Advances in Human Aspects of Transportation

Although technological developments in experimental autonomous vehicles are impressive, industry experts are realizing that if automation in driving is to gain acceptance by drivers and to become a reality in real world driving environment, new generation driving assistance system (NDAS) shaped by human factors is necessary since it will provide transition to self-driving vehicles. The paper consists of five parts. In part one, the balance of demand pull vs. technology push is introduced and part two reports developments in driving assistance technologies. In the third part, transitions between human control and automation are described as high level “design” challenges. In part four, a Bayesian Artificial Intelligence (AI) model is presented that enables the NDAS to perform its functions. An example application based on driving simulator data from distracted driving study is presented to illustrate advanced driving assistance capabilities. Finally, in part five, conclusions are presented on how human factors-guided NDAS design is likely to enhance driver acceptance.

In future, advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS) may be able to adapt to the needs of the driver, thus reducing the risk of information overload in complex traffic situations. One way of achieving this may include the use of predictive algorithms that anticipate the driver’s intention to perform a certain traffic maneuver based on vehicle data, such as acceleration and deceleration parameters. In order to explore whether the predictive quality of such algorithms may be mitigated by individual driver-specific parameters such as driver characteristics (i.e. emotional driving [ED] and uncritical self-awareness [US]) as well as driver state (specifically stress), an empirical test-track study was conducted with N = 40 participants. The results indicate that maximum longitudinal and lateral acceleration vary significantly depending on driver characteristics. Moreover, analyses of the collected data suggest that incorporating psychological aspects into driver models can promote new insights into driving behavior.

In-vehicle information systems (IVIS) aimed at supporting green driving have increased in both number and complexity over the past decade. However, this added information available to the driver raises significant ergonomic concerns for mental workload, distraction and ultimately driving task performance. Adaptive interfaces offer a potential solution to this problem. The Smart driving system evaluated in this study (which provided in-vehicle, real-time feedback to the driver on both green driving and safety related parameters via a Smartphone application) offers a comparatively simple workload algorithm, while offering complexity in its levels of adaptively on the display, with the theoretical aim to limit driver visual interaction and workload with the system during complex driving environments. Experimental results presented in this paper have shown that using the Smart driving system modulates workload towards manageable levels, by allowing an increase in driver workload when under low task demands (motorway and inter-urban driving) but not increasing workload when it is already at moderate levels (urban driving). Thus suggesting that any increase in workload can be integrated within the driving task using the spare attentional resource the driver has available.

The recent Lac-Mégantic disaster highlighted the safety-critical nature of the railway industry. The public inquiry identified both individual and organizational failures as causal factors for the incident; yet, very few studies examine both constructs simultaneously. The authors examined the impact of safety climate and individual differences on self-reported safety performance and safety records. The study examined 306 railway workers employed by a North American Class I Railway (M = 5.8 years of service). Personality traits accounted for significant incremental variance over safety climate in self-report measures of safety compliance (ΔR2 = 0.18), safety participation (ΔR2 = 0.13), safety knowledge (ΔR2 = 0.24), and safety motivation (ΔR2 = 0.15). Based on the findings, employers may want to consider personality factors when selecting training, or identifying interventions for employees within safety critical occupations. Limitations include a relatively small industry specific sample; therefore, the results may not generalize to all transportation employees.

The exchanges between the platform and the trains structure the punctuality of those. Indeed, the positioning of the travelers who expect the train on the platform, their choice of car in the train according to the exit door in their station of arrival, are inter alia elements which condition the dwelling times of trains. In mass transit railway or commuter rail systems, dwelling times are usually long and chaotic, which can lead to tardy trains and a decrease in the system efficiency, especially during peak hours. For more efficient and robust schedules, for an improvement of passengers’ comfort, a train operator must take care of the passenger movements in the train and on the platform in order to improve the design of both trains and platform to optimize pedestrian flows.

Driver performance and the attention the driver pays to the primary task of operating trains safely have been shown to decrease because of driver distraction and inattention. This paper presents the factors associated with driver distraction and inattention within the South African railway environment, current interventions utilized by South African railways and the impact these interventions have on driver distraction. This paper also stresses the need to conduct future research into driver distraction in order to mitigate the contribution of driver distraction and inattention to railway occurrences experienced in South Africa.

Crowded trains can adversely affect the experience of rail passengers and can cause practical issues for train operators. It is thought that some of these issues can be mitigated by providing better information to passengers and encouraging them to make different travel choices as a result. A pilot study was undertaken, in which rail passengers took part in a stated preference survey concerning the provision of information about crowding levels. It was found that some passengers would consider choosing a less crowded train, giving weight to the hypothesis underpinning the research.

In air traffic control, task demand and workload have important implications for the safety and efficiency of air traffic, and remain dominant considerations. Within air traffic control, task demand is dynamic. However, research on demand transitions and associated controller perception and performance is limited. This study used an air traffic control simulation to investigate the effect of task demand transitions, and the direction of those transitions, on workload, fatigue and efficiency performance. A change in task demand appeared to affect both workload and fatigue ratings, although not necessarily performance. In addition, participants’ workload and fatigue ratings in equivalent task demand periods appeared to change depending on the demand period preceding the time of the current ratings. Further research is needed to enhance understanding of demand transition and workload history effects on operator experience and performance, in both air traffic control and other safety-critical domains.

To determine the capabilities and limitations of human operators and automation in separation assurance roles, the second of three Human-in-the-Loop (HITL) part-task studies investigates air traffic controller’s ability to detect and resolve conflicts under varying task sets, traffic densities, and run lengths. Operations remained within a single sector, staffed by a single controller, and explored, among other things, the controller’s conflict resolution performance in conditions with or without their involvement in the conflict detection task. Whereas comparisons of conflict resolution performance between these two conditions are available in a prior publication, this paper explores whether or not other subjective measures display a relationship to that data. Analyses of controller workload and situation awareness measures attempt to quantify their contribution to controllers’ ability to resolve traffic conflicts.

The National Airspace System (NAS) Enterprise Architecture (EA) describes Next Generation Air Transportation System (NextGen) goals, operational changes, planned infrastructure changes, and guidance materials that are referenced by FAA programs throughout the acquisition process. To strengthen the presence of human factors in NAS infrastructure plans and improvements, the FAA Human Factors Research and Engineering Division executed a redesign of the Human System Integration (HSI) Roadmap. This paper will present the methods utilized to redesign the HSI Roadmap, provide an overview of sample human factors integration opportunities, and key lessons learned.

The ICAO requirement for aviation operators to adopt a Safety Management System has led to innovative approaches in order to satisfy the measurement and monitoring of performance. One pilot human factors performance evaluation methodology that has gained support in both civil and military operations is Mission Operations Safety Audits (MOSA). MOSA has evolved from an experimental research program which was initially tested in a single pilot FA/18 Hornet simulator. It was then adapted to multi-crewed flight decks and further tested in a European civil airline and an Indian sub-continent regional airline before being reintroduced to military multi-crewed transport operations. Following the success of the trials, a mature MOSA Program was recently rolled out to all of the transport squadrons from 86Wing, Royal Australian Air Force. These included squadrons operating the C-17 Globemaster III, the KC30A MRTT (Multi-Roll Tanker) and the KA350 King Air. MOSA is a structured pilot self-assessment program that collects data across subject matter expert designed categories of behaviour that are tailored to meet the specific requirements of the operation. Each pilot assesses him/herself, their co-pilot and how they perceive the overall performance of their operation as a crew. The anonymity of the self-reporter is protected and the data is submitted by use of electronic tablet technology where it is analysed to produce a system evaluation report and highlight developing issues. Once base-line measures are established, the effectiveness of interventions can be can be measured by subsequent MOSA evaluations. This paper will discuss the development of the MOSA methodology and give examples of the results that it can provide to users.

Mutual influence of ICAO flight safety main concept components is grounded from the perspective of main factor—“aviation personnel attitude to safe actions and conditions” taking into account influence of human factor on flight safety. This attitude is found with help of building and analysis of estimate usefulness functions for continuums of aircraft flight norms based on air traffic controllers solutions of closed decision taking tasks. Herewith main solution taking dominant that defines air traffic controller attitude to flight level norms violation (tending, indifferent, non-tending to risk) is commonly found with help of “risk premium” criterion that involves only one point of estimate usefulness function. Improved criterion that includes in calculation all characteristic points of usefulness function is proposed. It was found that under these circumstances efficiency of main solution taking dominant determination is increased in 20 %.

Tactile walking surface indicators (TWSIs) are installed on roads to support independent travel for the blind. There are two types of TWSIs, attention patterns and guiding patterns. The attention pattern is usually installed at the crosswalk entrances. The direction of the crossing can be acquired by the row of the projection of the attention pattern through the soles of the shoes. In addition, truncated domes or cones of the attention pattern were arranged in a square grid, parallel or diagonal at 45° to the principal direction of travel. However, the international standard organization (ISO) allows a wide-ranging size. In this research, the direction indicating performance was compared at the same intervals for the five diameters specified by the international standard.

