Anna Schieben

Towards a dynamic balance between humans and automation: authority, ability, responsibility and control in shared and cooperative control situations

Progress enables the creation of more automated and intelligent machines with increasing abilities that open up new roles between humans and machines. Only with a proper design for the resulting cooperative human–machine systems, these advances will make our lives easier, safer and enjoyable rather than harder and miserable. Starting from examples of natural cooperative systems, the paper investigates four cornerstone concepts for the design of such systems: ability, authority, control and responsibility, as well as their relationship to each other and to concepts like levels of automation and autonomy. Consistency in the relations between these concepts is identified as an important quality for the system design. A simple graphical tool is introduced that can help to visualize the cornerstone concepts and their relations in a single diagram. Examples from the automotive domain, where a cooperative guidance and control of highly automated vehicles is under investigation, demonstrate the application of the concepts and the tool. Transitions in authority and control, e.g. initiated by changes in the ability of human or machine, are identified as key challenges. A sufficient consistency of the mental models of human and machines, not only in the system use but also in the design and evaluation, can be a key enabler for a successful dynamic balance between humans and machines.

The theater-system technique: agile designing and testing of system behavior and interaction, applied to highly automated vehicles

In this paper, the theater-system technique, a method for agile designing and testing of system behavior and interaction concepts is described. The technique is based on the Wizard-of-Oz approach, originally used for emulating automated speech recognition, and is extended towards an interactive, user-centered design technique. The paper describes the design process using the theater-system technique, the technical build-up of the theater-system, and an application of the technique: the design of a haptic-multimodal interaction strategy for highly automated vehicles. The use of the theater-system in the design process is manifold: It is used for the concrete design work of the design team, for the assessment of user expectations as well as for early usability assessments, extending the principles of user-centered design towards a dynamically balanced design.

CityMobil: Human Factor Issues Regarding Highly Automated Vehicles on eLane

There are several human factor concerns with highly autonomous or semiautonomous driving, such as transition of control, loss of skill, and dealing with automated system errors. Four CityMobil experiments studied the eLane concept for dual-mode cars, and the results of one are described. The open eLane concept brings together road infrastructure and technical developments in vehicle automation to allow automated driving. The goal for the driving simulator experiment was to design and test the difference between a vocal and an acoustic user interface for a dual-mode vehicle driven both manually and automatically. In the experiment (n = 24), driver behavior was observed with a focus on the transition of control and the occurrence of system errors. Performance of transition of control was adequate for both interfaces at the beginning and end of an eLane. In the case of system failure, 15% of drivers failed to take control of the car in time for both interfaces. However, of those who did regain control, drivers with the vocal interface were faster. Moreover, a subjective questionnaire showed that the vocal interface was perceived as more positive than the acoustic interface. The study suggests that the vocal interface was preferred by participants and can be recommended for the human-machine interface of dual-mode vehicles, especially for providing warnings about system malfunctioning.There are several human factor concerns with highly autonomous or semiautonomous driving, such as transition of control, loss of skill, and dealing with automated system errors. Four CityMobil experiments studied the eLane concept for dual-mode cars, and the results of one are described. The open eLane concept brings together road infrastructure and technical developments in vehicle automation to allow automated driving. The goal for the driving simulator experiment was to design and test the difference between a vocal and an acoustic user interface for a dual-mode vehicle driven both manually and automatically. In the experiment (n = 24), driver behavior was observed with a focus on the transition of control and the occurrence of system errors. Performance of transition of control was adequate for both interfaces at the beginning and end of an eLane. In the case of system failure, 15% of drivers failed to take control of the car in time for both interfaces. However, of those who did regain control, drivers with the vocal interface were faster. Moreover, a subjective questionnaire showed that the vocal interface was perceived as more positive than the acoustic interface. The study suggests that the vocal interface was preferred by participants and can be recommended for the human–machine interface of dual-mode vehicles, especially for providing warnings about system malfunctioning.

Design of human computer interfaces for highly automated vehicles in the eu-project HAVEit

As vehicle and computer technology are more and more merging, new forms of assistance and automation in vehicles open up the potential to increasing safety and improving comfort. In HAVEit, an EU-FP7 Integrating Project, car and truck manufacturers, suppliers and research organizations explore highly automated driving applications, where the automation can take over substantial parts of the driving task, but where the driver is still in the loop. The interaction between the human and such an automation becomes a crucial part for a successful, dynamic balance between human and machine. Starting with design explorations, generic interaction and display schemes for highly automated driving were derived, implemented, tested in assessments and experiments, and finally applied to the demonstrator vehicles of HAVEit.

