Automated Driving Systems: Impact of Haptic Guidance on Driving Performance after a Take Over Request

TL;DR

This study investigates how haptic guidance systems influence driver performance after a takeover request in automated driving, showing improvements in safety and reaction times during obstacle avoidance.

Contribution

It provides empirical evidence that haptic guidance enhances safety and performance in automated driving scenarios after takeover requests.

Findings

Reduced lateral error with haptic guidance

Faster reaction times to obstacles

Fewer collisions during takeovers

Abstract

In conditional automation, a response from the driver is expected when a take over request is issued due to unexpected events, emergencies, or reaching the operational design domain boundaries. Cooperation between the automated driving system and the driver can help to guarantee a safe and pleasant transfer if the driver is guided through a haptic guidance system that applies a slight counter-steering force to the steering wheel. We examine in this work the impact of haptic guidance systems on driving performance after a take over request was triggered to avoid sudden obstacles on the road. We studied different driver conditions that involved Non-Driving Related Tasks (NRDT). Results showed that haptic guidance systems increased road safety by reducing the lateral error, the distance and reaction time to a sudden obstacle and the number of collisions.