Crossing crosswalks is one of the most dangerous situations for visually impaired persons. Crosswalk entrances are located on the boundary with the roadway and are among the most dangerous areas for visually-impaired persons. Tactile walking surface indicators (TWSIs) are installed on the road to support independent travel for blind and low-vision individuals. We developed an LED block equipped with projections to strengthen the support of the crosswalk entrance. The blind person can sense this block through the soles of the shoes. A low-vision person can find it through the use of residual vision. Blind and visually impaired persons found that the LED block equipped with projections to locate the travel direction effectively supported crossing. The effectiveness of this block is described based on measurements and questionnaire results.

If the same effect is obtained by less driving force in a manually propelled wheelchair, necessary user’s physical and mental capability can be decreased. On the other hand, many external factors not relating with wheelchairs and internal factors related with wheelchairs affect the driving force necessary to propel manual wheelchairs appropriately. In these circumstances, the purpose of our research is to clarify the relation between the tire pressure of the driving wheel and the required driving force in manually propelled wheelchairs. For this purpose, a clinical testing to measure required driving forces in different tire pressures at a manually propelled wheelchair has been carried out. The result of the testing indicated that the required driving forces increased according to decrease of the tire pressure. This objectively revealed that appropriate tire pressure in manually propelled wheelchairs is the one of important factors to reduce driving force.

According to the US Department of Transportation, in 2013 14 % of all traffic fatalities were pedestrians. In Japan, 38.4 % of 2015 traffic fatalities were pedestrians. Studying pedestrian behavior is an important step in preventing pedestrian fatalities on the road. However, to investigate pedestrian behavior, several factors need to be considered. First and foremost, the safety of the participants must be assured. Second, the study environment needs to be controlled to prevent confounding variables and allow for repeated trials. Finally, the costs to develop and perform the study must also be minimized. To address these obstacles, we propose the implementation of a virtual reality (VR)-based simulator for studies of behavior and task performance with full motion. This simulator is composed of a Unity 5 environment, Oculus Rift VR headset, and Kinect or motion capture based position tracking. In this paper, we will discuss the development of the simulator, limitations, and future work.

An intersection is one of the most critical points in the traffic systems that contain numerous factors considered in the design process. Human factors in intersection designs are complex and their characteristics have a wide range of variability in terms of personality and psychology of road users. However, these human variabilities could be estimated and used as human factors on road designs and traffic operations. The locations of traffic signal at the intersections in influences driver’s visibility and reaction relevant to startup loss time on traffic signal timing. When unclear visibility exists, driver’s delayed reaction time will results in greater loss time and a sudden startup that might cause safety concern between pedestrian and vehicles. This study investigated the effect of driver’s reaction time at varying distance between stop line and signal location on intersection efficiency and safety for a near-side traffic signal and far-side traffic signal.

This paper aims to investigate the start-up delay at signalized intersections in Abu Dhabi (AD) city, UAE. The impact of some external factors that may affect the start-up delay in examined including; left turn phasing sequences (split/lead/lag), movement turning (through/left), intersection location (CBD/non-CBD) and day time (peak/off-peak). The paper also addressed the impact of illustrating lead/lag phasing system on the performance of traffic and safety. A significant number of observations were obtained by using automated license plate recognition cameras at 66 different intersection approaches. The results show that the estimated mean value of the start-up delay is 2.201 s with a standard deviation of 1.823 s. In conclusion, the statistical tests show significant difference in start-up delay the have between observed for through, left, at CDB and non-CDB area and between split and lead/lag phasing. However, no significant difference between peak and off-peak periods and between split and lead phasing are recognized. In addition, the lead/lag phasing improved the traffic performance by reducing the total delay at intersections but has a negative impact on the safety.

Traffic congestion is one of the most serious problems in big cities. This paper proposed a simplified design of roundabout to simulate and improve the traffic condition of a real-life roundabout in Somerville, MA. A virtual environment was built by using Unity 3D to simulate the Powder House Square roundabout. This study used the driving simulator in Northeastern University’s Intelligent Human-Machine System (IHMS) Laboratory to conduct the experiment, using a NASA Task Load Index (TLX) to measure the workload experienced by the participants. The experiment results show that the total time spent on simplified sector was 47.2 % less than the original design, and the number of accidents were reduced by 60.9 %. The average frustration level dropped by 79.2 % on the simplified sector according to the NASA TLX survey. Simulation results showed strong evidence that traffic conditions improved a lot by using the simplified design.

The objective of this research was to use the SHRP 2 NDS data to predict whether drivers were engaged in any of three specific groups of distracting tasks or no secondary task at all. The tasks that were examined included: talking or listening on a hand-held phone, texting or dialing on a hand-held phone, and driver interaction with an adjacent passenger. Multiple logistic regression was used to determine the odds of driver engagement in one of the secondary tasks given corresponding driving performance data. The results indicated there were differences in the driving performance measures when the drivers were engaged in a secondary task. However, the results of the MLR tests indicated the subset of this data could not be used to develop prediction models with statistically significant predictive power.

Advancements of in-vehicle technologies and the development of mobile applications that keep a driver connected in a driving environment have caused an increasingly dangerous safety concern. Distracted driving has gained the attention of legislators and governments globally. Countries have constituted bans that partially or fully forbid drivers from using gadgets while driving, especially hindering out-of-the-vehicle communications. This paper introduces Voiceing™, a voice-activated application meant to improve social communications in the car, serving as a safe alternative to distracted driving. Other modalities of interaction such as texting, in-vehicle conversations and outside-of-the-vehicle conversation have been measured and compared with Voiceing™ investigating effects on driver’s performance, cognitive load and user acceptance. Results from this study suggest that Voiceing™ is a safer alternative than in-vehicle interactions with humans. Results also show that natural speech interaction of in-vehicle applications and the inclusion of context awareness help improve driving performance while interacting with a vehicle system.

Tram driving is a complex task requiring high levels of workload, route knowledge, and attention. Metropolitan tram networks typically contain many routes and share roads with other road users. Collision potential is highest at road intersections and areas where the track runs along the road with no segregation and when collisions occur they can cause serious injury and disruption. A study was conducted on an Australian tram network to identify collision risk factors. The approach included focus groups and discussions with 22 drivers, and observations at two high-risk locations. Data were coded thematically using a recently published taxonomy for driver distraction and inattention. The majority of factors fell into the Driver Cursory Attention category, with a large representation also in the Misprioritised and Neglected Attention categories and instances of Diverted Attention were mainly driving-related. Findings are discussed in terms of potential mitigation strategies and their implications for further refinements to driver distraction and inattention taxonomies.

This study maps the effectivity of the demerit point system in order to find possible complementing measures to the demerit point system and improve the existing ones. Our analysis was done on data from point system since 7/2006 till 12/2013 and national road safety and traffic accident statistic since 2006 till 2015. Results show, that decrease in road fatalities and serious injuries is partly caused by socioeconomic development and that Czech demerit point system has some severe weaknesses and inappropriate focus. That is why it fails in preventing young drivers and repeated offenders from (re)offending.

It is estimated that up to 15 % of the population have symptoms of driving phobia. Strong driving related fear affects 1 % of the population, mostly women. From 2012 until 2015 we had 40 clients with driving phobia. For most of them driving related fear manifested as a part of a more complex self-esteem problem, not as an isolated issue. We used various methods concerning the whole contexts of client’s life and the system of client’s relationships. 12 out of the 17 participants of group program and 20 out of the 23 participants of the individual programs experienced a significant decrease of the driving related fear symptoms and started to drive regularly. Based on our experience—driving related fear is rarely an isolated symptom, so it has to be treated as a part of a more complex problem. The complex approach significantly contributes to the efficacy of the therapy.

Car following is a fundamental traffic feature that has been widely studied in literature using vehicles’ speed and acceleration. This study investigates car following from an entirely different perspective, a psychological approach based on the Prospect Theory (PT). PT is a behavioral economic theory that explains human reaction under risk situations. Since car following can be regarded as a risk containing task that addresses the need for balancing safety with travel time reduction, PT is an ideal approach to model car following. Employing PT can provide a spectrum of probabilistic locations of following vehicles in contradiction with traditional methods that define the exact position. This study presents a sensitivity analysis in order to validate the results and calibrate PT’s parameters. The results reveal that PT generates similar probability distributions to the simulation scenarios that proxy the space headway in real situations.

This work describes the evaluation of a prospective situation awareness enhancement system (SAES) that exploits augmented reality through a head up display. The specification of the proposed SAES is based on domain knowledge from the literature. Herein, a method is described that utilizes the benefits of a modular simulator to model the design of a prospective SAES. The situation awareness assessment method used is based on the Situation awareness global assessment technique (SAGAT) and utilizes data obtained from the simulator that replicates the infrastructure of a road network in Cyprus. The simulator mimics the functionality of a prototype SAES using a number of candidate visualization metaphors, that simulate a number of candidate head up display designs. The paper describes the process of assessing the situation awareness of drivers that use a prototype smart SAES, through a series of experiments in a virtual reality CAVE. The effectiveness of the SAES is tested in a between-groups research design.

