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Total results: 302

Driving behaviour and driver assistance at traffic light intersections

Year: 2015

Authors: L Rittger

The increasing importance of environmental friendly and efficient transportation guides the interest of researchers and car manufacturers towards the development of technologies that support an efficient driving style. This thesis presents the development of a traffic light assistance system with the focus on human factors. The system aims on supporting drivers in approaching traffic light intersections efficiently. In three driving simulator studies, the content related research covered the investigation of the unassisted driving task, the influence of the system on the driver’s perception of the interaction with other road users and the information strategy of the human machine interface. When the traffic light phase changes or when visibility is limited, drivers prepare driving behaviour that is not appropriate for the traffic light phase at arrival at the intersection. These situations offer the greatest potential for the assistance system. The traffic light assistant is able to change driving behaviour. However, the expectation of other road user’s emotional reactions influences driver compliance. In situations in which drivers expected to bother others with their driving behaviour, compliance to the traffic light assistant was low. Further, the deviations of driver behaviour from the target strategy of the traffic light assistant are lowest when the HMI includes the two information units target speed and action recommendations. Traffic light phase information in the HMI is a subjectively important information for drivers. The results point towards the presentation of all three information units. The method related research covered the development of a method for measuring drivers’ information demand for dynamic stimuli. While driving, specific stimuli are action relevant for drivers, i.e. they need to be processed in order to decide on the appropriate driving behaviour. Eye tracking has been the standard method for measuring information demand while driving. The novel MARS (Masking Action Relevant Stimuli) method measures information demand by masking the dynamic action relevant stimulus in the driving environment or in the vehicle. To unmask the stimulus for a fixed interval, drivers press a button at the steering wheel. In the present thesis, two driving simulator studies evaluated the MARS method. They included measuring information demand for the traffic light phasing and the in-vehicle display of the traffic light assistant. The analyses demonstrate that variations in the experimental conditions influence the information demand measured with the MARS method qualitatively similar to the influences on fixations measured by eye tracking. Due to its simple application, the MARS method represents a promising tool for transportation research.

1 version available:

Driving with glaucoma: task performance and gaze movements

Year: 2015

Authors: TC Kübler,E Kasneci,W Rosenstiel

Purpose: The aim of this pilot study was to assess the driving performance and the visual search behavior, that is, eye and head movements, of patients with glaucoma in comparison to healthy-sighted subjects during a simulated driving test. Methods: Driving performance and gaze behavior of six glaucoma patients and eight healthy-sighted age- and sex-matched control subjects were compared in an advanced driving simulator. All subjects underwent a 40-minute driving test including nine hazardous situations on city and rural roads. Fitness to drive was assessed by a masked driving instructor according to the requirements of the official German driving test. Several driving performance measures were investigated: lane position, time to line crossing, and speed. Additionally, eye and head movements were tracked and analyzed. Results: Three out of six glaucoma patients passed the driving test and their driving performance was indistinguishable from that of the control group. Patients who passed the test showed an increased visual exploration in comparison to patients who failed; that is, they showed increased number of head and gaze movements toward eccentric regions. Furthermore, patients who failed the test showed a rightward bias in average lane position, probably in an attempt to maximize the safety margin to oncoming traffic. Conclusions: Our study suggests that a considerable subgroup of subjects with binocular glaucomatous visual field loss shows a safe driving behavior in a virtual reality environment, because they adapt their viewing behavior by increasing their visual scanning. Hence, binocular visual field loss does not necessarily influence driving safety. We recommend that more individualized driving assessments, which will take into account the patient’s ability to compensate, are required.

7 versions available

Driving with homonymous visual field defects: Driving performance and compensatory gaze movements

Year: 2015

Authors: TC Kübler,E Kasneci,W Rosenstiel

Aim of this pilot study was to assess the driving performance and its relationship to the visual search behavior, i.e., eye and head movements, of patients with homonymous visual field defects (HVFDs) in comparison to healthy-sighted subjects during a simulated driving test. Eight HVFD patients and six healthy-sighted age- and gender-matched control subjects underwent a 40-minute driving test with nine hazardous situations. Eye and head movements were recorded during the drive. Four out of eight patients passed the driving test and showed a driving performance similar to that of the control group. One control group subject failed the test. Patients who passed the test showed an increased number of head and eye movements. Patients who failed the test showed a rightwards-bias in average lane position, probably in an attempt to maximize the safety margin to oncoming traffic. Our study supports the hypothesis that a considerable subgroup of subjects with HVFDs show a safe driving behavior, because they adapt their viewing behavior by increased visual scanning.

