RELATED STUDIES

Designing for Prediction-Level Collaboration Between a Human Driver and an Automated Driving System

A prototype was implemented in a driving simulator driven by a functional AD system that has been partially validated on the public road. we designed and implemented a gaze-button input for intuitive vehicle referencing and a graphical user interface (GUI) for enhancing the explainability of the AD system. Three typical driving scenarios in which an AD could take advantage of the human driver's anticipation to drive more comfortable and personalized were created for subsequent evaluation.

Elaborating Feedback Strategies for Maintaining Automation in Highly Automated Driving

This user study investigated the impact of virtual co-drivers in automated vehicles in terms of automation use, trust, and acceptance.

Here, the passenger serves as a representative of the automation, which was realized as a holographic appearance.

The study showed that system feedback can lead to an increased automation usage.

(Related paper: https://dl.acm.org/doi/abs/10.1145/3003715.3005414)

Project Vorreiter

One of the central ideas of the Vorreiter (Trailblazer) project is to provide the collected intelligence of the technical system, i.e. the motion assistance or automation, in such a way that it makes possible actions in the form of maneuvers quickly comprehensible in the respective situation and quickly and safely realizable through intuitive steering gestures on the steering wheel or side-stick, if possible. Examples of maneuver gestures are a lane change, e.g., on the highway or in the city, a turning maneuver, stopping and starting in front of a crosswalk, or a parking maneuver.

Such control via steering gestures could already provide a gain in comfort for drivers without disabilities, and also a gain in safety for fast, safety-critical maneuvers. For younger drivers, the suggestion of a movement path through automation could compensate for the still lacking experience, for older drivers a possibly slower reaction time.

Project website: https://vorreiter.iaw.rwth-aachen.de/de/Projektinhalt.html

A Journey Through Nature: Exploring Virtual Restorative Environments as a Means to Relax in Confined Spaces

Virtual Reality (VR) technologies can counteract stress or fatigue and restore attention, e.g., by recreating the beauty of nature in a Virtual Restorative Environment (VRE). This has gained additional relevance in the current pandemic: When facing the stress of physical restrictions and a limited activity space, how can VR technologies provide the individual experience of being away? We created a VRE that can be used during trips in automated cars using a captured natural environment and simulated artifacts that communicate vehicle information during VR relaxation. In a user study (N=21), we compared the proposed in-car VRE to simply closing the eyes. We found that the VRE strongly improved the subjective ratings of mood and slightly increased attentional capacity and the objectively measured performance in a working memory test. Our results provide a concrete starting point for exploring calming VR experiences for future passengers, but also users at home.

WEB:: https://cc.acm.org/2021/