Ergonomic Design of the Gauge Cluster Display for Commercial Trucks

Objective: The purpose of this study is to determine the priority of information presentation and the effective menu type to be placed in the center of a gauge cluster display for commercial trucks and to present a set of ergonomic designs for the gauge cluster display. Background: An effective ergonomic design is specifically needed for the development of the gauge cluster display for the commercial trucks, because more diverse and heavier information is delivered to truck drivers, compared to the information to passenger car drivers. Method: First, all the information that must be shown on the commercial truck display was collected. Then, the severity, frequency of use, and display design parameters were evaluated for those information by commercial truck drivers. Next, an analysis on the information attributes and the heuristic evaluation utilizing the display design principles were carried out. According to the results, a design alternative of the main screen to be displayed was constructed by priority. A comparative analysis between the alternative and existing main screens was also conducted to see the efficacy of the designs. Lastly, we conducted an experiment for the selection of menu type. The experiment was conducted using the driving simulator with an eye-tracking device. The independent variables were four types of the menu reflecting the commercial truck characteristics such as grid type, icon type, list type, and flow type. We measured preference, total execution time, the total duration of fixation on the gauge cluster area, and the total number of fixation on the gauge cluster area as dependent variables. Results: Four types of driver convenience information and six types of driver assistance information were selected as the information to be placed primarily on the main screen of the gauge cluster. The Grid type was the most effective among the menu types. Conclusion: In this study, the information that appears on the main screen of the display, the division of the display and the design of the menu type for commercial truck drivers were suggested. Application: This study is expected to be utilized as guidelines on the ergonomic design of a gauge cluster display for commercial trucks.