal assistance to perform the tasks. Understanding the likely age-specific differences in smartwatch interaction points to a need for further support for the elderly.

In this paper we present an empirical study comparing user studies and expert evaluations based on a specific set of heuristics for evaluating information appliances with a heuristic walkthrough. The study looks at an e-book reader as well as a digital music player. In the user study, question-answer protocols are used as means of intervention during the experiments. To gain insight into performance of the evaluation methods the identified problem sets were analyzed. Results for the thoroughness, validity and effectiveness are presented and compared with prior studies.

Even though they are a known source of distraction, touchscreens have become increasingly commonplace in in-vehicle infotainment systems (IVIS). We explore a novel approach to possibly make the use of in-vehicle touchscreens safer, by displaying the road ahead directly above a touchscreen-based IVIS. This may allow the driver to keep the road in his field of vision through the head-down display (HDD) during IVIS interaction. A within-group study was conducted with 24 participants in a simulated automotive environment, comparing a configuration with and without livestream HDD. Reaction rates and times to obstacles were measured and subjective ratings recorded with the NASA TLX and a qualitative questionnaire. While qualitative measurements indicate that the concept may hold the potential to improve the driver's interaction with an IVIS, differences in quantitative metrics were not statistically significant. We reflect possible reasons for this based on an analysis of participants' behaviour and our qualitative results.

In recent years, autonomous driving has emerged as an explicit technological objective of many players in the automobile market. How will these novel developments be accepted and which factors may determine their acceptance? In an exploratory study we investigated the impact of a number of possible predictors on the attitudes towards using one particular fully autonomous driving paradigm. In a survey with 70 participants we measured these attitudes using items from the "Car Technology Acceptance Model" (CTAM). Among other things we looked at driving experience, previous experience with in-car automation technology and attitudes towards driving violations (measured by the "Driver Attitude Questionnaire", DAQ). Subsequent regression analysis showed a high (DAQ) score (indicative of a less "by the rules" attitude) to be a significant predictor for a positive attitude towards autonomous vehicles as well as a non-significant tendency that women may be less accepting of the autonomous driving paradigm under scrutiny.

Older people have been hesitant to accept smartwatches as supporting devices in their daily routine. We present a study which used an environment familiar to many older users to examine differences between touch and voice input for smartwatches. As people get older they tend to spend considerable amounts of time watching television. In this familiar setup we examined to what extent touch and voice input differ, using a smartwatch as a television remote control. We developed two smartwatch applications, one for each input modality, with which users could operate a TV simulator. In pre-tests, we determined possible speech input commands and preferred smartwatch gestures. Testing with eight older adults we found potential for both input modalities with speech input taking significantly longer. Although a majority of participants reported speech to be "easier" (with the rest undecided), participants were ultimately divided in their preference of one system over the other.

This paper describes the adaption and customization of usability engineering methods for the interface design of a solar control unit. The design of a nontraditional interface, constrained access to representative users and a lack of common interface standards were domain-related issues to overcome. Due to limited resources, a Guerilla HCI approach was established. Traditional low-cost methods like prototyping and simplified usability testing were applied and adapted to fit in the domain-specific context. Good feedback indicates suitability of modified discount methods in the new domain.

While a lot of attention is paid to the design of consumer electronics like mobile phones, various other domains have been neglected so far when it comes to user experience. In this paper a user-centered design approach for designing the user interface of a controller for solar thermal plants and heat exchanger stations - called smart sol - is described. The design process is characterized by the cooperation of user experience designers on the one hand and engineers and programmers on the other hand.

Wir stellen in diesem Artikel Visionen fur die Vorlesung der Zukunft im Jahre 2020 bzw. 2050 vor, die systematisch mit dem Design Thinking-Ansatz erarbeitet wurden. Neben den so gewonnenen Erkenntnissen und Ideen fur die „Future Lecture“ soll auch auf die Methode selbst und deren prinzipielle Eignung fur das Erarbeiten von „Zukunftsvisionen“ eingegangen werden.