Preventing the risks of monotony related fatigue while driving through gamification

Abstract

Background: Driving fatigue can have serious consequences. Too often fatal accidents are caused by fatigue. However, it is not uncommon for fatigue to occur while driving when the driver is under-challenged. Due to the increasing automation of vehicles, it is foreseeable that the number of accidents caused by monotony will increase. Interactions between driver and vehicle through gamification can remedy the situation and provide the driver with new stimuli during an otherwise monotonous journey. Methods: In order to test the effectiveness of such interactions, we conducted a driving simulator study with 31 test persons to investigate driving performance and psycho-physiological parameters. Each subject ran through the experiment three times in randomized order to test the interaction system in comparison to a ride in which the driver was alone and a ride in which the driver had a co-driver. Results: The results provide clear indications of safer driving of the test subjects when driving with gamification and with a passenger. The tested interaction system prevents upcoming fatigue in a similar way to communication with a passenger. The experiments also provide insights into the effects of monotony in vehicle driving.

Understanding the Interactions Between Driving Behavior and Well-being in Daily Driving: Causal Analysis of a Field Study

“…Thus, an intervention could be triggered that acts as a mental stimulus to increase arousal and thereby prevent drowsy driving. Past research developed and evaluated such interventions, for example, using highly personalized music playlists [ 21 ] or gamified driving challenges [ 75 ]. Our findings could pave the way for the ideation of new interventions.…”

Exploring the Mediating Role of Different Aspects of Learning Motivation between Metaverse Learning Experiences and Gamification

“…For example, Repero-Padilla et al argue that the design of gamification elements in online learning environments, such as points, rewards, challenges, and leaderboards, is highly effective in enhancing students' interest, motivation, and persistence [34]. Additionally, Bier et al's research found that gamified interpersonal interaction systems can assist users in maintaining excitement and attention [35]. Hamari et al's study suggests that the effectiveness of gamification in regard to learning outcomes may vary in different contexts [21].…”

The Origins of Passive, Active, and Sleep-Related Fatigue

“…During initial engagement of a goal-directed task, reinforcement learning occurs to favor reward-contingent behavior, and when the ACC detects non-conducive behavioral deviations (e.g., lapses in attention) the prefrontal cortex is recruited to exercise top-down control to calibrate behavior, by way of increasing LC phasic activity, to maintain optimal performance (Aston-Jones and Cohen, 2005 ; Sara and Bouret, 2012 ; Massar et al, 2016 ; Bier et al, 2019 ). As engagement in the task continues, the costs associated with optimal performance tend to increase, while the rewards associated with the task tend to decrease due to increased satiety, exposure, or predictability of the rewards, eventually resulting in increased LC tonic activity.…”

“…Similarly, when drivers interacted with a system that gamified driving and rewarded drivers for good performance (e.g., degree of lateral steering control, hazard avoidance, etc.) during a manual drive, subjective fatigue was delayed, standard deviation of lane position and unintentional lane crossings were reduced, drivers were less prone to accidents, and there was better compliance with driving at the speed limit (Bier et al, 2019 ). Rewards may be introduced to help rebalance a task's utility by fostering motivation and optimizing one's arousal state for the task at hand (Aston-Jones and Cohen, 2005 ; Boksem and Tops, 2008 ).…”

“…When a driver is tasked with monitoring the automation system, the understimulating nature of the task may induce hypo-arousal by influencing the firing rate of the LC-NE due to an imbalance of the costs for having to maintain vigilance (Körber et al, 2015 ). Additionally, this imbalance may foster the activity of task-unrelated brain networks and promote engagement in non-driving related tasks such as mind-wandering (Bier et al, 2019 ). The LC-NE system is a critical component in understanding the cause of low arousal, or passive fatigue.…”