Human Factors Research

The innovative vehicle today is a mobile computer equipped with infotainment systems and interactive safety features, all of which must be carefully integrated so that the intelligent car complements and balances the human driver rather than overwhelms, overloads, stresses, or frustrates the driver. The primary challenge in automotive human factors is to determine how best to assist the driver with information processing, and how best to mitigate the unintended consequences of these technologies. Engineers, designers, and human factors researchers must work together to create an intelligent car that is capable of considering fundamental human limitations and capabilities. Essentially, the primary question at hand is how to strike a balance between the continually evolving car and the needs of the human driver. At the Volkswagen Electronics Research Lab, human factors research is an integral part of our technology development efforts. Through the utilization of test cars and a driving simulator that mimics the driving experience of everyday life, human factors concepts are studied in order to provide significant and meaningful improvements in human-machine design and development.