Task Interruption and Control Recovery Strategies After Take-Over Requests Emphasize Need for Measures of Situation Awareness

Abstract

Objective:Our objective was to determine whether there is a need to go beyond measures of automation deactivation time to understand the transition to manual driving after take-over requests (TORs) using the example of office tasks as nondriving-related tasks (NDRTs).Background:Office tasks are likely NDRTs during automated commutes to/from work. Complex tasks can influence how manual control and visual attention is recovered after TORs.Method:N = 51 participants in a driving simulator performed either one of two office tasks or no task (between subjects). We recorded reaction times in a high-urgency and low-urgency scenario (within subjects) and analyzed task interruption strategies.Results:90% of the participants who performed an NDRT deactivated the automation after 7 to 8 s. However, 90% of the same drivers looked at the side mirror for the first time only after 11 to 14 s. Drivers with office tasks either interrupted the tasks sequentially or in parallel. Strategies were not adapted to the take-over situation or the task but appeared to be due to individual preferences.Conclusion:Drivers engaged in NDRTs may neglect lower priority subtasks after a TOR, such as mirror checking. Therefore, there is a need to go beyond measures of automation deactivation time to understand the transition to manual driving. Using analyses of attentional dynamics during take-over situations may enhance the safety of future car-driver handover assistance systems.Application:If low driver availability is detected, TORs should only be used as a fallback option if sufficient time and adaptive driver support can be provided.

Effects of non-driving related tasks during autonomous driving

“…Tímto podnětem může být jak tzv. TOR (takeover request), což je signál k převzetí řízení (Choi et al, 2020;Vogelpohl et al, 2019), tak jakýkoli podnět o vzniku ri zika, který řidič zaznamená (DeGuzman et al, 2020;Louw et al, 2017). Zásah do řízení je oproti tomu obvykle defi nován jako otočení volantu o více než 2 stupně (Louw et al, 2019;Wan & Wu, 2018) nebo stisknutí brzdového pedálu o více než 10 % (Radlmayr et al, 2019;Wu et al, 2019;Zeeb et al, 2017).…”

Takeover performance evaluation using driving simulation: a systematic review and meta-analysis

“…However, this definition is too generic and questions are raised about what is considered as the first stimulus and how a driver's intervention can be verified. Regarding the first stimulus, commonly the takeover time is measured as the elapsed time since the first auditory, visual, and/or haptic TOR [4,48,64]. Nonetheless, some studies calculate the takeover time without a TOR, for instance considering the first visual cue of a hazard or the start of an untypical behaviour from the automated system (e.g., due to a malfunction) [7,27].…”

“…Takeover scenarios identified in the selected studies Obstruction of the ego-vehicle's lane, roadwork zone or lane reduction Blommer et al[2], Choi et al[4], DinparastDjadid et al[8], Dogan et al[9], Feldhütter et al[15], Gold et al[17], Happee et al[18], Lin et al[24], Rauffet et al[37], Vogelpohl et al[48,50], Wan and Wu[53], Wandtner et al[54], Wu et al[58][59][60], Yoon and Ji[61], Zeeb et al[62,63], Zhou et al[66] Lead-vehicle deceleration/braking or slow lead-vehicle Choi et al[4], DinparastDjadid et al[8], Lodinger and DeLucia[26], Louw et al[28], Vogelpohl, et al [48-50] Vehicle cuts into the ego-vehicle's lane Lodinger and DeLucia [26], Naujoks et al [31], Payre et al [33], Zeeb et al [64] Limited visibility due to adverse weather Lodinger and DeLucia [26], Louw, et al [28], Vogelpohl, et al [49, 50], Zhou et al [66] Change of road environment or traffic conditions Dogan et al [10], Wandtner et al [55] Sensor failure or system's shut-down DeGuzman et al [7], DinparastDjadid et al [8], Naujoks et al [31], Louw et al [29], Payre et al [32, 33] Soares et al Eur. Transp.…”

Improving Take-over Situation by Active Communication

“…For the HMI design, user tests will be conducted in a driving simulator. A set of typical take-over situations including possible events directly after the take-over has already been implemented in this situation for earlier studies (e. g., [16], [17]). Driving simulators enables a flexible design and presentation of possible HMI elements to support the driver in the manner presented above.…”