729 research outputs found
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The Design of Haptic Gas Pedal Feedback to Support Eco-Driving
No full textPrevious literature suggests that haptic gas pedals can assist the driver in search of maximum fuel economy. This study investigated three haptic pedal designs, each with high and low intensities of feedback, in a rapid prototyping, paired comparison design. Twenty drivers took part, experiencing the systems in a high-fidelity driving simulator. Results suggested that drivers were best guided towards an “idealized” (most fuel efficient) gas pedal position by force feedback (where a driver feels a step change in gas pedal force) as opposed to stiffness feedback (where a driver feels a changing gas pedal firmness). In either case, high levels of force/stiffness feedback were preferred. Objective performance measures mirrored the subjective results. Whilst the short-term nature (brief system exposure) of this study led to difficulties in drawing longer-term conclusions, it would appear that force feedback haptics are better suited than stiffness feedback to augment an effective driver interface supporting “green” driving
An Autonomous Intelligent Driving Simulation Tutor for Driver Training and Remediation: A Concept Paper
No full textAn intelligent tutoring model for use in a driving simulation training platform is proposed. Driving simulators by themselves cannot teach and staffing driving simulators with live trainers limits their ability to reach a wide audience. Research has shown that customized feedback, coupled with active practice in a simulator is very effective in changing a driver’s behavior for the better. A driving simulation training program which utilizes an intelligent tutoring system (ITS) can diagnose driver errors, tailor feedback to the student’s specific needs, determine when a student has mastered a specific skill set and can provide remediation as necessary. A brief discussion of basic ITS architecture is provided. An ITS model that has been successful in teaching individual skills in other domains (such as mental rotation) is applied to driving simulator instruction. The various critical components of the ITS, including the domain model, student model and tutoring model, are discussed in detail and a working example provided
Perception of Approaching Motorcycles by Distracted Drivers May Depend on Auxiliary Lighting Treatments: A Field Experiment
No full textA field experiment was conducted in daylight with 32 participants to determine whether left turning drivers’ gap acceptance in front of approaching motorcycles depends on the motorcycle’s forward lighting treatment. Five experimental lighting treatments including a modulated high beam headlamp, or the low beam headlamp plus pairs of low-mounted auxiliary lamps, high-mounted auxiliary lamps, both high- and low-mounted auxiliary lamps, or low-mounted LED lamps were compared to a baseline treatment with only the low beam headlamp illuminated. Participants viewed the approaching traffic stream (including the motorcycle) on an active roadway and indicated when it would be safe (and not safe) to initiate a left turn across the opposing lanes. Participants also shared their attention with a secondary visual distraction task that took their eyes off the forward roadway. Participants did not know that the purpose of the study was to measure their responses to approaching motorcycles. Based on participants’ indications of the last safe moment to turn, the mean temporal safety margin provided to the approaching motorcycle did not differ significantly between any of the experimental lighting treatments and the baseline treatment. However, having either low-mounted auxiliary lamps or modulated high beam lamps on the motorcycle significantly reduced the probability of obtaining a potentially unsafe short safety margin as compared to the baseline lighting treatment. Overall, the results suggest that enhancing the frontal conspicuity of motorcycles with lighting treatments beyond an illuminated low beam headlamp may be an effective countermeasure for daytime crashes involving right-of-way violations
Systematic Analysis of Real-World Driving Behavior Following Focal Brain Lesions
No full textMany patients with circumscribed brain injuries, such as those caused by stroke or focal trauma, return to driving after a period of acute recovery. These persons often have chronic residual cognitive deficits that may impact on driving safety, but little is known about their driving behavior in the real world. Extant studies tend to rely on driving simulators or controlled on-road drives. These methods of observation are not able to capture the complexities of the typical driving environment, and may not accurately represent a driver’s usual behavior on the road. The current study used a video event-activated data recorder (VEADR) system to observe drivers with focal brain lesions in their normal daily driving environment over a three-month period. In the context of primarily safe driving behavior, we were able to document a number of relatively infrequent and hitherto unobserved high risk behaviors and traffic violations. These findings demonstrate the feasibility and value of sampling real-world driving in neurologic patient populations such as those with focal brain lesions, and highlight the critical importance of evaluating unsafe driving behaviors which may occur with insufficient frequency to be captured by relatively brief simulator or controlled on-road evaluations
Effect of Driving Simulation Parameters Related to Ego-Motion on Speed Perception
No full textThe overall effectiveness of driving simulation as a research tool is linked to how accurately modern technology can model reality. The objective of this project was to conduct a driving simulator experiment to examine the perceptual and behavioral effects of various parameters of the simulation deemed relevant from theories of ego motion. Twenty drivers completed speed production tasks (absolute production, fixed-increase production, and ratio production) while driving through a rural road scenario that was experienced under varied conditions of motion, field of view, and optic flow. The study concluded that field of view (FOV) and optic flow simulation parameters were significant to the perception of absolute speed, with high levels of each resulting in more accurate perception of speed and speed change (acceleration/deceleration). The results of this study will allow researchers to consider the relative importance of simulation parameters in designing future behavioral research pertaining to speed perception using driving simulators
