Research Project

This project deals with the communication issue of the transition of control in automated vehicles in conditional driving systems (SAE level 3 of automation). In this context, the driver's role can be considered an intermediate state between active and passive, as the automated system may present some operation design limitations due to its sensors or route problems, among other issues, and the driver might take over the vehicle control. The problem inherent in the transition of control of the automated vehicle to the driver is that removing the human individual from the decision making and motor control loops may compromise the driver's performance, and consequently, their ability to take over the vehicle control in time to avoid accidents. To mitigate this issue, the driver needs to receive information such as system status and take over request (TOR) warning, for instance, at the right time and through the right channel, especially when there is a system failure. Therefore, this research aims to identify which human-machine interface (HMI) solutions are best suited to inform system status and TOR in automated vehicles so that the driver can monitor and promptly recognize the state of the automated system and avoid accidents.