In terms of road safety, as well demonstrated in previous studies, the combination of concentrated flows in one specific area might induce more critical maneuvers. In this contest, one of the crucial points for road safety are weaving lanes where different flow can perform different maneuver merging and diverging, producing some conflict points. Bearing in mind this facet, this particular elements, have to be designed with a specific geometry, in order to ensure both maneuver, deceleration for exit and acceleration for entrance in the main flow. The main goal of this paper is the analyze the exchange maneuver of vehicles by means of a real time driving simulator, which allows to evaluate the performance of car users when approaching the exchange of lanes under the same boundary conditions. More specifically, the present paper deals with the extension of previously performed research on this type of element. Therefore, same indicators, same analysis technique and virtual reality scenarios were adopted, in order to establish a comparison between two different conditions of approach to the weaving lane: the first with same speed between the main and the secondary flow, the second one, with a significant speed difference between the flows. The analysis of the maneuvers has been addressed at first under a geometrical point of view and then estimating the related risk parameters in line with the same indicators presented in the previous research (deceleration and risk area evaluated as longitudinal ant transversal distance between vehicles). The main results highlight that, under a geometrical point of view, in different speed condition between the two flows, car users tend to reduce the length of the maneuver, performing the weaving earlier and then occupying a reduced length of the lane in comparison at same speed condition. Under the point of view of risk analysis, results are more significant in terms of traffic flow management rather than in terms of lengths of the lanes. In case of flows with different speed, car users tend to use brakes more often, probably because they are calibrating the speed of the vehicle approaching the weaving lane.

Door crashes are common occurrences in motorcycle-car accidents in Taiwan. Since 2013, the two-stage door opening method has been an examination item when obtaining a driver’s license in Taiwan to teach people to avoid these types of accidents. According to the investigative results of this study, half of the car drivers in Taiwan still do not know the two-stage door opening method. Furthermore, observations of driver’s two-stage door opening behavior in this study showed that men habitually use their left hand and women habitually use their right hand to open car doors. The one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) showed that the older the driver, the shorter their first stage car door opening distance is. This means that elderly drivers are more careful about opening their car doors. The correlation analysis showed that the body weight continuous variable has a significant and negative correlation with car door opening distance, and a significant and positive correlation exists between car door opening distance and driver’s field of vision. The results of this study can serve as a reference for future car door opening human factor design.

This paper presents multivariate analyses of data collected from divers at a test track during the Driver Workload Metrics (DWM) project. As noted in a prior publication, the DWM project was a cooperative effort with the National Highway Transportation Safety Administration (NHTSA) and four automotive manufacturers. The DWM project defined workload as the competition in driver resources (perceptual, cognitive, or physical) between the driving task and a concurrent secondary task, occurring over that task’s duration. It was hypothesized that, depending on the type of secondary task performed while driving, measured workload and the correlated quality of driving should either remain the same or decline, but would manifest in degraded measures of lane keeping, longitudinal control, or eye glance behavior. Data for this new analysis was collected from test subjects who drove an instrumented car on a test track while performing various on-board tasks. These data also contain additional responses from several new visual manual task that were originally deemed to be too hazardous for test subjects while driving on a major four lane highway. It was therefore further hypothesized that the new task would demonstrate higher levels of visual-manual workload when compared to less demanding tasks. As in the prior DWM multivariate paper, test subject responses from the kinematic and eye glance behavior from the test track data were first analyzed using Maximum Likelihood Factor Analysis. This well-known statistical method attempts to uncover the underlying unobserved structure within the large set of variables. It is this hidden multi-dimensional structure that must be examined to empirically comprehend the concept of driver workload. As in the DWM on-road analyses, these new analyses found that task-induced workload affected driving performance and was multi-dimensional in nature. Visual-manual tasks exhibited fundamentally different performance profiles than auditory-vocal tasks or just driving. Furthermore, when secondary statistical analyses of the normalized factor scores were done using Multivariate Analysis of Variance (MANOVA) the results found highly statistically significant workload differences in age groups and task type.

We have shown that the driver distraction can be quantitatively estimated from the vestibulo-ocular reflex (VOR) that is a type of involuntary eye movement. However, the optokinetic reflex (OKR) was not considered in the previous models. Here, we developed a new model with both VOR and OKR. Using the new model, we investigated the effect of mental workload and aging on the involuntary eye movement as well as the driving performance. In this study, we evaluate driver distraction of younger group (age 20–59) and older group (age 60 and above) while driving with/without mental workload. Total 12 participants (6 in each group) who drive on a daily basis participated in the experiment to evaluate driver distraction. As expected, we succeed in applying VOR and OKR models to evaluate driver distraction while driving. Based on that, the effects of mental workload and aging on driver distraction were analyzed. The results indicate that the older group shows worse performance, especially under the distracted driving condition.

This study examined three locations for mounting a mobile phone inside a vehicle to minimize distraction while driving. The locations considered were the three most preferred locations based on a survey among 76 young adult drivers. Nineteen right-handed drivers aged 19–25 participated in a series of visual, auditory, and tactile distraction tests while driving using a simulator. Total distraction time, response accuracy, and the effect to driving skill were recorded for each test. At ∝ = 0.10, the mean time that the drivers’ hands were off the steering wheel was found to be different among the locations (P-value = 0.096). Further analyses suggest that the samples taken from the top-left of the steering wheel do not differ (P-value = 0.6614) with the most favorable location, the top-right of the steering wheel. This implies that driving distraction is minimal when the mobile phone is mounted in either of these two locations.

The research presented in this paper characterizes driver perception-reaction times (PRTs) in a controlled field environment at the onset of a yellow-indication transition in high-speed signalized intersection approaches. The study characterized the impact of driver gender, driver age, roadway grade, mean approach speed, platooning scenarios (leading, following, or alone), and time-to-intersection (TTI) on the driver PRT. This characterization is critical for the efficient and safe design of traffic signal clearance timings. The study demonstrates that the driver PRT is higher for female and older drivers (60 + age group) as compared to male and younger drivers. The PRT is larger when vehicles travel along an upgrade section. Driver PRTs are typically higher if they are following a vehicle that runs a yellow light. Furthermore, driver PRTs decrease when they are followed by another vehicle. Finally, driver PRTs increase as the TTI at the onset of the yellow interval increases.

Numbers of ship passengers are increasing and modern cruise ships fit up to 8000 passengers. Nevertheless, technical failures and hazards on passenger ships can never be completely excluded, often requiring a fast and efficient evacuation of the ship in an inclined position. This paper aims at an integrated analysis how physical, mental and emotional stress affect decision-making for escape route signage in terms of decision times. 26 participants processed decision-making tasks with contradicting escape route signage while walking on a treadmill at 0°, 7°, and 14° with and without stressors, i.e. time limit and acoustic background noise. An inverse relationship between mental, emotional, and physical stress and decision times was found, that is, steeper uphill grades and higher stress levels were associated with shorter decision times.

Formal Safety Assessment (FSA) is a structured methodology in maritime safety rule making processes. FSA takes organizational, technical and human-related factors into concern. While the method allows for the use of expert input during the identification of hazards and risk control options, the FSA guidelines give preference to assessment methods grounded in quantitative risk assessment. No specific guidance is given on how expert input should be obtained. This article therefore presents the findings of a pilot study with the objective to introduce the Functional Resonance Analysis Method (FRAM) as a method to enrich FSA studies through structured expert input. Two focus groups (n = 6) were conducted to compare hazards and risk control options identified in one scenario with the help of fault tree analysis and FRAM. The results of the study show that FRAM has the potential to enrich hazard identification as a complementary tool.

Current submarine control rooms show a high degree of technical evolution, although future additions may cognitively overload operators. Additional sensors, capabilities and technology may prove difficult to effectively use for even the most trained operators. To mitigate this, the Command Team Experimental Test-Bed project aims to assess current methods of work, and how they can be improved. Cognitive Work Analysis will be used to assess current interfaces, with results informing new Ecological Interface Designs. It is anticipated that these new interfaces will reduce operator workload. This paper details how completed analyses are directly informing interfaces, ensuring that they meet required needs.

The Command Team Experimental Test-Bed (ComTET) is a body of work examining the functionality of submarine command teams with an emphasis upon future ways of working. 10 teams of 8 participants (80 participants in total) received extensive training at one of the operator stations in the submarine control room simulator (e.g. sonar or periscope operator). The teams then completed 3 different scenarios under higher and lower work demand conditions. The Work Load (WL) and Situation Awareness (SA) of the command team was assessed using a variety of standardized subjective rating scales (e.g. NASA TLX), physiological measures (e.g. ECG), in play cognitive capacity assessments (e.g. duel task paradigm) and SA assessments. The communication(s) between all team members were recorded allowing the use of the Event Analysis of Systemic Teamwork (EAST) method to examine performance. Preliminary results indicate that the WL of operators in a submarine command team varied as a result of scenario type and scenario demand. The initial results are discussed alongside future analysis plans.

