Application of haptic signals for driver to car communication during autonomous driving

Numerous data sets revealed that there are diverse expectations regarding the use of highly or fully automated driving. Hereinafter, for “fully automated driving” the term “autonomous driving” will be used. For example, a survey published by Ernst & Young [5] stated that people expect higher efficiency, more safety, a better traffic flow and more time for doing something else while driving. Especially the latter, “having more time for doing something else” indicates a change in the general understanding of “how car driving has to be” or the way it should be once autonomous driving is available. Until recently research focused mainly on the active role of the driver with regard to driving and to vehicle control in general, etc. Nowadays, however, there is a new component in automotive research, pointing towards a more passive role of the driver in which s/he still wants to use a car without focusing all one’s attention on driving. Instead, the current mindset favors using a vehicle simply for getting from A to B. A “driver” meanwhile (who does not actually do much driving anymore) can perform secondary tasks.