Reducing Driver’s Cognitive Load with the Use of Artificial Intelligence and Augmented Reality

Multiple infotainment sources can significantly overload the driver’s cognitive load and increase the collision probabilities. Current solutions provided have attempted to alleviate this issue with the centralization of infotainment devices to single touchscreen devices in the dashboard area. Yet this solution still requires the driver to take the eyes from the road and concentrate on operating the secondary tasks unrelated to the driving process. The paper presents a prototype Augmented Reality Head-Up Display (AR HUD) system that superimposes a selected number of infotainment data on the vehicle’s windshield only when this is safe for the driver. The selection of infotainment data and projection timing is calculated by a prototype Artificial Intelligence (AI) Co-Driver that aims to reduce the driver’s cognitive load. The proposed system was evaluated by 50 users against a typical touchscreen dashboard system. This work presents and discusses the subjective feedback related to the cognitive load that the users perceived during the trials. The paper concludes with a future plan for improving both the AI and AR HUD elements to perform in an urban environment.