Worldwide the popularity of cruise holidays is constantly growing. In the last 10 years the annual passenger capacity has doubled to more than 20 million. With the deployment of modern cruise ships with capacities of up to 8000 persons (passenger and crew) new challenges arise for the international cruise industry with regards to a safe and effective evacuation in case of an emergency. This paper describes project work funded by the German Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) to develop innovative methods and technical solutions for supporting a fast and complete evacuation of all passengers. The focus of this project is on optimizing the workflow and communication of the emergency organization onboard by providing technical support for the crew member’s key functions such as counting and identifying passengers at their assembly stations.

Hybrid electric vehicles (HEVs) can significantly contribute to sustainable road transport, yet driver behavior has a marked effect on actual energy efficiency (i.e., the ultimate sustainability effect). The objective of the present research was to examine ecodriving motivation of HEV drivers. To this end, we recruited 39 HEV drivers with above-average fuel efficiencies (suggesting at least some degree of ecodriving motivation) and collected interview data, questionnaire responses, and fuel efficiency data. Specifically, we assessed factors that motivated drivers to drive energy efficiently as well as factors that led to reduced ecodriving behavior. Ecodriving motivation of HEV drivers was found to be particularly driven by the goals of environmental protection, cost reduction, and gamification aspects. Furthermore, relationships between drivers’ most important ecodriving motivation and the level of ecodriving motivation, the achieved fuel efficiency, the level of total HEV driving experience, as well as typical HEV driving distances were examined.

In automated driving, transitions of control from and to the driver are an important safety issue; studies have shown that drivers are slower to respond to hazards immediately after resuming control. This study explores the use of countdowns to mitigate transition problems before drivers are pushed back into control in a simulated driving task. In order to test the effectiveness of the countdowns, immediately after one of the four countdowns, the driver had to react to a stationary vehicle (TTC 5 s) revealed by a lead vehicle changing lanes. Driver responses were logged and analysed. The results indicate that drivers respond more alike if they have the opportunity cognitively to get back into the loop before they need to respond. However, the signal needs to be perceived by the driver, otherwise it can be missed. Drivers thus need support during the switch to manual control, as a focus on other tasks can cause them to miss signals from the vehicle. If such support cannot come from the vehicle, it needs to come from the infrastructure.

Highly automated driving is on the advance and is linked to various benefits such as increased overall comfort for the driver as well as rising fuel and transport efficiency. Especially within the domain of truck driving in terms of long distance haulage, it seems as if highly automated driving systems could positively enhance the conditions for drivers and transport companies. Literature suggests that the acceptance of new technologies is a major determinant of whether a developing technology is used. This paper describes an approach aimed at assessing truck drivers’ attitudes towards highly automated driving. Furthermore, fleet managers’ opinions regarding the potential and limitations of highly automated driving systems were queried to investigate whether transport companies would invest in this new technology. Data was collected by an online and paper-based questionnaire. The results reflect the major areas of acceptance and doubts towards highly automated driving from the drivers’ as well as the fleet managers’ perspectives. Both groups are found to be the most concerned about legal liability issues and the general safety and reliability of such technology. Comfort and safety seem to have the biggest influence on the acceptance of highly automated driving. Truck drivers were concerned about reduced driving pleasure as well as being redundant. Results show that the majority of truck drivers do not have a clear idea of highly automated systems. In contrast, fleet managers claim to have an idea of the system.

In today’s encounters with vehicles, pedestrians are often dependent on cues in drivers’ behavior such as eye contact, postures, and gestures. With an increased level of automation, and the transfer of control from the driver to the vehicle, the pedestrians cannot rely on such cues anymore. The question is: will there be new communication needs to warrant safe interactions with automated vehicles? This question is addressed by exploring pedestrians’ willingness to cross the street and their emotional state in encounters with a seemingly automated vehicle. The results show that pedestrians’ willingness to cross the street decrease with an inattentive driver. Eye contact with the driver on the other hand leads to calm interaction between vehicle and pedestrian. In conclusion, to sustain perceived safety when eye contact is discarded due to vehicle automation, it could be beneficial to provide pedestrians with the corresponding information in some other way (e.g., by means of an external vehicle interface).

As vehicles become highly automated, their drivers become more passive. A concern is it may take drivers out of the control loop, causing reduced satisfaction and perceived control. The study explores whether or not drivers feel the need to control tactical decisions when operating highly automated vehicles. An experiment involving 17 drivers was carried out in a driving simulator. Each driver tested two different tactical controllers, allowing him/her to give various tactical commands to the vehicle (e.g., overtake, park). The results indicate that the drivers experienced a need to affect tactical decisions of highly automated vehicles. Several of the tactical commands were found useful, especially on rural roads and highways. It also gave them a feeling of being in control of the vehicle, suggesting that command-based driving might be a way to keep drivers in the control loop.

Unlike other autonomous working vehicles such as farm and construction machinery, autonomous cars have at least an occupant, even if the driving operations are automated. Thus, the whole-body vibration problem continues to be a research topic with respect to autonomous vehicles. Several technologies have been developed to decrease whole-body vibration exposure. Most of technologies have focused on the development and improvement of automotive components such as the suspension system, automotive seats and tires. This paper examines the reduction in whole-body vibrations using autonomous functions such as lane-change control. In this paper, a subject experiment with a driving simulator is reported so as to discuss the influence of decreasing the whole-body vibration exposure on ride comfort improvement and low back pain prevention.

This research assessed the appropriateness of the Autonomous Emergency Brake systems design using the Southampton University Driving Simulator. A total of 48 participants drove along a test route simulating testing procedures for Pedestrian Protection Systems at different levels of automation using different design strategies. It was found that whilst improvements to overall road safety was undeniably great regardless of design strategy, drivervehicle interaction patterns were affected in unexpected ways depending upon method of implementation. Contrasting design principles can therefore have varying effects on driver responses meaning that despite significant reductions in accident involvement, safety may not be improving in the way we expect. Overall, the paper concludes that we may be altering normal driver-vehicle interactions in a way that could be detrimental to driver behaviour in emergency situations opening up the debate over whether or not the benefits of automation outweigh potential costs.

While accident data show that human error is the cause of most of the on-road accidents, the move towards assisting or replacing the human driver with an automated system is not a straightforward one. Industries like aerospace, manufacturing, process etc. have a high penetration of automated systems; however, the automotive industry provides new challenges due to different and more dynamic interactions between the actors (driver, vehicle and environment). To reap benefits from the automated systems, drivers have to use the automated systems. Drivers’ trust in automated systems is one of the most important factors influencing drivers’ use of automated systems. Trust on automated systems is a dynamic construct, which can change with experience. While discussing various factors which influence drivers’ trust on automated systems, this paper discusses the changing nature of trust, i.e., calibration of trust and the possible interventions to calibrate trust on automated systems to an appropriate level.

As vehicles become more and more intelligent and more and more technology to drive highly automated becomes affordable, concepts to integrate humans and these highly automated vehicles become an integral part of research and development. More functionality also increases the complexity to interact with such systems. Therefore, interaction concepts to cooperatively drive with a highly automated vehicle should focus on central goals: (1) ensure the safety and performance of the overall system, (2) establish a simple and comprehensible interaction between human and automation, (3) create acceptance for the automation system and interface. A study was conducted over the past three years in the field of highly automated military truck convoys at the Fraunhofer FKIE. In this project, FKIE focused on the formulation of use cases and the ergonomic design and evaluation. This paper presents the findings.

Technological advancements are continuously changing the human life. Like many other developments, autonomous vehicle system is attracting public interest and being widely discussed by all the stakeholders. Recent reports show that in future, autonomous vehicles or self-driving cars will be on roads in developed countries such as in UK and US. In this age of information technology, advancements made in developed countries not only move to the developing countries but also impact the opinions and lives of the people living in these countries. Therefore, there is a need to develop more effective strategies which can help the adaption of upcoming technologies in transport systems like autonomous vehicles. In this respect, user’s perception becomes highly significant as this can help designers by providing them the information about real time issues and human observations. Up till now, no significant work has been carried out on exploring the user’s perception about autonomous vehicles in developing countries like Pakistan. This study aims at capturing the user’s view point about the use of autonomous vehicles which can provide relevant information on perceived benefits and challenges in user’s perspective. An underlying objective is also to compare this perspective with developed countries like US, UK, and Australia etc. Findings of the study will help in assessing user’s perceptions in terms of challenges, the level of awareness and understanding about autonomous vehicles. It will lead to shaping up the strategies to address the needs of users so that more viable and equally acceptable technological interventions can be made.