8 versions available

Ergonomic design of the gauge cluster display for commercial trucks

Year: 2015

Authors: T Kim, J Park, J Choe, ES Jung

Objective: The purpose of this study is to determine the priority of information presentation and the effective menu type to be placed in the center of a gauge cluster display for commercial trucks and to present a set of ergonomic designs for the gauge cluster display. Background: An effective ergonomic design is specifically needed for the development of the gauge cluster display for the commercial trucks, because more diverse and heavier information is delivered to truck drivers, compared to the information to passenger car drivers. Method: First, all the information that must be shown on the commercial truck display was collected. Then, the severity, frequency of use, and display design parameters were evaluated for those information by commercial truck drivers. Next, an analysis on the information attributes and the heuristic evaluation utilizing the display design principles were carried out. According to the results, a design alternative of the main screen to be displayed was constructed by priority. A comparative analysis between the alternative and existing main screens was also conducted to see the efficacy of the designs. Lastly, we conducted an experiment for the selection of menu type. The experiment was conducted using the driving simulator with an eye-tracking device. The independent variables were four types of the menu reflecting the commercial truck characteristics such as grid type, icon type, list type, and flow type. We measured preference, total execution time, the total duration of fixation on the gauge cluster area, and the total number of fixation on the gauge cluster area as dependent variables. Results: Four types of driver convenience information and six types of driver assistance information were selected as the information to be placed primarily on the main screen of the gauge cluster. The Grid type was the most effective among the menu types. Conclusion: In this study, the information that appears on the main screen of the display, the division of the display and the design of the menu type for commercial truck drivers were suggested. Application: This study is expected to be utilized as guidelines on the ergonomic design of a gauge cluster display for commercial trucks.

4 versions available

Exploiting the potential of eye movements analysis in the driving context

Year: 2015

Authors: C Braunagel, W Stolzmann,E Kasneci

Driving is a complex and highly visual task. With the development of high-end eyetracking devices, numerous studies over the last two decades have investigated eye movements of the driver to identify deficits in visual search patterns and to derive assistive, informative, and entertainment systems. However, little is known about the visual behavior during autonomous driving, where the driver can be involved in other tasks but still has to remain attentive in order to be able to resume control of the vehicle. This work aims at exploiting the potential of eye movement analysis in the autonomous driving context. In a pilot study, we investigated whether the type of the secondary task in which the driver is involved, can be recognized solely from the eye movement parameters of the driver. Furthermore, we will discuss several applications of eye movement analysis to future autonomous driving approaches, e.g., to automatically detect whether the driver is being attentive and – when required – to guide her visual attention towards the driving task.

3 versions available

Eye glance analysis of the surrogate tests for driver distraction

Year: 2015

Authors: L Hsieh,S Seaman, RA Young

The purpose of this study was to examine the eye glance patterns of Detection Response Tasks (DRTs) for assessment of driver distraction during simulated driving. Several types of DRTs across visual, tactile and haptic modalities were used to investigate driver distraction by the ISO Driving Distraction working group. As part of the working group, we conducted a simulated driving study examining driver performance while engaging the primary driving task with visual-manual or auditory-verbal secondary tasks. Results of eye glance analysis showed that the visual DRTs increased visual load in driving more than the tactile DRT. Subsequently, the visual DRTs marginally increased the total glance time for forward view by 6.27 seconds and significantly increased the detection response time by 135.79 ms than the tactile DRT. As for the secondary tasks, the visual-manual secondary task yielded significantly longer total eye-off-the-road time (effect size = 50.75 ms), as well as DRT response times than the auditory-verbal ones time (effect size = 55.85 ms). This study allowed us to examine the relationships between rated situational awareness, DRT performance, and glance patterns, yielding insights into the relationship between objective task performance measures and subjective ratings.

