Abstract

Drivers of modern vehicles are presented with multiple sources of information, and must process that information appropriately in order to maintain control of the vehicle. Information flows in from both the outside environment and from in-vehicle systems such as sophisticated multi-functional consoles. The driver must interact with both conventional vehicle controls and with in-vehicle systems. However, the human central nervous system has a limited capacity to process multiple sources of information, which places important constraints on the design of vehicle systems. This paper discusses recent psychological research on the major capacity limitations of human information processing.