While automated driving and advanced drivers’ assistant systems (ADAS) become increasingly widespread, the human machine interaction for these technologies gains in importance. In today’s traffic, some vehicles are capable of driving partially, conditionally or highly automated, at least in certain traffic situations, such as driving on developed highways. Nevertheless, these technologically advanced systems are not the only participants in traffic. With the interplay of more or less technologically advanced vehicles and humans on bikes and on foot, complex situations can arise that exceed the capabilities of an automated system and requires human cognition as a part of the solution. Although ADAS and automation solutions take this into account and try to compensate for the resulting effects, encounters with ambiguous situations can emerge. Furthermore, automation systems heavily rely on sensors and are therefore vulnerable to ambient conditions and situations that might limit the performance of the used sensor technology. For this reason, the (human) driver is still required for supervising the situation and often also as a fallback level in the case the technical system reaches or exceeds its performance restrictions. Guiding a vehicle, such as a car with partial or conditional automation, entails a different kind of driver vehicle interaction and cooperation between driver and automation as the one that is needed in the case of manual driving. For analyzing the decision making process of a human-machine-system with such an advanced automation during a typical driving situation like an takeover situation on a highway, a study addressing partially and conditionally/highly automated driving was conducted. The experiment with 30 participants consisted of three rounds with varying conditions in the driving simulator. During and after each round, participants were asked to answer several questions. For this purpose, a questionnaire has been developed to measure the relevant dimensions of the investigated driving situation. These were perceived utility, perceived time consumption, perceived safety, user satisfaction, perceived usability, and perceived dominance (control over the vehicle guidance). The evaluation of the driving experiment shows that the level of automation as well as the volume of traffic have a significant effect on the decision-making behavior and on the individual perception when driving on a highway. This means that during automated driving, humans perceive and judge the driving situation differently. As a consequence, they tend to use the remaining decision authority for other purposes than when driving manually.

Cooperative perception of the traffic environment will enable Highly Automated Driving (HAD) functions to provide timelier and more complex Take-Over Requests (TOR) than it is possible with vehicle-localized perception alone. Furthermore, cooperative perception will extend automated vehicles’ capability of performing tactic and strategic maneuvers independently of any driver intervention (e.g., avoiding of obstacles). In this paper, resulting challenges to the design of the Human-Machine Interface (HMI) are discussed and a prototypical HMI is presented. The prototype is evaluated by experts from the field of cognitive ergonomics in a small-scale simulator study.

This research focuses on the development of a child restraint system installation-aid device (CRSIAD) for the purpose of mitigating child safety seat misuse in terms of installation. A geometric study was performed base on surveying dimensions of currently existing child safety seat products. Material property experiments were conducted in the lab to develop an anisotropic wood material model for CRSIAD in order to virtually evaluate device stress levels. Finite element analysis (FEA) of both the material model and CRSIAD were performed in comparison with lab test data to validate structural performance. The CRSIAD was then fabricated and finalized after multiple design iterations for geometry and components based on in-car testing. User satisfaction survey and professional review by certified CRS installation personnel were completed to ensure the value of CRSIAD as well as provide feedback on future improvements. The CRSIAD was believed to be an important contribution towards the improvement of child safety in vehicles.

It may be observed that supermarket chain companies invest in special buses to deliver customers directly to a given store. The companies expect a tool which allows to design the routes of buses in order to minimize costs (maximize profits). The objective of this paper is to present the created computer experimentation system (simulator) with the designed and implemented algorithms to determine the optimal bus route for customers. The bus route problem was divided into two stages. At the first stage, the three designed heuristic algorithms called Most Occupied, High Gain Neighbor, and Cut the Worst are responsible for selection (choosing) of the location of bus stops. At the second stage, the five algorithms allow to determine a route between previously chosen stops. These algorithms are based on approaches from so-called Artificial Intelligence area: Simulated Annealing (SA), Taboo Search (TS), Genetic Search (GS), and Ant Colony (AC) as well as on the simple ideas like Random Search (RS). In the paper, the results of the investigations made with the created experimentation system are presented, concerning an adjustment of the parameters of any algorithm, and a comparison of the algorithm’s efficiency on both stages.

Asphalt binders are usually modified using several modifiers such as polymers, acid, lime, anti-stripping chemicals, and carbon fibers in order to improve binder properties such as durability, adhesion, cohesion, and performance in service. Among the properties, adhesion is key to understanding moisture damage behavior of asphalt binder. Moisture damage in asphalt is yet an unsolved problem in pavement engineering. In this study, microscopic images of adhesion force in carbon nanotube modified asphalt binders is determined using an Atomic Force Microscope (AFM). Moisture damage predictions are made based the adhesion forces affected by the amount of single-wall and multi-wall carbon nanotubes. It is hoped that this study will be useful for using carbon nanotube and nanoscale testing in creating new and durable pavement materials for sustainable infrastructures.

Leaving children unattended in a car for few moments; especially in hot atmosphere, can cause a catastrophic tragedy to occur. This paper presents HACC system to help in preventing tragic child death caused by hyperthermia using detection and control system inside car. HACC system has been accomplished by developing a phone application and a surveillance system connected together to monitor the temperature and the presence of a child inside the car. The system starts to measure temperature inside car via temperature sensor. At the same time, it checks constantly the presence of child inside car via motion sensor. When system detects the presence of a child and the temperature inside car reaches unsafe limit, it will alert the caregiver via smartphone application and allows him/her at the same time to take an action and open windows remotely. If there is no response from the caregiver, system itself reacts and windows will be opened automatically.

Young and inexperienced drivers are over-involved in traffic violations and car crashes. There is a paucity of research on the use of driving simulators for assessing driving style. This study investigated the relationships between years of licensure and driving style measured with a short simulator-based test. At a motor show, 650 licensed drivers completed a 6.5-min driving style test and responded to a questionnaire about their on-road driving experience. The results showed that participants who had their driving license for a longer period adopted a less risky driving style and drove with slower speeds in the simulator. Furthermore, females and experienced drivers reported more simulator sickness than males and inexperienced drivers, respectively. The present results may be useful in the development of simulator-based driving tests.

Driving task requires cognitive processes to sense traffic environment, understand context and situation, and decide how to control vehicle. This cognitive workload is mainly caused by processing visual information acquired while driving. This visual cognitive workload is one of the key factors for driving safety with visual distraction. To reduce these visual workload and distraction, augmented reality technology is applied to head-up display (AR-HUD). However, AR-HUD can confuse driver by overlaying graphical object onto real traffic object, degrade driver performance, and as a result increase risk of accidence. To confirm whether the AR-HUD is useful enhancing driving safety or not, we conducted experiments on driver’s cognitive response behavior under daytime and nighttime conditions. In this paper, we describe the AR-HUD system we have been developing and experiments and results.

Psychomotor assessment tasks have been shown to be predictive of individual performance in aviation training. Predictive relationships have also been shown between performance in training and cognitive measures such as intelligence, processing speed, and spatial reasoning. The present study seeks to better understand the relationships between basic cognitive measures and a modern psychomotor tracking task. Participants completed a matrix reasoning task, a working memory capacity (WMC) span task, two reaction time tasks and a multiphase psychomotor tracking task. Only processing speed measures were correlated with psychomotor tracking tasks. Results support using psychomotor tracking tasks as a selection tool in addition to aptitude testing.

Identification of different driving fatigue levels is critical for driving fatigue prediction and prevention, which will also promote the research and application of related driving assistance system. Although the driver’s subjective fatigue feeling can be directly obtained by questionnaires, it varies a lot among different drivers and definition of unusual fatigue levels are sometimes arbitrarily determined. In order to get a relatively objective driver fatigue evaluation criterion, this study adopts a novel method which combines subjective fatigue level evaluation method (KSS) with driver face state video recognition technology to assess driver’s fatigue level. Based on the analysis results, a new model was used to obtain the threshold value of driver fatigue levels, and the evaluation criteria of fatigue levels were established based on driver face state video recognition technology. And it is found that this method is more precise than that based on PERCLOS only.

When driving in the tunnel drivers often feel that the visual environment is not comfortable and the ability of speed perception drops. At the same time the enclosed environment of tunnel makes drivers feel nervous. All of these characteristics of driving in the tunnel are the causing factors for the accidents. This study focused on the design pattern of city tunnel side wall and investigated the design of city tunnel side wall in Shanghai city. On the base of color psychology and human factors engineering, the design pattern of city tunnel side wall including design style, color and the spacing of the pattern was analyzed and studied. The fuzzy elevation method was applied to elevate the new design patterns. The comfort and rationality of the new design patterns had been verified and the results provide guidance to the design pattern of city tunnel side wall.

