1. Searching Digital Audio Broadcasting radio stations:
Usability and safetyissues for in-vehicledevices
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M.Dibitonto1, M.Camilli1.2, A.Vona1, R.Grimaldi1, F. Di Nocera1,2, C.M. Medaglia1
1 C.A.T.T.I.D. Sapienza University of Rome
2 L.A.F.C. Dept. of Psychology -Sapienza University of Rome
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2. The Remediation
When digital technology is applied to an old and analogical media a lot of things changes:

Functionalities

3. Contents 4. User Interaction 5. Context(s) of Use 6. 2
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7. What is DAB?
Digital Audio Broadcasting System is a digital technology for broadcasting radio station with an high quality of service.
DAB+ is the most recent evolution and adds new multimedia services.
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8. Some data services
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DLS
EPG
SLS
iTxt
9. DAB+ in Italy
Since 2008 test RAI* is leading experimental transmissions in Italy (Rome,Venice, Bologna)

Test capabilities

10. Test new type of contents/ formatContents and usability are key factors to make DAB appealing for a broad public
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11. Our focus
In Italy 15mlns (42%) of users listens to analogue radio in their cars.*
In this context introduction of new interactive system may affect the driving performance.
Usability, User Experience and Safety
are key factors to correctly design DAB+ services for an in vehicle context.
*Menduni, 2003
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12. How wewillsearch a station with DAB?
With DAB the number of radio stationswillincrease andsearchingcouldbecome a difficult task.
DAB+ can supportserching/browsing station with:
SL = station description
EL = name of the Ensemble
PT-1 = global genre of a station
PT-2 = sub-genre
Whichoneis the mosteffective, efficient and the best in terms of UX, usability and safety?
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13. The prototype
3.5 inch - 480x320px
A prototypehasbeenimplemented to test differentsearchstrategies:
name PT1 (genre) PT2 (sub-genre)
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14. Test environment
Driving simulator
Eyetracker
DAB prototype
Vibration feedback steeringwheel
Camera for video recording
The test environment to simulate an in-vehicle context .
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16. 8 participants (2F 6M, age 28.12, sd 3.18)
A pre-test questionnaire
A post-test questionnaire
Analisys of eyefixations
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17. Results
Resultsshowed no significantdifference in task durationwhile the analysis of eye scanning pattern showedthatuserspendless time lookingat the receiverwhileusing the PT-2 station search.
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18. Results
Usabilityquestionnairescoresshowed a that DAB radio wasperceivedasslightly more satisfyingthan FM
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19. Conclusion and future works
DAB will deeply change radio and the way the people interact with it giving new opportunities and challenges
With DAB the number of radio station will increase and the user will face an higher complexity
Generally the results showed that categorization of the program could help user searching a station. It seems to be particularly useful in automotive domain where hands-free implications could be critical for user safety
The quali-quantitative approach used showed to be a suitable method to assess the usability of DAB technology
Future studies will be aimed at testing the reliability of these results with a larger sample of users
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20. Thank you for your attention!
Questions and (hopefully) answers.
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