Searching digital audio broadcasting radio stations: Usability and safety issues for in-vehicle devices

Digital Audio Broadcasting (DAB) changes analogical radio in a new media where images, video and hypertext contents are added to the " traditional" audio services. The shift to the digital broadcasting technology has shown several advantages such as an enhancement in the audio quality, an increased number of available stations and availability of brand new services. At the same time, this transformation (or remediation) implies new modalities and a higher complexity of user interaction with the innovative services. The current study focused on the evaluation of new modalities of station search by a categorization of the program type. A specific design proposal was prototyped and tested with users. A simulation of an in-vehicle context of use was used as experimental scenario in this study. Participants' ocular activity was recorded with the aim at monitoring users interaction with the radio system while driving. Also, participants' user experience of DAB was compared to the users of the analogical car radio. Generally, results showed an improved user experience of DAB system and an overall suitability of the program type categorization as search modality in digital radio. Finally, implications for hands-free radio system in automotive are discussed. © 2011 ACM.