Human Factors Evaluation of Level 2 And Level 3 Automated Driving Concepts

Human Factors Evaluation of Level 2 And Level 3 Automated Driving Concepts

Chapter 1 Background on Automated Driving Concepts Project Background and Purpose The examination of automation and to what extent various functions should be allocated to either the human or the machine has been a topic of discussion for decades in the field of human factors (Fitts, 1951). Automation can allow for the human to shift from a role of primary responsibility for planning, executing, and monitoring, to one of supervisory control (Sheridan, 1970). In the case of automated driving, depending upon the vehicle’s level of automation, automation can allow for some degree of vehicle control to be shifted from the driver to the vehicle. This shift in control represents the potential for enormous safety benefits. However, this concept is not novel. Automated driving has been discussed in both the scientific and popular literature for decades. General Motors Corporation’s (GM’s) Futurama exhibit at the 1939 New York World’s Fair presented a system for automotive guidance using electrical conductors embedded within the road (O’Toole, 2009, p. 189). However, the driverless car depicted in the World’s Fair exhibit has not come to fruition. Instead, a variety of different automation technologies, at different levels of operation and automation, have become commonplace in the vehicle. In fact, the near future will likely include more advanced automation to assist and supplement the driver. Although the concept of a fully automated driving system as envisioned under the Automated Highway System program (Congress, 1994) has yet to be realized, technological advancements over the past decade have led to the emergence of advanced driver assistance systems and features such as Adaptive Cruise Control (ACC), collision warning, automatic braking, and lane-keeping assist systems. To date, deployed systems and features have largely been designed to support safe operations rather than to relieve the driver of direct vehicle control. Features such as ACC, for example, enable drivers to relinquish partial control over the vehicle in order to increase convenience and safety through the automated management of longitudinal vehicle spacing (i.e., the distance and headway time between a preceding vehicle and the following vehicle is maintained.) Crash avoidance technologies capable of automatically assuming limited control functions under defined situations (i.e., collision-imminent braking, CIB) are also beginning to emerge into the marketplace, as are lanekeeping assist systems that provide drivers with steering torque to help them maintain their position within a lane (i.e., lateral vehicle control). Advancements in driver assistance systems (e.g., ACC and lane-keeping assist) may provide some of the early building blocks for future automated driving systems that assume either partial or full authority from the driver.

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