A comparison of two cockpit color concepts under mesopic lighting using a CRT task

Abstract

This paper compares two different color lighting concepts (white and red) for the instrument cluster in mid-range cars while driving in urban areas under mesopic lighting. The main objective was to assess whether both concepts yielded similar results in terms of attention, interpretability and differentiability of information. For the experiment, 30 participants performed a Continuous Tracking Task as main task demanding continuous attention in order to model a real driving situation. The aim of the secondary task was to observe a cockpit display and perform a choice reaction time task. Statistical tests were performed to examine the error rates and reaction times for the CRT task. No significant differences were found. This study confirms that a white concept shows no disadvantages relative to a red color concept while driving under mesopic lighting conditions.