2.1. Efficiency prompting field test
In 2011, INL analysis of fleet fuel consumption patterns revealed that depending on the driver patterns, the
efficiency of the same bus traveling the same route could fluctuate up to 30%. This level of fluctuation inspired INL
Mission Support Services to team with HFE and U of Idaho to devise a strategy for providing operators with a tool
to optimize fuel efficient driving patterns and reduce the large variance among drivers.Because proactive actions are
more effective than reactive actions, predictive aiding was selected as the approach to enhancingdriver and fuel
efficiency and uniformity. In terms of display design, when the task to be performed is enhanced when the driver
anticipates a future state, and when prediction of those states is reasonably accurate, the display should indicate
those states. [5]We refer to this support as predictive aiding, that is,presenting the driver with upcoming changes in
the status of road conditions warranting corresponding changes in vehicle speed.
A common area network bus that is standard equipment for most automotive vehicles is used to provide real-time
engine informationwhich is then compared to an underlying historical performance model of driver and fuel
efficiency. Results of that comparison are used to drive the fuel efficiency prompting displayin Figure 2.[6]. The