HCI in Mobility, Transport, and Automotive Systems. Driving Behavior, Urban and Smart Mobility

Driving fatigue detection is core to road safety. Infrared thermography has gained increasing attention due to the chance to non-invasively monitor real-time fatigue-related variations. Here, we present an exploratory study regarding the use of the driver’s hand-skin temperature as a fatigue index. Eleven participants drove along a monotonous circuit on a simulator for 2 h, while their hand-skin temperatures were recorded. The results showed a quadratic trajectory for the hand-skin temperature, with an increase in the first 20 min, followed by a decrease of about 2 ℃, over the rest of the time. The initial increase might be due to the gradual lowering in griping force on the steering wheel, because of growing fatigue. The final decrease might reflect the driver’s attempt to keep an acceptable level of performance while fatigued, increasing his/her griping force. The present study indicates that infrared thermography might represent a complementary method for unbiasedly track the driver’s fatigue levels, without interfering with his/her comfort or task performance, and without compromising safety.

Although there exist many models of distracted driving, identifying a distracted driver is still challenging as distraction might appear differently for different drivers but also within an individual driver in different situations. Here we present a driver state model that focusses on safety-relevant driver-distraction by conceptualizing driving control as influenced by both environmental factors and individual preferences. Also, the model differentiates compensatory control from exploratory control movements to better diagnose driving distraction. We then test several predictions that are derived from this model in a driving-simulator study. In this study participants drove the same road with or without a secondary task while their eye movements and driving performance was recorded. Our results are consistent with previous findings that overall steering control actions increase in the distraction condition but also that exploratory steering movements are apparently more sensitive indicators for distraction than compensatory control actions.

In this study, a driving model that observes others’ behaviors and that makes its decisions based on the estimated characteristics of the other driver in the situation where two lanes merge on a highway was developed. Additionally, drivers’ probabilities of decisions in relation to their primary characteristics was interpreted. We presumed various drivers have different characteristics such as aggression and caution that affect their making decisions. We simulated the merging behaviors of two drivers in a merging lane and in a main lane after the driver in the merging lane had estimated the characteristics of the driver in the main lane as a typical case. The results of the estimation-success case revealed that two drivers changed lanes immediately after selecting and canceling their decisions several times. However, the results of the estimation-failure case revealed that if a standoff between two drivers occurred, it would take longer to change lanes than in the estimation-success case. Furthermore, the lateral swaying of the cars was worse in the estimation-failure case than in the estimation-success case because the two drivers allocated much cognitive resources and time to monitor of the other car. The importance of understanding others and building a model that understands others in traffic is discussed.

The integration of voice interaction in automobiles has become a trend for current automobile development. This study aims to explore the design opportunities of using voice interaction in automobiles. To achieve this goal, we conducted an observational study to observe different behavior during driving. Based on video and voice recording collected through observation, we categorized the different behaviors and different sounds during the driving process. Next, by analyzing the relationships between the sound and the drivers’ behavior, we discussed the design opportunities for involving VUI.

The evaluation of the distraction potential of secondary task activities while driving has traditionally been focused on visual-manual tasks. In previous years, different test protocols have been developed and standardized to evaluate the distraction effects of in-vehicle information systems while driving. However, the assessment of cognitive distraction has not received much attention in this context. In the present paper, a new method, that combines a two-dimensional tracking task (the so called ‘Box Task’) with the Detection Response Task, is proposed. Thus, visual-manual as well as cognitive distraction effects can be assessed. Two evaluation studies are summarized that confirm the ability of this new evaluation method to distinguish between different types and levels of distraction.

There is not yet sufficient knowledge on how people want to be driven in a highly automated vehicle. Currently, trajectory behaviour as one part of the driving style is mostly implemented as a lane-centric position of the vehicle in the lane, but drivers show quite different preferences, especially with oncoming traffic. A driving simulator study was conducted to investigate seemingly natural reactive driving trajectories on rural roads in an oncoming traffic scenario to better understand people’s preferences regarding driving styles. 30 subjects experienced a static and a reactive (based on manual driving) trajectory behaviour on the most common lane widths in Germany: 2.75 m and 3.00 m. There were twelve oncoming traffic scenarios with vehicle variations in type (trucks or cars), quantity (one or two in a row) and position (with or without lateral offset to the road centre) in balanced order. Results show that reactive trajectory behaviour and wider lane widths lead to significantly higher perceived safety. We also identified quantity, type and position of oncoming vehicles as factors that influence perceived safety during automated driving. Trucks and vehicles with lateral offset to the road centre lead to significantly lower perceived safety. We recommend an adaptive driving trajectory, which modifies trajectory behaviour on different lane widths and adjusts its behaviour on type and position of oncoming vehicles. The results of the study help to design an accepted, preferred and trustfully trajectory behaviour for highly automated vehicles.

This paper describes an investigation of evaluation indices for assessing driver conditions when using an automated driving system. We focused on a driver drowsiness in the automated mode. A driving simulator experiment was conducted to identify evaluation indices which were sensitive to the subjective evaluation of the driver’s drowsiness. The following indices were calculated based on the driver’s eye movement data recorded for 60 s before the RtI (Request to Intervene): number of blinks, duration of blinking, PERCLOS (Percent of Eyelid Closure), pupil diameter, number of saccade, amplitude of saccade, and velocity of saccade. We also measured the driver’s driving performance after a transition from the automated driving to the manual driving mode. The results of the driving simulator experiment suggested that PERCLOS was sensitive to the subjective assessment of the reduction of the driver’s alert level. And this index was highly related to the time to initiate driver’s steering operation after the RtI presentation. We have developed a prototype of the driver monitoring system that detects drivers’ eyelid movements. The findings obtained from a test course experiment and a public road experiment indicated the effectivity of the driver monitoring system for evaluating quantitatively the driver’s drowsiness in the automated driving condition. The results of the public road experiment imply that the duration of blinking as well as PERCLOS might be necessary to estimate the delay of the steering response time after the transition to manual driving.

