Comparison of Static and Driving Simulator Venues for the Tactile Detection Response Task

The general objective of the present study was to validate a low-cost, static, version of the Tactile Detection Response Task (TDRT) intended for driver-vehicle interface evaluation in industrial settings. The static TDRT venue was compared to the more commonly used driving simulator venue, where the TDRT and the secondary task under evaluation are performed during simulated driving. The results indicated that the effect of venue was additive over a range of visual-manual and cognitive secondary tasks, which offers preliminary support for the static TDRT venue as a surrogate for the driving simulator TDRT venue. However, a more detailed analysis revealed a counterintuitive effect for one of the visual-manual secondary tasks (SuRT), where the easier version of the task (as confirmed by subjective workload ratings) yielded a stronger effect on the TDRT than the more difficult version. Possible explanations and implications for the TDRT and its application to driver-vehicle interface evaluation are discussed