Jmb Jacques Terken

Measuring driving styles: a validation of the multidimensional driving style inventory

The aim of this study was to validate the stability of the different factors of the Multidimensional Driving Style Inventory (MDSI) [16], which was originally developed and validated with participants in different geographical areas of Israel. In this study, the questionnaire was distributed in the Netherlands and Belgium. A factor analysis of the data of 364 participants revealed five of the eight factors that resulted from the original factor analysis: Angry driving, Anxious driving, Dissociative driving, Distress-reduction driving, and Careful driving style. In addition, 24 items divided over the five factors seem to be stable compared to the 44 items divided over the eight factors of the original analysis. The factors revealed through the analysis of these data were used to determine driver profiles, consisting of one or two driving styles. The next step is to compare self-report data on driving style to actual driving behaviour.

Ambient Light and its Influence on Driving Experience

In modern traffic, measures are implemented to regulate speeding, which may annoy drivers who pursue an exciting driving experience and make them exceed speed limits. Others prefer a more relaxing experience resulting in socially desired driving behavior. This paper presents a study investigating the capacity of ambient light to alter the perception of speed and therefore influence the driving experience. The aim of this study was to determine how different drivers experience the concept of an ambient light moving along the a-pillar inside the vehicle. In different conditions, the light moved at different speeds. The outcomes of the study show that overall the ambient light used in this study had a positive effect on the driving experience but that the attitude towards the ambient light was highly individual. The majority indicated a preference towards the ambient light while some saw it more as a distraction or even inducing more stress.

Development of a questionnaire for identifying driver's personal values in driving

The speed behavior of drivers is influenced by their personal driving values. It is assumed that these personal values may differ between drivers. In this paper, we describe the development of the Personal Driving Values (PDV) questionnaire. The questionnaire is to be used as a means of identifying personal values of drivers underlying their speed behavior. The development of the questionnaire items was inspired by other driving questionnaires, but the aim is to extract factors that represent the personally relevant values in driving. A questionnaire consisting of 49 items was distributed to 250 drivers. An exploratory factor analysis resulted in a final 25-item questionnaire addressing six different driving values: Sustainable Driving, Driving Fun, Driving Relaxed, Safe Driving, Driving Efficiency (Time) and Avoiding Fines.

Unwinding after work: an in-car mood induction system for semi-autonomous driving

We present a concept for an in-car system to support unwinding after work. It consists of a mood sensing steering wheel, an interactive in-car environment and a tangible input device. The in-car environment incorporates a basic state that uses color to relax or energize the driver, and an exploratory state that intends to immerse the user into a simulated environment. In the exploratory state, the user plays with a tangible input device allowing the simulated environment to appear. This environment includes images and sounds related to a certain theme. Our preliminary research findings reveal that users felt significantly calmer and marginally significantly better after interacting with the simulated environment. Results from the semi-structured interviews demonstrated that the majority of people appreciated the system and thought it might be effective to support unwinding. These outcomes demonstrate potential in the concept, but testing in a more realistic setting is necessary.

Auditory messages for speed advice in advanced driver assistance systems

Simple tones in in-car systems are mostly used for status indication or warning and alerting purposes. We argue that simple tones can also be used for the purpose of advising drivers through an Advanced Driver Assistance System (ADAS). Our ADAS application is called Cooperative Speed Assistance (CSA), where drivers receive advice to slow down or speed up to coordinate their speed with the speed of other vehicles in the traffic. Two concepts of auditory messages are presented: Looping messages are played as long as the advice applies, while Toggle messages mark the beginning and the end of an advice. For each concept, two prototypes of simple-tone signals were designed based on existing guidelines about sound characteristics affecting urgency and evaluation by users. The temporal characteristics of the signals indicated how much or how fast drivers should adapt their speed. The concepts were evaluated by having users drive in a driving simulator. Objective measurements indicated that there was no difference in effectiveness between the two concepts. Subjective evaluation indicated that users preferred the Toggle concept.

Talking Wearables Exploit Context

Abstract: This paper addresses the issue of how natural language generation technology can contribute to less intrusive wearable devices. Based on the investigation of how humans adapt the form of their utterances to the context of their hearer, we propose a strategy to relate (physical) context to the automated generation of natural language utterances. First we emphasise that different dimensions of context need to be taken into account and illustrate this with examples of lexical choice. Then we elaborate a strategy for determining sentence structure and prosody annotation based on the context relating to focus of attention. Our approach sets up an experimental basis in the context of an advice-giving wearable device (parrot).

Gesture-based and haptic interfaces for connected and autonomous driving

While user interfaces for in-vehicle systems in the market are mostly button- and screen-based, advances in electronic technology provide designers with new design opportunities. In this paper, we propose applications of these novel technologies for several aspects of the current and future driving context. We explore opportunities for gesture-based and haptic interfaces in three different areas: establishing shared control between the driver and the autonomous vehicle; providing situation awareness to users of autonomous vehicles while engaged in other activities; connecting drivers to fellow drivers. We argue that these interface technologies hold the promise of creating richer and more natural interaction than the traditional vision- and audio-based interfaces that dominate the current market. We conclude by outlining steps for further research.

Encouraging the Use of ADAS through Personalized Persuasion

Broad adoption of intelligent systems is a condition for achieving the aims of these systems such as increasing safety and efficiency. This requires taking into consideration that each driver has his or her own needs, interests and motivations while driving. Persuasive strategies that are intended to increase the adoption of intelligent systems may influence one type of driver, but may not work at all for another type of driver. This paper presents an exploration of the design potential for applications that aims to increase the acceptance of Advanced Driver Assistance Systems (ADAS) for both careful and risky drivers.

Compatibility between Trust and Non-Driving Related Tasks in UI Design for Highly and Fully Automated Driving

Acceptance of highly and fully automated vehicles will depend on system trust and the ability to comfortably engage in non-driving related tasks (NDRT). We here hypothesize a potential trade-off between the two. The paper describes the development of two UI concepts based on trust factors derived from the literature and benchmarking of current (concept) UIs to explore the balance between trust and engagement in NDRT. The concepts were inspired by the Valeo Mobius User Interface concept. The level of intrusiveness of trust related information was the key parameter differentiating the two concepts and was manipulated by adopting a single head up display versus a distributed display configuration also including a central console display. A comparative simulator study is underway to explore the balance between trust and comfortable engagement in NDRT and areas of future research are discussed.

Human-centered design and smart homes: How to study and design for the home experience?

The focus of this chapter is on designing for smart homes. The perspective will be user-driven design research. The chapter starts with a context analysis of the home environment. This analysis shows that, from a user perspective, home is about emotions and not about the physical house with all its smart applications. It is this “home experience” designers have to design for. The core of the chapter consists of the description of three big challenges that modern designers (need to) face when designing or studying smart home environments. These challenges are linked to existing and future design paradigms. The following challenges are addressed: (1) What makes a worthwhile user experience? (2) How to design for user experience? (3) How to design for user experiences that can be seamlessly integrated in everyday life? The chapter concludes with a summary of the main insights that emerge from current design research practice facing these challenges.