The tunnel entrance section is where the visual environment changes abruptly and influences the driver’s judgment of the traffic situation in front. The lighting design of tunnel entrance sections currently usually takes the same brightness standards at the entrance and the entrance section. It makes drivers may not find the obstacles at a distance from the entrance, which is extremely detrimental to traffic safety. In this paper, a reasonable obstacle-recognition experiment under driving situation is designed to study the influence of visual environment (mainly the lighting environment) on visual adaptability in the entrance section of the tunnels and analyze the relationship between the visual stimulation caused by the sharp change of luminance and drivers’ recognition ability of obstacles. The analysis of the obstacle-recognition experiment results provides basis for further study on improvement of visual environment of tunnel sections, and is of great significance to improving traffic safety of tunnels.

This research investigates how different shoulder widths affect driver behavior and driver’s heart rate, on which the optimized design of bridge-tunnel linkage sections is based. We conduct a simulation driving experiment on an 8-degrees of freedom simulator which creates a high fidelity virtual and motive driving environment. In this study, the max countering steering wheel angle (MCSWA) is chosen to characterize the safety degree of driver’s manipulation while the variability of max heart rate (VMHB) is used to describe driver’s mental and physiological state. After an overall consideration of relations among shoulder width, MCSWA and VMHB, the most suitable shoulder width and the optimized design of bridge-tunnel linkage sections are proposed.

Reversing vehicle incidents is a significant but often overlooked issues in organisations. Utilising three Australian organisations, this study aimed to evaluate the efficacy of reversing aids and a behaviour-change program in reducing reversing-related crashes in fleet settings. Reversing-related incidents increased from Time 1 to Time 2 in the organisation that did not implement a specific strategy to reduce their reversing-related crashes and in the organisation that implemented the reversing aids intervention. However, the increase was only statistically significant in the organisation that utilised the reversing aids technology. In this organisation, the odds of its drivers getting involved in a reversing incident has almost doubled from Time 1 and Time 2. In contrast, the frequency of reversing incidents in the organisation implementing the behaviour-change program has significantly decreased, with less than 50 % chance of its drivers being involved in a reversing incident from Time 1 to Time 2. The implications associated with these results will be discussed.

This paper aims to explore the relationship between the at-fault drivers involved in traffic accidents and their history of traffic violation records as a function of drivers’ behavior. The employed data was integrated from different dataset systems in Abu Dhabi Traffic Police including traffic violations, accident information and drivers’ licenses data systems. About 713,783 drivers involved in the analysis process with total accident number of 690,697 and total violation number of 2,762,011 during five years from 2010 to 2014. The analysis addressed two main parameters; accident rate per drivers and ratio of drivers with accident. Each parameter is investigated in terms of different variables; total number of violations, number of hazard violations, number of violations with penalty points and a cumulative number of traffic penalty points. The regression analysis shows a very strong relationship between the two parameters and the explanatory variables. In conclusion, the results indicated that the driver risk to be involved in future accidents can be predicted from prior driving records for traffic violations.

In this paper two crash tests are studied: the small overlap test introduced by IIHS (Insurance Institute for Highway Safety) and the moving deformable barrier (RMDB) introduced by NHTSA (National Highway Traffic Safety Administration). Several modifications have been made to both barriers in order to obtain better data from the acquisition system and be able to improve in-depth analysis of the crash tests and vehicle structures. Both barriers have been instrumented with load cells systems, and for the validation of the acquisition system two tests were carried out, one with the IIHS small overlap barrier and a second one with the RMDB barrier in an oblique test. These two tests were performed with the same car and following the test procedure specifications. The results obtained were processed, analysed, compared and some conclusions were made.

The objective of this study was to examine the effect of intersection collision warning systems (ICWSs) and traffic calming measure on drivers’ behavior, in response to a potential conflict event at the intersections, which constitute a crucial point with respect of the road safety. The drivers’ behavior was analyzed by means of a multivariate variance analysis (MANOVA) procedure. ICWSs were the auditory speech message and the visual warning. Both ICWSs provided to the driver the direction of the violator vehicle. The traffic calming measure was the dragon teeth. Results show that ICWSs help the drivers’ to detect earlier the violator vehicle and act a safer braking maneuver to avoid the conflict at the intersections. For the traffic calming measure no statistically significant effects were found. However, for this condition, a decrease of about 1.3 km/h of the minimum speed value reached by the driver to avoid the collision was recorded.

The hearing perturbation affecting the elderly called presbycusis is characterized by the degradation of the perception of high tones and impacts the capacity of drivers in localizing warnings and sirens while driving. We present the results of a user study performed to compare the capacity of traditional and car glass loudspeakers in providing directional alarms inside the car. The experiment compares the number of directional errors and subjective perception of alarms. It was performed in lab, in a real stationary car while the participant was engaged in a driving task on a driving simulator inside the car. Both technologies provide directional sounds with difficulties in perceiving sounds from the back mainly due to the anatomy of the ear as well as the wrap-around shape of the seats. Glass panes performed slightly better than traditional loudspeakers with regard to left/right confusion due to the position next to the ear.

In India, increasing urbanisation, modernization, commercialisation, changing demographics, extensively increasing number of personal vehicles in the urban areas of India resulted in congestion on the roads. Cities around the world, at some point of time have faced problems associated with passenger mobility and connecting the city periphery with central part, in urban areas and found few innovative solutions to overcome the problems. Urban Planners, Engineers and Urban Administrator around the world have found Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) System as efficient, cost effective and simple as compare to other Light Rail Transit (LRT) and Metro Rail solution to provide ‘life line’ to city. Cities around the world operate BRTS and got positive results including so many Indian cities. The ultimate aim of this study is to develop an understanding regarding urban public transport issues for persons with disability. To review usability of Bus rapid transport system for persons with disability as commuters. To understand the impact of ‘Mass transit System’ on Sustainable social change.

Public Utility Buses (PUBs)—both provincial and city buses—are highly used mode of transportation in the Philippines. However, people are put in risks due to (1) problems in the transportation system such as intense traffic, inefficient system and overcrowded vehicles, and (2) both buses are imported from neighboring Asian countries, which could imply that those are not fit for Filipino use. The study aimed to conduct an ergonomic assessment and evaluation of Metro Manila buses and create an ideal bus layout with dimensions generated from anthropometric measurements of Filipinos. A passenger satisfaction survey was conducted among commuters to understand their concerns in the current operations and it was found that majority have issues with regard to bus spaces and environment. Another survey was conducted based on the results of the first survey, asking Filipinos on their preferred bus layout—one that would give them an optimal passenger experience.

Models describing human travel patterns are indispensable to plan and operate road, rail and public transportation networks. For most kind of analyses in the field of transportation planning, there is a need for origin-destination (OD) matrices, which specify the travel demands between the origin and destination zones in the network. The preparation of OD matrices is traditionally a time consuming and cumbersome task. The presented system, QZTool, reduces the necessary effort as it is capable of generating OD matrices automatically. These matrices are produced starting from floating phone data (FPD) as raw input. This raw input is processed by a Hadoop-based big data system. A graphical user interface allows for an easy usage and hides the complexity from the operator. For evaluation, we compare a FDP-based OD matrix to an OD matrix created by a traffic demand model. Results show that both matrices agree to a high degree, indicating that FPD-based OD matrices can be used to create new, or to validate or amend existing OD matrices.

Although pilots are often supported by signage, markings and lighting when taxiing on the airport surface, navigation and monitoring remain workload intense tasks even in good weather conditions. Radio communication is near capacity limits on many airports today resulting in waiting times and delay. Apart from well-known safety issues this also constitutes a negative impact on the environment. The European aviation research program SESAR addressed this problem and came up with a solution: A new surface traffic management concept proposes the automated use of Airfield Ground Lighting with individually switched green taxiway centerline lights indicating the path to be followed. This paper presents official validation results indicating that SESAR developed a safer, quicker and greener surface traffic management concept.

Envisioning and conceptualizing the future experience in flight deck present particular challenges. It is constrained by legacy system architecture, platform, and capabilities. Therefore, it typically requires significant investment upfront in terms of resource and time. Also, due to its complex nature, the flight deck systems are rather a combination of different subsystems than an holistic integration of subsystems [1]. A design framework, Purple Sky, is established to consider these challenges. The framework includes a design process based on Human-Centered Design and User Experience (UX) Rapid Prototyping Platform. In this paper, we will introduce the framework using a case study of designing future flight deck concepts for business jet operations.

The aim of this paper is to reflect on the ancient myth of Daedalus and Icarus, which was probably the first record of a flying accident, in order to see what lessons it holds for modern aviation. The paper provides an analytical description of the original text composed by Ovid, one of the canonical poets of the Roman world, two thousand years ago. This examination of Ovid’s version of the myth reveals links to several important concepts in aviation human factors. Moreover, there are interesting divergences between the modern version of the story and that of Ovid. The paper concludes by proposing a new interpretation of the myth, the Daedalus Dilemma, which is relevant to contemporary flight operations.

