Citation

Schewe F, Vollrath M. Transp. Res. F Traffic Psychol. Behav. 2021; 79: 11-22.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2021, Elsevier Publishing)

DOI

10.1016/j.trf.2021.03.005

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

This paper examines whether ecological speed information describing ongoing driving maneuvers during automated driving enhances the hedonic quality and driving safety immediately after a driving takeover. Visualizing maneuvers and trajectories has already proven effective. However, planned acceleration and deceleration in an automated vehicle have not yet been investigated. Therefore, this paper assesses how an automated vehicle's speed control information might be presented by an ecological interface. Besides a possible increase in the hedonic quality, this information might enhance safe behavior of the human driver when it comes to a takeover. To assess these two aspects, 43 drivers participated in a dynamic driving simulator study. Using a within-subject design, two scenarios were used to compare an ecological interface, dynamically visualizing speed changes, to a conventional pop-up interface, using pop-up icons to visualize speed changes. The experimental results indicate that ecological feedback and conventional pop-up feedback do not differ regarding the hedonic quality, which was reflected by the state anxiety, usefulness, and satisfaction with the overall human-machine interface (HMI). Nonetheless, the post-hoc questionnaire on situational awareness showed a significantly lower rating for the ecological interface which may be the result of a more automatic and subconscious processing of the information given. Analyzing the takeover performance, the initial takeover time was comparably low for both interfaces. However, concerning safety, the ecological interface significantly enhanced the lateral control after takeover, and the drivers looked at the vehicle mirrors significantly earlier. In conclusion, the results show that the information given by the ecological interface may help drivers cope with a sudden takeover in a faster and more controlled way. Future applications of these findings might serve to enhance the acceptance and safety of semi-autonomous vehicles by implementing ecological interfaces.

Language: en

Keywords

Autonomous driving; Driver behavior; Ecological interface design; Intelligent vehicle systems; Safety; Smart; Vehicles