With recent progress in display technology, visual see-through head-mounted displays are beginning to enter our everyday lives. Especially in cars they may replace head-up displays, as they can theoretically perfectly imitate them but are more flexible to use. However, prior work has shown that both screen- and vehicle-stabilized content suffer from drawbacks such as occlusion or technological limitations. As a potential alternative, we propose three concept alternatives, in which head rotation is used to manipulate the displayed content differently from both of the known stabilization techniques. In a qualitative user study, we identify the best concept proposal and then evaluate it against the established content stabilization techniques. The presented concept is perceived to be more applicable for the proposed use case and effectively reduces some of the known problems of both stabilization techniques.

Touch screens are increasingly used for secondary in-vehicle controls. While they are more flexible than traditional knobs and dials, interacting with them requires more visual attention. In this paper, we propose several variations of a concept we call "What You See Is What You Touch" (WYSIWYT), which allows touch screen interaction without removing one's eyes from the road. This becomes possible by showing both, the current content of the touch screen as well as the position of the user's hand in relation to it, within the car's head-up display (HUD). In an initial study we compared six different variations of this concept in a driving simulation mockup. After excluding some concept variations, we conducted a second study comparing the remaining ones with traditional touch interaction. The best performing variation obtains better subjective ratings without any significant disadvantages in driving performance.

Head-mounted displays (HMDs) have great potential to improve the current situation of car drivers. They provide every benefit of a head-up display (HUD), while at the same time showing more flexibility in usage. We built an infotainment system specifically designed to be displayed in an HMD. With this system, we then conducted a dual task study in a driving simulation, comparing different techniques of content stabilization (head- and cockpit stabilized visualizations). Interaction with the system took place via a physical input device (rotary controller) or indirect pointing gestures. While cockpit-stabilized content generally resulted in a slightly better driving performance, HMD visualizations suffered from technological limitations, partly reflected in the secondary task performance and subjective feedback. Regarding input modality, we found that horizontal gesture interaction significantly influenced the quality of lane keeping. Apparently, horizontal interaction with the one hand caused unintentional steering with the other.

One unique property of head-mounted displays (HMDs) is that content can easily be displayed at a fixed position within the user's field of view (head-stabilized). This ensures that critical information (e.g. warnings) is continuously visible and can, in principle, be perceived as quickly as possible. We examined this strategy with a physically and visually distracted driver. We ran two consecutive studies in a driving simulator, comparing different warning visualizations in a head-up display (HUD) and a HMD. In an initial study, we found no significant effects of warning type or display technology on the reaction times. In a second study, after modifying our visualization to include a visual reference marker, we found that with only this minor change, reaction times were significantly lower in the HMD when compared to the HUD. Our insights can help others design better head-stabilized notifications.

Head-mounted displays (HMDs) have the potential to overcome some of the technological limitations of currently existing automotive head-up displays (HUDs), such as the limited field of view and the restrictive boundaries of the windshield. In an initial study we evaluated the use of HMDs in cars by means of a typical HUD visualization, using a HUD as baseline output technology. We found no significant differences in terms of driving performance, physical uneasiness or visual distraction. User statements revealed several advantages and drawbacks of the different output technologies apart from technological maturity and ergonomics. These results will hopefully inspire researchers as well as application developers and even might lead us to novel HMD visualization approaches.

Head-mounted displays (HMDs) have the potential to overcome some of the technological limitations of currently existing automotive head-up displays (HUDs), such as the limited field of view and the restrictive boundaries of the windshield. However, in a formative study, we identified other, partially known problems with HMDs regarding content stability and occlusion. As a counter-measure we propose a novel layout mechanism for HMD visualization, which, on the one hand, benefits from the unique characteristics of HMDs and, on the other, combines the advantages of head-stabilized and cockpit-stabilized content. By subdividing the HMD's field of view into different slots to which the content is dynamically assigned depending on the user's head rotation, we ensure that the driver's vision is effectively augmented in every possible direction.

This paper describes the perspective+detail visualization concept, which extends the conventional overview+detail pattern by adding a perspective viewing area and a further, text-based area containing partial details. Known problems of such extensions are mitigated using a vertically curved display. Our concept aims to bridge both the geographical and the content gap between the two main display areas and to provide an improved overview. An experimental case study based on a typical traffic control room operator task provided first insights on our visualization. These initial findings revealed that perspective+detail assists users in fulfilling their tasks and keeping their orientation in the information space.