Driver behavior following an automatic steering intervention

The study investigated driver behavior toward an automatic steering intervention of a collision mitigation system. Forty participants were tested in a driving simulator and confronted with an inevitable collision. They performed a naïve drive and afterwards a repeated exposure in which they were told to hold the steering wheel loosely. In a third drive they experienced a false alarm situation. Data on driving behavior, i.e. steering and braking behavior as well as subjective data was assessed in the scenarios. Results showed that most participants held on to the steering wheel strongly or counter-steered during the system intervention during the first encounter. Moreover, subjective data collected after the first drive showed that the majority of drivers was not aware of the system intervention. Data from the repeated drive in which participants were instructed to hold the steering wheel loosely, led to significantly more participants holding the steering wheel loosely and thus complying with the instruction. This study seems to imply that without knowledge and information of the system about an upcoming intervention, the most prevalent driving behavior is a strong reaction with the steering wheel similar to an automatic steering reflex which decreases the systems effectiveness. Results of the second drive show some potential for countermeasures, such as informing drivers shortly before a system intervention in order to prevent inhibiting reactions.

Validation of a HMI concept indicating the status of the traffic light signal in the context of automated driving in urban environment

Vehicle-to-infrastructure communication in combination with vehicle automation opens up new vistas to improve traffic flow efficiency at signalised intersections. Manoeuvres of automated vehicles can be adjusted according to information on the traffic light signal status and its phase change. However, even when driving automated the driver onboard needs to be informed about planned manoeuvres. This paper describes a study on evaluating a human-machine interface (HMI) concept that offers information about the traffic light signal status while approaching an intersection with activated longitudinal vehicle automation. Three different HMI concepts are visualised and evaluated that should help the driver to comprehend the selected manoeuvres of the automated vehicle. Based on the results of the usability study the final HMI concept is presented.

Interaction design for nomadic devices in highly automated vehicles

Following the roadmaps of (inter)national committees, highly automated driving will be available in the next decade in production vehicles. This technology allows the driver to do some other tasks while driving and to remain only as a fallback in situations the automation is not capable to handle. This study tested if nomadic devices, that drivers might use while driving highly automated, can be integrated to support the driver in taking over control when requested. 33 drivers participated in a simulator study and drove in a highly automated vehicle on a motorway. The results showed that the takeover performance of drivers improve if the takeover request is displayed additionally on the nomadic device. Therefore, the integration of additional interfaces such as smartphones into a holistic interaction concept may be a key aspect for designing a secure and comfortable takeover process.

The Role of the Helicopter Pilot in Terms of Relevant Requirements for Helicopter Takeoff

Currently, the German Aerospace Center performs research on assistance systems for helicopters that help pilots to perform their missions even in bad weather conditions. One part of the assistance system is the navigation system with automatic flight path planning. The objective of this article is to clarify if pilots perform the planning of flight paths in the same way. An interview with 68 participants was conducted to evaluate essential differences between the pilots’ cognitive processes and build a basis for the user-centered design of the navigation system. The interview assessed user-specific requirements that can be used as input for the path planning algorithms. The results recommend the usage of individual pilot requirements for path planning applications. With individually adjusted navigation systems, the potential mismatch between pilots’ expectations and the actually computed flight paths is expected to be minimized.

Workshop on Methodology: Evaluating Interactions between Automated Vehicles and Other Road Users---What Works in Practice?

Methods and metrics for studying interactions between automated vehicles and other road users in their vicinity, such as pedestrians, cyclists and non-automated vehicles, are not established yet. This workshop focuses on identifying the strengths and weaknesses of various methodologies that could potentially be used to study such interactions. The objective lies in determining the proper experimental design, sensitivity of metrics for measuring user behavior, ecological validity, generalizability of findings, extraction of insights regarding how findings can be translated into actionable requirements, and the alternatives for conducting longitudinal field studies. It will be of an interactive nature and involve hands-on activities. The workshop will consolidate existing knowledge, identify recurring issues, and explore the path towards resolving these issues. The outcome will be compiled into a paper to share this valuable knowledge with a broader research community.

The “Out-of-the-Loop” concept in automated driving: proposed definition, measures and implications

Despite an abundant use of the term “Out of the loop” (OOTL) in the context of automated driving and human factors research, there is currently a lack of consensus on its precise definition, how it can be measured, and the practical implications of being in or out of the loop during automated driving. The main objective of this paper is to consider the above issues, with the goal of achieving a shared understanding of the OOTL concept between academics and practitioners. To this end, the paper reviews existing definitions of OOTL and outlines a set of concepts, which, based on the human factors and driver behaviour literature, could serve as the basis for a commonly-agreed definition. Following a series of working group meetings between representatives from academia, research institutions and industrial partners across Europe, North America, and Japan, we suggest a precise definition of being in, out, and on the loop in the driving context. These definitions are linked directly to whether or not the driver is in physical control of the vehicle, and also the degree of situation monitoring required and afforded by the driver. A consideration of how this definition can be operationalized and measured in empirical studies is then provided, and the paper concludes with a short overview of the implications of this definition for the development of automated driving functions.