Vibrotactile Displays: A Survey With a View on Highly Automated Driving

Abstract

The task of car driving is automated to an ever greater extent. In the foreseeable future, drivers will no longer be required to touch the steering wheel and pedals and could engage in non-driving tasks such as working or resting. Vibrotactile displays have the potential to grab the attention of the driver when the automation reaches its functional limits and the driver has to take over control. The aim of the present literature survey is to outline the key physiological and psychophysical aspects of vibrotactile sensation and to provide recommendations and relevant research questions regarding the use of vibrotactile displays for taking over control from an automated vehicle. Results showed that a distinction can be made between four dimensions for coding vibrotactile information (amplitude, frequency, timing, and location), each of which can be static or dynamic. There is a consensus that frequency and amplitude are less suitable for coding information than location and timing. Vibrotactile stimuli have been shown to be effective as simple warnings. However, vibrations can evoke annoyance, and providing vibrations in close spatial-temporal proximity might cause a lack of comprehension of the signal. We describe the sequential stages of a takeover process and argue that vibrotactile displays are a promising candidate for redirecting the attention of a distracted driver. Furthermore, vibrotactile displays hold potential for supporting cognitive processing and action selection while resuming control of an automated vehicle. Finally, we argue that multimodal feedback should be used to assist the driver in the takeover process.

The Importance of Interruption Management for Usefulness and Acceptance of Automated Driving

“…Information retrieval from the HMI could be further facilitated by using information processing channels that are not necessary for the processing of ongoing NDRTs [103]. As most tasks likely involve a visual component [44,77], auditory [6,65] or vibrotactile interfaces [75,76] are a promising solution. For example, researchers have used speech-based interfaces to inform drivers about actions carried out by the automated vehicle [24,58,79], such as lane changes or adaptations of the host vehicle's speed.…”

Driver response times to auditory, visual, and tactile take-over requests: A simulator study with 101 participants

“…However, when the automation reaches its functional limits (e.g., the end of the highway, or when it cannot handle a certain situation), it alerts the driver that he/she has to take back control. During the take-over process, the driver needs to shift his/her attention to the driving scene, take back physical control of the steering wheel, and interpret the situation in order to implement an appropriate response [5], [6], [7].…”

Analyzing crowdsourced ratings of speech-based take-over requests for automated driving

“…Prior to such control transition, the automation may issue a take-over request to the driver (SAE International, 2016;Zeeb et al, 2015). How to provide a take-over request is a widely studied topic in human factors and ergonomics (Hergeth et al, 2015;Naujoks et al, 2014;Petermeijer et al, 2016;Pfromm et al, 2015).…”