Just as the motor car is an integral part of modern society, computers have become an essential aspect to everyday lives. Recently, the two products have begun to merge as computing-related technology is increasingly implemented within road-going vehicles.

In “On-the-Move and in Your Car: An Overview of HCI Issues for In-Car Computing”, an article from the most recent issue of the International Journal of Mobile Human Computer Interaction (Editior-in-Chief: Dr. Joanna Lumsden, National Research Council of Canada, Canada), researcher Dr. G.E. Burnett, University of Nottingham (UK), examines the range of computing systems being introduced within cars and their associated user-interfaces.

“The incessant growth in the use of cars and worries about road safety have led car manufacturers to offer move intelligent cars providing a range of novel functions to drivers,” writes Burnett. “Moreover, existing mobile technologies such as PDAs, MP3 players, mobile phones, and so on, are increasingly being used within cars, as drivers seek to be more productive and to enjoy the time spent in their vehicles.”

Burnett suggests that as systems become commonplace within vehicles, there are fundamental conflicts to resolve between the requirements of an individual versus the overall traffic system. The development of suitable methods for designing and evaluating in-car computing user-interfaces will continue to be an important research topic.

(Portions of this article were taken from the International Journal of Mobile Human Computer Interaction - Editor-in-Chief: Dr. Joanna Lumsden.)