Comparison of Visual Sampling Patterns Under Simulated L2 and L0 Systems

• Published in: Proceedings of the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society Annual Meeting 2018-09, Vol.62 (1), p.1826-1826
• Main Authors: Hatfield, Nathan, Yamani, Yusuke, Palmer, Dakota B., Karpinsky, Nicole D., Horrey, William J., Samuel, Siby
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• ISSN: 1541-9312; 1071-1813; 2169-5067
• DOI: 10.1177/1541931218621414

Automated driving systems (ADS) partially or fully perform or assist with primary driving functions. According to SAE J3016 (SAE, 2016), ADS can subsume driving tasks traditionally reserved for humans, ranging from L0 (no automation) to L5 (full automation), creating varying degrees of driver interaction and responsibility. However, the literature on human-automation interaction indicates that human operators may perform at a suboptimal level when interacting with automated support systems (Parasuraman & Riley, 1997), reducing the net benefit that automation can bring while also simultaneously increasing the potential for unforeseen human errors. Yamani and Horrey (in press) proposed a theoretical framework of human-automation interaction building upon a human information-processing model (Wickens, Hollands, Banbury, & Parasuraman, 2013) that accounts for human performance when interacting with varying types and levels of automation (Parasuraman, Sheridan, & Wickens, 2000). Following the model by Yamani and Horrey (in press), we hypothesized that when the ADS is perceived to be reliable, drivers engaging with such systems (e.g. L2) would exhibit eye movements no better or worse than the drivers engaged with manual or L0 driving since the drivers allocate their reserved or spare resources to other driving-irrelevant activities such as mind wandering or task irrelevant thoughts (Yanko & Spalek, 2014). The current driving simulator study compared young drivers’ eye movements across four unique scenarios in either L0 or L2 driving systems. We asked participants to complete a three-phased skill-based training program (RAPT-3; see Unverricht, Samuel, & Yamani for review) proven effective to improve young drivers’ ability to anticipate latent hazards, immediately followed by the evaluation of their eye movements in either L0 or L2 systems using a head-mounted eye tracker and a driving simulator. Participants in the L2 condition were instructed that the system detects and mitigates existing and latent threats on the forward roadway while maintaining appropriate speed and lateral positioning for the duration of the drive. To ensure similarity between both systems, L2 participants were required to position their hands on the steering wheel and feet above the pedal. No hazards materialized in any of the four driving scenarios. Data showed similar breadths of eye movements for the drivers of the L2 and L0 systems both horizontally [M = 36.5 vs. 36.3 pixels; L2 and L0,