This paper addresses migration tolerant human machine interfaces for approach controllers considering shifting air traffic control (ATC) approach from distance- via time- and trajectory- to performance-based. It includes a series of learning steps between prototypically implemented display revisions that were evaluated by ten controllers. Nine iterative steps comprised distance marking, merge point appearances, new symbols, and parallel screen border orthogonal route structures for unidirectional aircraft movement on resulting monitoring display. Study participant group G9 worked with all ten display revisions experiencing nine transition steps; group G2 only used revision zero, five, and final display layout. Participants’ ratings on usability, learnability and operational acceptance dropped down for G2 but not for G9 especially when transitioning to last display revision with different step sizes. Thus, introducing new ATC display functionalities in a row of small logical and consecutive instead of very few broad integration steps improves user acceptance.

Currently, Air Traffic Control (ATC) systems are reliable with automation supports, however, the increased traffic density and complex air traffic situations bring new challenges to ATC systems and air-traffic controllers (ATCOs). We conduct an experiment to evaluate the current ATC system and test conflict resolution automation and tactile user interface to be the inputs of the future ATC system. We propose an Electroencephalogram (EEG)-based system to monitor and analyze human factors measurements of ATCOs in ATC systems to apply it in our experiment. The EEG-based tools are used to monitor and record the brain states of ATCOs during the experiment. Real-time EEG-based human factors evaluation of an ATC system allows researchers to analyze the changes of ATCOs’ brain states during the performance of various ATC tasks. Based on the analyses of the objective real time data together with the subjective feedback from ATCOs, we are able to reliably evaluate current ATC systems and refine new concepts of future ATC system.

This paper presents a new design and function allocation philosophy between pilots and automation that seeks to support the human in mitigating innate weaknesses (e.g., memory, vigilance) while enhancing their strengths (e.g., adaptability, resourcefulness). In this new allocation strategy, called Synergistic Allocation of Flight Expertise in the Flight Deck (SAFEdeck), the automation and the human provide complementary support and backup for each other. Automation is designed to be compliant with the practices of Crew Resource Management. The human takes a more active role in the normal operation of the aircraft without adversely increasing workload over the current automation paradigm. This designed involvement encourages the pilot to be engaged and ready to respond to unexpected situations. As such, the human may be less prone to error than the current automation paradigm.

This is the first in a series of papers on the mental process of the En Route Controller. These papers will explore Situational Awareness, Mental Models, Workload, and a variety of related issues in an attempt to both improve the research community’s understanding of the En Route Controller and to enable more productive and applicable future research activities. This paper will describe the learning process and experiences for a typical Developmental trainee.

Evidence from spaceflight and ground-based missions demonstrate that sleep loss and circadian desynchronization occur among astronauts, leading to reduced performance and, increased risk of injuries and accidents. We conducted a comprehensive literature review to determine the optimal sleep environment for lighting, temperature, airflow, humidity, comfort, noise, privacy and security in the sleep environment. We reviewed the design and use of sleep environments in a wide range of cohorts including among aquanauts, expeditioners, pilots, military personnel, and ship operators. We also reviewed sleep quality from every NASA spaceflight mission. We found that the optimal sleep environment is cool, dark, quiet, and is perceived as safe and private. There are wide individual differences in the preferred sleep environment; therefore modifiable sleeping compartments are necessary to ensure all crewmembers are able to select personalized configurations for optimal sleep. We provide recommendations to aid in the design of deep space sleep chambers.

The spread of electric vehicles can be a partial solution for reducing greenhouse gas emissions, which are a major challenge of modern industrial nations. However, the limited ranges and the fragmentary charging infrastructure are currently impediments to adoption. To develop a need-based fast-charging network users’ requirements on preferred charging locations have to be factored in. Therefore, the present study aimed at quantifying users’ preferences regarding the fast-charging infrastructure and identifying possible trade-offs by using conjoint-analysis. Both current and potential battery electric vehicle users were addressed through an online questionnaire (N = 283). It was revealed that the waiting time for an available charging station, the necessary detour and the charging costs are the most important attributes for the selection of charging locations, whereas possible on-site activities to bridge the charging time were less important. While the attributes’ importance was largely independent from trip length, participants’ BEV experience contributed significantly to found variance.

This paper reports on a Swedish large-scale research and demonstration study of wireless charging of electric vehicles. The study is the first of its kind outside North America. The purpose of the 18-month study was to test the technology during real life working conditions using 20 electric vehicles located at eight municipality and company sites in Sweden. The study indicates that the charging behaviour will most likely be different with inductive charging. There are clear benefits of inductive charging that have the potential to increase the attractiveness of electric vehicles, and there are no substantial evidence that perceived safety should hinder a wider adoption of inductive charging. Further, we conclude that the usability of the technology can have a high impact on perceived attractiveness, and should therefore be of focus in future developments of the technology.

New IT functions have greatly increased the amount of in-car information delivered to drivers. Although valuable, that information can distract drivers when delivered during vehicle operation. By inferring driver state from sensor data, prior research has shown that it can accurately identify opportune moments to deliver information. Now that we know when to best deliver information, it raises the question: what information should we deliver at those interruptible moments? To answer this question, we conducted a series of surveys and interviews and compiled a list of representative in-car information items and context factors that affect the importance of these items. By combining and exploring those context factors, we identified driving situations when each of the in-car information items is highly valuable, and verified these situations through a large online survey of drivers. Lastly, we examined what technology is available for detecting these driving situations, and which situations require further advanced technologies for detection. Results from our study offer important insights for understanding the diversity of drivers’ experiences about the value of in-car information and the ability to determine situations in which this information is valuable to drivers. With these results, researchers can then build information delivery systems that can deliver information to drivers both when they are interruptible and when they find the information valuable.

Eco-driving is a promising strategy for reductions in fossil fuel consumption and carbon emissions. Eco-driving is most frequently promoted via in-vehicle feedback. Eco-driving feedback studies demonstrate fuel economy improvements up to 18 %, but results are widely variable—partly due to the wide variation in feedback design. This paper addresses the need for a greater understanding of how variations in eco-driving feedback design are related to its effectiveness. We identified characteristics of feedback with implications for behavior change based on behavioral theory and evaluation of a large sample of in-vehicle eco-driving feedback interfaces. We developed a typology of in-vehicle eco-driving feedback interfaces based on these characteristics. We identified 15 distinct types of in-vehicle eco-driving feedback interfaces. We describe each feedback type and discuss implications for feedback design. Our typology provides a foundation for subsequent research to determine most effective feedback types for particular behaviors, drivers, and driving conditions.

The study focuses on outputs specifics on how to implement education and training of specific groups of drivers in the Czech Republic (problematic drivers and drivers of integrated emergency system). Both groups are among the risk group of drivers. First group of drivers lost their driving license as a result of repeated traffic offences. A group of drivers to practice driving problem is prone to relapse of problem behavior in traffic. Targeted interventions contribute significantly to reducing recidivism risk behavior and increase traffic safety. Methodology for drivers of vehicles of integrated emergency system also includes tools increasing traffic safety. These drivers are under pressure (time etc.). In the process of teaching and training of future rescuers, policemen and firemen not issue driving devoted ample space (only marginally or not at all). Results of this study shows, how can we improve education and training of these groups of drivers.

We describe the development of a set of items intended to measure a broad range of traffic perception and hazard avoidance skills for use in diagnosis of skill level in driver training and testing. The item set involves simulated dynamic traffic scenarios and contains three different task types. Type 1 relates to basic abilities of traffic observation, type 2 additionally requires the anticipation and identification of potential hazards, and type 3 further requires a decision (go/no-go) to act in order to prevent a potential hazard. We introduce the design of a training study with learner drivers in which the item set is currently being trialed. Finally, we give information about the status of assessment, intermediate results and further plans to evaluate the item set towards the development of a hazard perception test for the German system of novice driver preparation.

The component technologies of Advanced Driver Assistive Systems (ADAS) are becoming increasingly automated, with systems capable of operating in concert in multiple driving environments. However, how these systems affect a driver’s ability to safely, efficiently, and comfortably operate a vehicle remains unclear. We investigated the effects of ADAS [specifically Lane Departure Warning (LDW)] on driving performance while participants performed a secondary task (mental math) designed to simulate cognitive effort while driving. The experiment was conducted on a closed-course test track in an instrumented vehicle. Results suggest that cognitive engagement influenced driver control of the vehicle. Effects of cognitive engagement in a secondary task were not mitigated by the presence of LDW. We discuss our results in the framework of a continued need for active input and control from the human operator in vehicles with assistive technologies.

Future applications in ITS and automated driving require high precise digital maps including a lane-specific transportation network. The paper presents a method for estimating lane center lines based on vehicle trajectories from floating-car data. Kernel density estimation was applied for estimating lane center lines. The floating-car dataset is based on measurements on three different road types (urban 3-lane freeway, urban arterial, rural 2-lane freeway) using different low-cost GNSS receivers (GPS data logger and several smartphone GPS positioning apps). As reference, some test runs were conducted with high precise D-GPS measurement equipment. The longitudinal and lateral positioning errors were analyzed within a roadway and trip based distance analysis. The final results show deviations less than 0.14 m in median between measured and estimated lane center lines. This accurate estimation of lane center lines allows a generation of lane-specific transportation networks based on common floating-car data.

