An Auditory Display for Remote Road Vehicle Operation That Increases Awareness and Presence

Abstract

Remote operation, which allows a human operator to support a connected and automated vehicle from a distance, has been proposed as a solution to overcome vehicle automation challenges. In the current paper, the use of sound is being explored as a potential improvement to the current predominantly visual remote operator interfaces. An experiment was conducted aimed to test whether an auditory display providing propulsion sound from the ego-vehicle and spatial, augmented sound of surrounding road users would improve the perception of speed and ego motion, as well as situational awareness and presence. The experiment used a within-group 2x2 full factorial design with propulsion sound and spatial augmented sounds on/off as independent variables. 28 participants took part and drove in a simulated environment with the different types of auditory feedback. It was found that the auditory displays’ propulsion sound improved participants' speed regulation performance. Moreover, both the propulsion sound and the augmented sound contributed to the sensation of ego-motion, presence and situational awareness.