Effects of Augmented-Reality-Based Assisting Interfaces on Drivers' Object-wise Situational Awareness in Highly Autonomous Vehicles

TL;DR

This study investigates how augmented reality interfaces highlighting objects affect drivers' situational awareness in autonomous vehicles, considering traffic density, object type, and location, to optimize driver assistance systems.

Contribution

It provides empirical insights into how AR highlighting impacts driver SA under different traffic and object conditions, guiding better UI design for autonomous vehicle interfaces.

Findings

Highlighting effects vary with traffic density

Object type and location influence SA improvements

Guidelines for selecting objects to highlight in AR interfaces

Abstract

Although partially autonomous driving (AD) systems are already available in production vehicles, drivers are still required to maintain a sufficient level of situational awareness (SA) during driving. Previous studies have shown that providing information about the AD's capability using user interfaces can improve the driver's SA. However, displaying too much information increases the driver's workload and can distract or overwhelm the driver. Therefore, to design an efficient user interface (UI), it is necessary to understand its effect under different circumstances. In this paper, we focus on a UI based on augmented reality (AR), which can highlight potential hazards on the road. To understand the effect of highlighting on drivers' SA for objects with different types and locations under various traffic densities, we conducted an in-person experiment with 20 participants on a driving simulator. Our study results show that the effects of highlighting on drivers' SA varied by traffic densities, object locations and object types. We believe our study can provide guidance in selecting which object to highlight for the AR-based driver-assistance interface to optimize SA for drivers driving and monitoring partially autonomous vehicles.