Leveraging peripheral interactions to improve drivers' situation awareness and NDRT efficiency

Abstract

L3 automated driving has introduced a trend of drivers engaging in non-driving-related tasks (NDRTs), but it also poses safety challenges for reconstructing drivers' situation awareness (SA). Two consecutive empirical studies in a driving simulator were conducted to investigate the effect of two peripheral interactions (airflow conveying the intended behaviors of vehicles and surround sound conveying the information of road users) on drivers' SA performance, NDRT efficiency, workload, and user experience. The first study (n=21) explored the differential effects of airflow, surround sound, and their integration. The second study (n=30) investigated how the integrated interaction performed across different NDRT difficulties. Results demonstrated that airflow and surround sound could significantly improve drivers' SA when used individually, each having distinct advantages. The integration of these two interactions yielded the best results. Notably, the integrated interaction showed greater effectiveness in improving SA during hard NDRT compared to the easy one. Furthermore, drivers reported reduced subjective workloads and enhanced user experience when leveraging these peripheral interaction methods. Our work offers insights for designing in-vehicle interaction systems that not only reconstruct drivers' SA but also support NDRT participation, ensuring safety and productivity.

Keywords

Automated driving / Situation awareness / Non-driving-related tasks / Peripheral interaction / Surround sound / Airflow

RIGHTS & PERMISSIONS

The Authors. Published by Zhejiang University Press Co., Ltd.