Design and evaluation of cooperative human-machine interface for changing lanes in conditional driving automation

Husam Muslim; Cho Kiu Leung; Makoto Itoh

doi:10.1016/j.aap.2022.106719

Design and evaluation of cooperative human-machine interface for changing lanes in conditional driving automation

Accid Anal Prev. 2022 Sep:174:106719. doi: 10.1016/j.aap.2022.106719. Epub 2022 Jun 2.

Authors

Husam Muslim¹, Cho Kiu Leung², Makoto Itoh³

Affiliations

¹ Faculty of Engineering, Information and Systems, University of Tsukuba, Tsukuba, Japan; Japan Automobile Research Institute, Autonomous Driving Research Division, Tsukuba, Japan. Electronic address: ahusam@jari.or.jp.
² Graduate School of Systems and Information Engineering, Department of Risk Engineering, University of Tsukuba, Tsukuba, Japan.
³ Faculty of Engineering, Information and Systems, University of Tsukuba, Tsukuba, Japan.

PMID: 35660872
DOI: 10.1016/j.aap.2022.106719

Abstract

This study analyzes the impact of cooperative human-machine interface designs on drivers' trust in and interaction with automated driving systems (ADSs) during lane changes on highways. While drivers' inappropriate trust in ADSs can affect their behavior toward the system, capability to detect inadequate system performance, and perception of surrounding traffic disturbances, their engagement in the automated process can improve their comprehension of the system and traffic conditions, which is necessary for the safe practice of automated driving. Forty drivers practiced conditional driving automation in a driving simulator and encountered traffic congestion on the main lane of a two-lane highway. Four ADS designs were proposed to bypass the congestion. ADS-1 detects the congestion and synchronizes the speed accordingly. ADS-2 requests the driver to resume manual control and overtake the congestion. ADS-3 requests the driver to push a button to let the system overtakes the congestion automatically. ADS-4 overtakes the congestion automatically after informing the driver, while the driver can cancel it by pushing a button within 6 s. In all these conditions, driver intervention was optional. Although the drivers preferred and trusted ADS-1 and ADS-2 more than ADS-3 and ADS-4, the results indicate significant improvements in the driving performance and system usage under ADS-3 and ADS-4. Driving with ADS-3 improved drivers' engagement and reduced the requirement for control transfer compared with other systems. However, the time headway between the subject and adjacent vehicles indicated that lane changes were more critical under ADS-3 and ADS-4 than ADS-1 and ADS-2. Such deficiency of alignment between driver perception and safe behaviors has implications for the design of future studies and systems that need to balance satisfaction and safety. These observations are likely to improve driver interaction with automated vehicles.

Keywords: Automated vehicle; Decision-making; Human-machine interaction; Lane change; Levels of automation; Perception.

MeSH terms

Accidents, Traffic* / prevention & control
Automation
Automobile Driving*
Humans