Effects of Interface Complexity of Head-up Display on Drivers’ Driving Performance and Self-Perception

This paper focused on the effects of interface complexity of HUDs on drivers’ driving performance and self-perception. During the experiment, participants need to perform four tasks, namely car-following, lane changing, speed control, and response to an urgent event, all with either of five randomly chosen HUD interfaces with different levels of complexity shown to the drivers. The questionnaires to investigate drivers’ driving easiness, satisfaction, efficiency, mental workload and task complexity were collected immediately after finishing the tasks. Results showed that both perceived effectiveness and satisfaction have reverse “U” shape relationship with HUD interface complexity. This paper made a contribution to interface design of HUDs on automobiles as well as made suggestions on information complexity design, which can improve drivers’ driving performance and safety.