Evaluation of Motorcycle Conspicuity in a Car DRL Environment
No full textDaytime Running Lights (DRL) on motorcycles have been shown to counteract the inherently lower sensory conspicuity of these vehicles and to significantly improve their safety. The advantage of the use of DRL exclusively by motorcycles is presently becoming lost by the increasing use of DRLs on cars. The present experiment aimed at evaluating the effects of car DRLs on motorcycle perception in a situation that specifically brought attentional conspicuity to bear. Photographs representing complex urban traffic scenes were displayed to 24 participants who were asked to detect vulnerable road users (motorcyclists, bicyclists, pedestrians) appearing at different locations and distances. Car DRLs noticeably hampered motorcycle perception compared to conditions where car lights were not on, especially when the motorcycle was at a greater distance from the observer and when it was located in the central part of the visual scene. Car DRLs were also detrimental to the perception of bicyclists and pedestrians. These findings suggest that more attention should be paid to motorcyclists and other vulnerable road users when introducing car DRLs. Several means of improving motorcycle conspicuity in car DRL environments are discussed
Subjective Data Regarding Changes in Geometric Field of View During a Speed-Matching Test
No full textOne method to adjust speed perception in a driving simulator is to adjust the rendered, geometric field of view (GFOV); however, little is known regarding users’ sensitivity to changing the GFOV. The current research examined 24 licensed drivers’ subjective experience with changes in GFOV during a speed matching task when examining the relationship between speed estimate and GFOV in a small-footprint driving simulator. Following the completion of the speed-matching task, participants were asked three questions regarding (1) strategy used to match speed: “What strategies did you use to complete the speed matching task?”; (2) awareness of GFOV setting: “Did you notice any changes in the simulation at any time during the experiment?”; and (3) subjective accuracy: “How accurate do you think you were in performing the task on a one to ten scale, one being ‘extremely inaccurate’ and ten being ‘extremely accurate’?” Results indicated participants were not (directly) aware of changes in the GFOV; some misattributed the change in GFOV to a change in the vehicle’s acceleration rate. Furthermore, many participants’ cited strategies that were later categorized as ‘using optic flow’ and, in general, were unsure about their accuracy in the task
Effect of Driving Breaks and 34-hour Recovery Period on Motor Carrier Crash Odds
No full textThis research seeks to contribute to our knowledge of the relationship between truck driver hours of service and motor carrier crash odds. Data were collected from less-than-truckload carriers in 2004-05 and 2010 including the precise hours of service for crash-involved drivers and a random sample of noncrash involved drivers. Time-dependent logistic regression models were formulated to study the probability of a crash after a certain number of hours driving, given survival until that time. In addition to driving time during a trip, the models included presence of 34 hours consecutively off-duty immediately prior to the trip of interest and the use of breaks from driving by the driver. Multi-day driving patterns, developed using cluster analysis, cover the 7 days prior to the day of interest in an attempt to capture the effect of the pattern of driving over many days. Among the findings of this research are: (1) Driving hours 6 through 11 show continuous increases in the crash risk, (2) substantial and consistent benefits for drivers who take breaks compared to drivers who drive without breaks; benefits ranged from 34 to 47 percent reduction in crash odds, depending on the number of breaks taken, (3) drivers who had 34 hours or more off-duty immediately prior to the measurement period had a nearly 43 percent increase in crash odds, and (4) additional investigation shows that drivers have the greatest difficulty immediately after returning from the extended time off; the effect then diminishes with time
Hazard Perception and Distraction in Novice Drivers: Effects of 12 Months Driving Experience
No full textThe high crash risk of novice drivers has been partly attributed to their underdeveloped hazard perception abilities. Novice drivers also have an increased risk of crashes due to distractions. Studies show that novice drivers do not detect risk relevant cues and are more susceptible to distractions when compared to adult drivers. This test track study was conducted to study the effects of 12 months of driving experience on teenagers. Forty-two teenagers and their parents drove through hazard perception scenarios while engaged in secondary tasks. These participants had participated in a similar session 12 months earlier. For the odometer and texting task conditions the novice drivers showed an improvement in hazard perception and a small but insignificant decrease in task suspension after 12 months. For the scenario with the cell phone task none of the novice drivers suspended the task, nor exhibited any sort of hazard perception behavior at 12 months. The results indicate that although hazard perception generally improves with experience under some distracting task conditions this is not the case for cell phone distractions
The Effect of Age and Gender on Visual Search During Lane Changing
No full textThis study examined visual search behavior relative to three regions of interest (ROI) (side mirror, rear view mirror, and blind spot) for self-initiated lane changes in a sample of 108 drivers under actual highway conditions. As has been observed previously, few drivers scan all three of the ROI prior to executing a lane change, with turning around to inspect the blind spot being the lowest frequency behavior. Age, gender and direction (left or right lane change) were found to influence visual search behaviors. For lane changes to the right, blind spot checking occurred less than 32% of the time in females and less than 15% of the time in males. This low level of blind spot checking to the right was consistent across younger and older age groupings. Interestingly, the most notable age discrepancy was in checking the left blind spot. Younger drivers checked their left blind spot 53.3% of the time compared to a rate of 23.9% for drivers in their 60s. Implications of these findings for both driver remediation programs and the increasing availability of blind spot identification systems are considered