10 versions available

Eye Tracking Devices to Combat Distracted Driving

Year: 2015

Authors: R Garrett

Distracted driving has become an issue that occurs on a national scale. Particularly, in the state of California, which houses numerous motorists, distracted driving has a higher probability to occur. Regardless of location, distracted driving is becoming a growing and popular topic of discussion in public policy due to the dangers associated with it and the potential deadly effects it can have on the lives of many. For such reasons it is a noteworthy issue to be addressed. Many individuals may be familiar with the concept, to some degree, and the hazards that are involved, however, this epidemic continues to be ever-growing. As efforts have been made to deter the action of distracted driving through legal interventions, such efforts are not producing satisfactory results as statistical findings illustrate that the numbers of citations being issued to the public by law enforcement and traffic collisions are increasing year by year since the passing of the distracted driving laws. Additionally, the current laws only apply to a portion of some forms of distracted driving while other forms of it continue to be legal. This study will enlighten the reader of other forms of distracted driving, the frequency at which it occurs and the devastation it incurs. This study will also raise the question if California’s current method of combating this issue is deemed effective and propose an alternative to more effectively address the issue. While some motorists recognize and respect the dangers associated with distracted driving and do not engage in the activity, too many other individuals do not hold such regard for it and continue in their practices. Regardless, there must be a new approach in addressing this issue using eye tracking technology integrated for automobiles as a tool to ensure that all motorists, regardless of outlying factors, avoid the activity and incorporate responsible driving habits in order to better preserve the lives of all individuals.

1 version available:

Eye-tracking technology in vehicles: application and design

Year: 2015

Authors: V Selimis

This work analyses the eye-tracking technology and, as an outcome, it presents an idea of implementing it, along with other kinds of technology, in vehicles. The main advantage of such an implementation would be to augment safety while driving. The setup and the methodology used for detecting human activity and interaction using the means of the eye-tracking technology are investigated. Research in that area is growing rapidly and its results are used in a variety of cases. The main reasons for that growth are the constant lowering of prices of the special equipment that is necessary, the portability that is available in some cases as well as the easiness of use that make the usage of that technology more user-friendly than it was a few years ago. The whole idea of eye-tracking is to track the movements of the eyes in an effort to determine the direction of the gaze, using sophisticated software and purpose built hardware. This manuscript, makes a brief introduction in the history of eye monitoring presenting the very early scientific approaches used in an effort to better understand the movements of the human while tracking an object or during an activity. Following, there is an overview of the theory and the methodology used to track a specific object. As a result there exists a short presentation of the image processing and the machine learning procedures that are used to accomplish such tasks. Thereafter, we further analyze the specific eye-tracking technologies and techniques that are used nowadays and the characteristics that affect the exact choice of eye-tracking equipment. For the appropriate choice we have to take into account the area of research-interest in which the equipment will be used. In addition, the main categories of eye-tracking applications are presented and we shortlist the latest state of the art eye-tracking commercial systems. Following, we present our first approach, trying to describe an eye-tracking device that could be used in vehicles offering much better safety standards, controlling various parameters, continuously checking the readiness of the driver and alerting him for potential imminent collision incidents. Finally, we describe the existing way of connecting a device, in our case an eye-tracker, can be connected to an automobile’s system.

3 versions available

GazeNav: Gaze-based pedestrian navigation

Year: 2015

Authors: I Giannopoulos,P Kiefer,M Raubal

Pedestrian navigation systems help us make a series of decisions that lead us to a destination. Most current pedestrian navigation systems communicate using map-based turn-by-turn instructions. This interaction mode suffers from ambiguity, its user's ability to match the instruction with the environment, and it requires a redirection of visual attention from the environment to the screen. In this paper we present GazeNav, a novel gaze-based approach for pedestrian navigation. GazeNav communicates the route to take based on the user's gaze at a decision point. We evaluate GazeNav against the map-based turn-by-turn instructions. Based on an experiment conducted in a virtual environment with 32 participants we found a significantly improved user experience of GazeNav, compared to map-based instructions, and showed the effectiveness of GazeNav as well as evidence for better local spatial learning. We provide a complete comparison of navigation efficiency and effectiveness between the two approaches.

7 versions available

Mobile cognition: balancing user support and learning

Year: 2015

Authors: M Raubal

People engage in mobile decision-making on a daily basis. Spatially aware mobile devices have the potential to support users in spatio-temporal decision situations by augmenting their cognitive abilities or compensating for their deficiencies. In many cases though, this technology has a negative impact on people's spatial learning of the environment, such as during wayfinding. In this position paper we argue that mobile cognition must strive for solutions that find the right balance between immediate goals and longer-term objectives such as spatial learning.

2 versions available