Cultural Impact on HMI of Trucks: A Comparative Study between German and Japanese

Authors

Dipl.-Des. Friedrich Niehaus, Ting-Yi Huang, M.Sc., Daimler Truck AG, Stuttgart, Germany; 
Fabian Prinz, M.Sc., Dr. rer. medic. Sabine Bertleff, Dr. des. Gudrun Voß, Dr. phil. Stefan Ladwig, Institute for Automotive Engineering (ika), RWTH Aachen University, Aachen, Germany

Summary

HMI designs of heavy trucks tend to be varying in shape and appearance between eastern and western cultures. However, the body of existing literature lacks information on whether truck drivers of these cultures exhibit varying preferences concerning these aspects. In order to examine this shortcoming, N = 74 Japanese (JTD) and German truck drivers (GTD) rated N = 6 HMI designs of a menu in a VR study. Designs differed regarding their inherent levels of hidden and non-hidden menu options. The empirical results showed that amongst other, JTD rated all HMI designs as less attractive compared to GTD. Overall, the current findings suggest that a cultural-specific development of automotive HMI systems may be supportive on a content rather than a structural level.

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