In modern car audio and stereo systems, touch-screen interfaces have started to replace traditional hardware-controlled MP3 players. This project investigated the differences in user performance between touchscreen controls (graphical user interfaces) and hard controls (physical interfaces). We focused on the speed, accuracy, and error rates of interaction between buttons and dials. Our study of 25 participants had each participant complete 20 tasks with both control interfaces. The difference in average times to complete 20 tasks was reasonably close (7.4s) with accuracy rates ranging between 84.505% and 99.709%. A single-factor ANOVA test on time and accuracy resulted in p-values (0.179 and 0.351) greater than 0.05 (statistically insignificant). However, the results showed trends in user efficiency and error rates that offer insights into safer and more efficient designs in control panel systems.
The website softControls.vercel.app is accessible and can be used to conduct further research
Official Final Paper - Hard Controls vs. Soft Controls.docx.pdf