A Research Design to Collect Data for a Second Generation Eyellipse

Current automotive design practices related to driver visibility are based on static laboratory studies of mostly straight ahead viewing that were conducted by Meldrum and others beginning in 1962. These individual studies have never been replicated either in the lab or in actual driving situations to determine the validity of their procedures.

After a thorough review of the literature related to driver eye location and a statistical analysis of previous static eye location data, an experimental design is proposed to determine dynamic eye location distribution characteristics. This design will provide information on: (a) the relationship of static anthropometric measurements to dynamic eye location; (b) the difference between dynamic on-the-road eye location versus static in-the-lab eye location distributions: (c) the effect of different types of vehicle seating package parameters on eye location; and, (d) a validation of previous static eye location studies.

The data obtained from the proposed experimental design could be used to verify or replace the SAE Eyellipses. Also, it would allow for the development of a mathematical model that will describe eye positions during the driving task as a function of package variables, driver anthropometry, and target viewing angles.