Encouraging eco-driving with visual, auditory, and vibrotactile stimuli

This paper presents an experimental evaluation of an in-vehicle eco-driving support system that provided auditory, visual, and vibrotactile stimuli for the discouragement of harsh accelerations, and to encourage maximization of the duration of the coasting phase of the vehicle. Behavior when driving normally was compared to that exhibited when participants were asked to drive economically, and to that exhibited when provided with feedback in the three sensory modes, individually and in all combinations thereof. Results suggest that participants were already aware that harsh accelerations are to be avoided when eco-driving; however, additional eco-driving support, particularly that which involved the auditory and haptic modalities, further discouraged these behaviours. The eco-driving information also supported significantly greater coasting distances (when approaching slowing events), a behavior not spontaneously produced by participants when asked to drive economically. Few differences were seen between the effects of the different modes and combinations; however, results taken together suggest that visual-only information may be less effective at encouraging compliance across all participants. The auditory stimulus, although it encouraged compliance, was not well received by participants