Norwegian specialist, NRS AS, had been appointed by the contractor of Busan City, SK Construction Co. Ltd. and Kumho Industrial Co. Ltd., to undertake the design and supply of an Overhead Movable Scaffolding System (MSS) for the construction of the Busan-Yongdo bridge in Korea. The construction began at Pier P4 and end just beginning of the Main bridge at Pier YP1, total of 31 spans. The roadway bridge is a single viaduct, Pre-stressed Composite Truss (PCT) girder bridge. The PCT girder is composed of a PC slab lower deck, a RC slab upper deck and steel diagonals. For the light self-weight and relatively strong bending rigidity, the span length varies from 49.232–80.000 m with the average span weight of 17.0 t/m. There are eleven types of different pier head. The 2232 m long bridge is cast in the MSS. The 175 m MSS is mounted on the piers on each ends, cast the superstructure and moved toward the middle. The scope of the NRS AS work includes the design, steel fabrication, and supply of ancillary equipment for the MSS. This paper presents several design challenges due to site constraints and the bridge structures itself. These challenges include high impact loads on the MSS due to adverse wind load anticipated while working nearby the harbor and heavily traffics in the Busan City with limited clearance, special considerations to ensure efficient installation, bridge concreting and launching of the MSS in the sharp curve.

In order to measure the human response to ship motion, postural stability experiments were performed during an eight-day heavy-weather sea trial in the North Atlantic Ocean. Data were recorded for thirteen participants as they performed a cognitive task without using their hands to maintain balance. The collected data were used to determine what sensory inputs the human participants received from their environment, the control forces and torques their muscles produced to react to those inputs, and the final body motions that were used to maintain balance. These experimental data sets were used to tune the control system of a human postural stability model. Analysis of simulation results indicate that there was a consistent relationship between the accuracy of the model’s motions and the direction of greatest ship angular motions, regardless of which direction the subject was facing. This result is significant because it demonstrates that an inverted pendulum model can be used to represent human motion both in the anterior/posterior direction and the lateral direction.

Safety and productivity are crucial considerations when evaluating the effectiveness management has exhibited in their control of the operations involved with maritime transport and port management. Recent maritime and port management research has been concentrated primarily on the use of state-of-the-art technologies that result in the level of productivity becoming less dependent on the workforce. However, industry experts have consistently recognized and been concerned about challenges that remain in the enhancement of workforce productivity and safety. No readily available guide describing how to conduct activity analysis has existed until now. Hence, this research project involves the investigation and application of “activity analysis” methodologies. Activity analysis denotes the extension of simple work sampling so that it becomes a continuous productivity and safety improvement program. Such a program entails a cyclical process designed to quantify the activities of craft workers to identify barriers to safety and optimal productivity, to implement improvements for reducing or eliminating these barriers.

Camping is a pleasurable yachting activity that enables people to visit beautiful and pristine lagoons, rivers, canals, lakes and marine reserves. The water in these places is often very shallow and there are no landing stages. This calls for a type of vessel suitable for coastal yachting and navigating inland waters. A small yacht can be considered ideal for this purpose. The concept proposed is a small trailerable sailboat for camping, with special performance, from both the naval and ergonomic point of view. This concept introduces the ideas of easy management of the sailing performance, housing activity, beaching and transportation, and an insight into the tactile pleasure of the deck surfaces. This first phase of the research reports a series of critical reflections related to the conscious design of small yachts, taking into account of various aspects: the environmental context, on-board activities, out-board activities and general management of the yacht.

In recent years, a strong attention to the issues of human diversity, social inclusion and equality has developed in the field of yachting. This awareness has led to the creation of sailing boats much more closely-related to Design for Inclusion theories, Universal Design (UD) and Design for All (DfA) in particular. In this paper, we present a final result of a Ph.D. research. The purpose of this study was to define the design guidelines for small sailing boats, based on the principles of DfA. To obtain this result, a comprehensive study of the state of the art was conducted, through the analysis of fifty small sailing boats. This study was carried out in two distinct phases. During the first one, all small sailing boats were filed and the characteristics of all case studies were observed. During the second one, comparative analyses between different boats were conducted. Starting from this analysis, we have drawn up design guidelines based on the principles of DfA.

Users make continuous trade-offs between risk and mobility (travel time) while driving, in order to maximize the utility of their travel, which depends on different variables and it varies according to different individuals. One of the measurable outputs of this process is the speed. An on-road experiment was carried out in order to measure the speed behavior of a sample of 19 drivers on a two-lane low-volume highway. Measurements were repeated over six days in order to test if the familiarity acquired with the road can be responsible for speed changes over time. By making some hypotheses based on previous theories, the reduction of travel times due to the acquired road familiarity can be related to a conscious/subconscious shift to a more significant risk-taking behavior. These trade-offs will be analyzed throughout the paper by considering the differences between drivers and the geometric differences between different road sections.

The Applus IDIADA Passive Safety laboratory has a high accuracy and reliability traction system for performing crash tests. However, the system cannot be used outside the laboratory due to its type of construction. The objective of this project is to design and implement a new, portable, high-power traction system, which enables crash tests to be performed at any location and with new configurations, such as heavy-vehicle crashes, street shows and improved car2car tests. The first phase of this project, which is explained in this paper, consist of the calculations to find a motor with necessary power, the choosing of an automatic transmission system, the design of the pulley installation, anchorages and tensor mechanism. Also, includes the choosing of a suitable steel wire for the traction. The second phase that is still in progress includes the motor’s software development, all the modifications of the mechanical parts, the hardware implementation and the complete system installation. The last phase will consist of a validation test for the whole system and single components.

In recent years, a variety of new assisted driving systems have been introduced to the automobile market. Advanced Driving Assistance System (ADAS) is becoming a more popular feature in car systems today. It is worth noting that ADAS process best in clear weathers where cameras and sensors are able to detect objects in order to warn the driver in time. However, the weather is not always ADAS friendly. Therefore, this study tested intersection assistance influence on driving behavior in foggy weather. A driving simulator experiment was conducted by using an intersection assistance to send warnings to the driver when approaching an intersection. Various type of warning systems such as audio warning, video displays, and hybrid warning (combination of both audio and visual warning) were examined and compared to no warning system. As a result, we were able to conclude if there was a significant difference in the driver’s behavior due to a certain warning type. Compared to no warnings at all, the experiment concluded that a hybrid warning system is the most effective in terms of awareness and speed approaching the intersection followed by audio warnings and then by video displays. For further calculations of our experiment we were able to calculate how much more distance each driver had to stop due to each warning system.

This paper proposes skill metrics that analyzes the gaze fixation pattern of mobile crane operators. This study focuses on the fixation data because they commonly represent visual information processing. First, scenes of crane operation are divided into content-based Area of Interests (AOIs) and the Markov Chains is used to model the gaze transitions between these AOIs. Four metrics were introduced to interpret the model at different expertise levels. Results suggest that experienced operators exhibit lower metrics compared to their novice counterparts, and adapted entropy measures exhibit similar patterns as the original ones in the previous study. Most importantly, the proposed metrics are able to address the following issues, i.e. large and sparse model, as highlighted in the previous study.

Driver distraction is a leading cause of crashes. The introduction of in-vehicle technology in the last decades has added support to the driving task. However, in-vehicle technologies and handheld electronic devices may also be a threat to driver safety due to information overload and distraction. Adaptive in-vehicle information systems may be a solution to this problem. Adaptive systems could aid the driver in obtaining information from the device (by reducing information density) or prevent distraction by not presenting or delaying information when the driver’s workload is high. In this paper, we describe an on-the-road evaluation of a real-time driver workload estimator that makes use of geo-specific information. The results demonstrate the relative validity of our experimental methods and show the potential for using location-based adaptive in-vehicle systems.

High composition of motorcycles in a mixed traffic situation is common in most Asian countries. In Malaysia, there are approximately 11 million registered motorcycles and the fast growing rate of motorcycle ownership has become a critical issue especially in the safety and management of road traffic system. Improper treatment of motorcycles when signalized intersections are designed will result in additional delay and congestion. In this study, the queuing behavior of motorcycles at signalized intersections was segregated into two categories; namely motorcycles outside flow and motorcycles within traffic flow. Motorcycles outside flow are motorcycles that stopped in front of the stop-line of an approach road and motorcycles travelling alongside other vehicles. Motorcycles within flow are the motorcycles that follow behind other vehicles in the traffic flow. In this study, we aimed to examine the behavior of motorcyclists and their influence on delay and level-of-service of signalized intersections in Malaysia.