Evaluation of automobile navigation systems with multisensory information channels

Although automobile navigation systems have conventionally utilised visual and auditory modalities to deliver information, recent advancement in tactile technology has introduced the possibility of integrating tactile actuators into navigation systems. To empirically test the effect of tactile navigational cues, we conducted simulated driving experiments in which participants (N = 96) were exposed to four sets of information modalities (visual, visual + auditory, visual + tactile, and visual + auditory + tactile). The results indicate that multisensory systems including tactile cues allow participants to respond faster to unexpected road events and impart greater satisfaction with the overall driving experience. The implications and limitations of these findings are discussed.