When negotiating bends car drivers perform gaze polling: their gaze shifts between guiding fixations (GFs; gaze directed 1–2 s ahead) and look-ahead fixations (LAFs; longer time headway). How might this behavior change in autonomous vehicles where the need for constant active visual guidance is removed? In this driving simulator study, we analyzed this gaze behavior both when the driver was in charge of steering or when steering was delegated to automation, separately for bend approach (straight line) and the entry of the bend (turn), and at various speeds. The analysis of gaze distributions relative to bend sections and driving conditions indicate that visual anticipation (through LAFs) is most prominent before entering the bend. Passive driving increased the proportion of LAFs with a concomitant decrease of GFs, and increased the gaze polling frequency. Gaze polling frequency also increased at higher speeds, in particular during the bend approach when steering was not performed. LAFs encompassed a wide range of eccentricities. To account for this heterogeneity two sub-categories serving distinct information requirements are proposed: mid-eccentricity LAFs could be more useful for anticipatory planning of steering actions, and far-eccentricity LAFs for monitoring potential hazards. The results support the idea that gaze and steering coordination may be strongly impacted in autonomous vehicles.
Most recent research highlights how a specific form of causal understanding, namely technical reasoning, may support the increasing complexity of tools and techniques developed by humans over generations, i.e., the cumulative technological culture (CTC). Thus, investigating the neurocognitive foundations of technical reasoning is essential to comprehend the emergence of CTC in our lineage. Whereas functional neuroimaging evidence started to highlight the critical role of the area PF of the left inferior parietal cortex (IPC) in technical reasoning, no studies explored the links between the structural characteristics of such a brain region and technical reasoning skills. Therefore, in this study, we assessed participants’ technical-reasoning performance by using two ad-hoc psycho-technical tests; then, we extracted from participants’ 3 T T1-weighted magnetic-resonance brain images the cortical thickness (i.e., a volume-related measure which is associated with cognitive performance as reflecting the size, density, and arrangement of cells in a brain region) of all the IPC regions for both hemispheres. We found that the cortical thickness of the left area PF predicts participants’ technical-reasoning performance. Crucially, we reported no correlations between technical reasoning and the other IPC regions, possibly suggesting the specificity of the left area PF in generating technical knowledge. We discuss these findings from an evolutionary perspective, by speculating about how the evolution of parietal lobes may have supported the emergence of technical reasoning in our lineage.
During highly automated driving, drivers no longer physically control the vehicle but they might need to monitor the driving scene. This is true for SAE level 2, where monitoring the external environment is required; it is also true for level 3, where drivers must react quickly and safely to a takeover request. Without such monitoring, even if only partial, drivers are considered out-of-the-loop (OOTL) and safety may be compromised. The OOTL phenomenon may be particularly important for long automated driving periods during which mind wandering can occur. This study scrutinized drivers' visual behaviour for 18 min of highly automated driving. Intersections between gaze and 13 areas of interest (AOIs) were analysed, considering both static and dynamic indicators. An estimation of self-reported mind wandering based on gaze behaviour was performed using partial least squares (PLS) regression models. The outputs of the PLS regressions allowed defining visual strategies associated with good monitoring of the driving scene. This information may enable online estimation of the OOTL phenomenon based on a driver's spontaneous visual behaviour.
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