How to Interact with a Fully Autonomous Vehicle: Naturalistic Ways for Drivers to Intervene in the Vehicle System While Performing Non-Driving Related Tasks

Abstract

Autonomous vehicle technology increasingly allows drivers to turn their primary attention to secondary tasks (e.g., eating or working). This dramatic behavior change thus requires new input modalities to support driver–vehicle interaction, which must match the driver’s in-vehicle activities and the interaction situation. Prior studies that addressed this question did not consider how acceptance for inputs was affected by the physical and cognitive levels experienced by drivers engaged in Non-driving Related Tasks (NDRTs) or how their acceptance varies according to the interaction situation. This study investigates naturalistic interactions with a fully autonomous vehicle system in different intervention scenarios while drivers perform NDRTs. We presented an online methodology to 360 participants showing four NDRTs with different physical and cognitive engagement levels, and tested the six most common intervention scenarios (24 cases). Participants evaluated our proposed seven natural input interactions for each case: touch, voice, hand gesture, and their combinations. Results show that NDRTs influence the driver’s input interaction more than intervention scenario categories. In contrast, variation of physical load has more influence on input selection than variation of cognitive load. We also present a decision-making model of driver preferences to determine the most natural inputs and help User Experience designers better meet drivers’ needs.

Spatial Components Guidelines in a Face-to-Face Seating Arrangement for Flexible Layout of Autonomous Vehicles

“…(5) Initial seating position (6) Changing the seating posture (sitting with legs on the seat, using a table, looking at other passengers, bending back, etc.) (7) Operating, using, returning the reclining seat function (8) Opening and using the storage space of the center console (9) Using the personal table and display (10) Watching videos (11) Using and placing cell phone on a table There were 27 types of "action" units according to the activity theory (Figure 3 and Tables 7 and 8).…”

“…Automotive manufacturers and related IT companies are focusing on research and development efforts that will maximize user's experience, thereby supporting in-vehicle activities and applying spatial arrangement flexibly within the confined space of the vehicle. Some previous studies focused on drivers' needs and conducted an experiment based on the interaction between driver and autonomous vehicle [4][5][6][7]. To take full advantage of fully autonomous vehicles, it is necessary to approach their design with a new concept of a moving living space, and driver-centered research needs to be shifted toward passengers in the overall context of in-vehicle activities.…”

Do Researchers Use the Levels of Automation Appropriately? How Automation is Discussed in Research

“…This difference in understanding can be seen in the results of studies in which driver mental models do not align with the SAE levels (Novakazi et al, 2021). Likewise, researchers miscite the SAE levels when they state nonexistent levels of automation capabilities like “Level 2.5” (Ataya et al, 2021). The SAE levels are framed around three descriptive dimensions, the Dynamic Driving Task (DDT), Object Event Detection and Response (OEDR), and the Operational Design Domain (ODD).…”

Machine Vision in Autonomous Vehicles: Designing and Testing the Decision Making Algorithm Based on Entity Attribute Value Model

“…However, Park et al [19] consider autonomous vehicles as one of the most disruptive technology innovations due to issues of customers' acceptance based on safety, ethics, etc. SAE prognoses that by 2045, more than 70% of all sold vehicles will integrate autonomous capabilities from "first level of automation" to "full automation" [2]. Wherein, the automation levels from 1 to 4 refer to the driver assistance systems, combination of driver assistance systems, or fully automated driving systems.…”