A human factors study of switches installed on automotive steering wheel

Recently, as many controls are installed in the automotive cockpit, the driver’s workload is increasing. Vehicles which have switches fitted to the steering wheel (STG SW) are becoming popular. In using STG SW, the human memory process is important in searching for a target control only by groping. In this paper, the ability of human memory was studied with variable factors. First, the ability was explained as a function of aging and number of objects to be memorized. This study showed that grouped, familiar and consistent objects can easily be memorized. It also showed that drivers could less easily recall them while driving.

As a result, it was clarified that visual distraction time and operation time using STG SW was shorter than using switches on the instrument panel.