In-vehicle human-machine interaction (HMI) can interfere with the primary task of driving. The concept of cognitive load can help us understand the extent to which these interactions interfere with the driving task and how this interference can be mitigated. While research results on in-vehicle cognitive load are frequently presented at automotive research conferences and in related journals, CLW 2013, the third in the series, will provide a unique forum for focused discussions on this topic.

The workshop has four goals:

1. Explore the concept of cognitive load: While the concept of cognitive load has been used by a number of researchers working on in-vehicle HMI (as well as those working in other fields), the definition of cognitive load is still debated. What are the definitions of cognitive load used in industry and academia? How is cognitive load related to different aspects of driving and various in-vehicle secondary tasks? Workshop participants will discuss these questions and will propose their own definitions of cognitive load.
2. Explore issues in cognitive load estimation: In estimating cognitive load (on-road and laboratory-based), researchers and practitioners use three types of measures: performance, physiological and subjective. The workshop will explore the practical use of these measures. Specifically, participants will discuss estimation methods, including details such as measurement equipment, reference tasks, and experimental design.
3. Explore issues in cognitive load management: How can we design in-vehicle HMI such that the driver has the cognitive resources to safely operate the vehicle, even while interacting with in-vehicle devices? Researchers and practitioners have explored a number of approaches for workload management, from simply turning off HMI in certain situations, to introducing novel interaction methods which hopefully do not introduce undue cognitive interference with the driving task (voice interfaces, augmented reality, mediation, tactile interfaces, subliminal notifications, etc.). The workshop will explore various aspects of managing the driver’s cognitive load.
4. Explore the need for standardization: In light of current approaches to cognitive load estimation and management, what are the areas of standardization that would be of the greatest benefit to researchers and practitioners? Workshop participants will discuss approaches of interest, including the introduction of standard definitions, toolsets, and corpora, which could be used to make new results replicable and easily compared to the results of others.