Car drivers constantly have to assess and evaluate conflict situations in traffic. Current technology used in autonomous vehicles to detect dangerous traffic situations is not as safe as decisions made by human drivers. We analyzed the behavior of drivers in conflict situations in a real-life study. We used head mounted eyetracking glasses and a pulse bracelet to collect data on driver’s behavior. We used eyetracking and video data to analyze conflict situations and driver’s gaze in this situations. The collected pulse data was used to determine driving stress. As a result of our work, we derived a classification method to analyze conflict situations in road traffic. We also developed a model of influencing factors of driving behavior in those conflict situations. Furthermore, our real-life study gives an overview of the potential and limits of the use of eyetracking in real traffic situations.

Driving often involves situations where interaction between drivers is required, for instance in situations where two lanes merge. In previous studies, models have been proposed wherein the environmental relationship, such as relative distance between two cars determines the drivers’ driving behavior (Hiramatsu, Jang, Naemoto, Ito, Yamazaki, and Sunda, 2017). However, according to Simulation Theory in the Theory of Mind, the driver may think “If I were you, I would drive in this way,” and so their behavior is determined by referring to this simulation. In this study, this hypothesis was examined in the merging scenario. Results show that a driver would drive according to traffic norms or the driving tendency (e.g., the degree of acceleration/deceleration, or average speed). This suggests that the Simulation Theory proposed in the Theory of Mind is unlikely to be adopted in decision-making process in the merging scenario.

Uncontrollability of automobiles is one of the factors of traffic congestion on an expressway. The incentive to intrinsic motivation is particularly effective in influencing behavior decisions with continuity and low cost. Gamification is a method of providing motivation that introduces game design elements into non-game contexts. In this study, we proposed a method for inducing a driver on an expressway to take a rest using gamification based on the intrinsic motivation. We created a smartphone application for implementing the proposed method, thereby influencing each driver’s behavior on an expressway in real-time. With our application, a driver takes a break at a rest area to complete quests provided by the application and automatically avoids a traffic congestion. The result of an experiment showed that our method induced significantly long rest compared to a conventional congestion presentation. The results of a user study on a real expressway indicated that the application achieved the rest events with 70% possibility in the best scenario.

Although automated driving systems can perform dynamic driving tasks, at its lower levels, human drivers must still take over control of the vehicle whenever a Take Over Request (TOR) is issued. Human factors such as drowsiness may affect driver performance in responding to TOR. Results of research on the effects of different drowsiness levels on driver takeover performance appear inconsistent, for two possible reasons: 1. Some studies triggered TORs after a predefined duration of driving, while others triggered TORs based on a certain level of drowsiness. 2. Differences in drowsiness levels, which may have nonlinear effects on takeover performance, were not adequately considered. To investigate these inconsistencies, this experimental study recruited 40 participants and adopted a repeated-measures design. A total of 1436 available datasets, including a series of takeover performance measures and drowsiness measures, were collected. Analyses based on driving duration as well as drowsiness levels produced the following results: 1. Driving duration had a significant effect on drowsiness level but not on takeover performance. 2. Although mediumly drowsy drivers tended to sacrifice takeover quality for a fast reaction to ensure safety, highly drowsy drivers reacted significantly more slowly to TOR and were not able to maintain a safety margin comparable to that of drivers who were not highly drowsy. These findings have important implications for both researchers who are developing experimental studies to examine the effects of drowsiness on takeover performance and designers who use this information to design driver assistance systems.

The evaluation of people’s mobility is crucial for understanding traffic, traffic security and the effects of traffic planning. In this paper, we present our toolbox for analyzing and evaluating aspects of different mobility modes. Some of these tools support the participation of road users in the analysis. The tools either can be applied to implement analyses for planning purposes or for the evaluation of implemented measures. Our goal is to improve the understanding of mobility in all its facets and ultimately to increase user comfort, safety and the overall user acceptance in urban mobility.

The possibility to move independently outdoor has a huge impact on the quality of life. However, it requires complex skills, difficult to acquire for youth with intellectual disabilities (ID). They need an engaging and varied environment in which they can safely train these skills for all the time they may need. We present an exploratory study that aims to evaluate the usability of virtual reality (immersive headset) as learning tool for youth with ID. We developed a simulator of a pedestrian crossing able to reproduce different environmental conditions (i.e., weather, day-time/night-time, and drivers’ kindness). We tested our simulator with 15 people (9–18 years old) with ID. The tests showed good acceptability and a learning effect was visible after only four consecutive sessions, for a total of sixteen simulated crossings. However, additional studies are required (i) to assess in which measure this effect is imputable to actually learned crossing road skills or to a better control over the tool, (ii) to measure the transfer of the learning from virtual reality to real word conditions.

The transportation decision support system (DSS) is contributing to improving transportation efficiency and reducing costs. It will play an important role in resource scheduling of logistics enterprise. However, the existing literatures pay more attention to the resource scheduling problem of large hubs such as airports, ports and distribution centers, and rarely studies the express delivery route planning. Besides, the traditional way of terminal express delivery is that the courier uses his own intuition and experience to complete the daily express delivery tasks [1], which seriously affects the efficiency of terminal express delivery as the volume of express delivery increases. This paper proposes a decision support system (DSS) for terminal express delivery route planning due to the lack of route planning assistive systems at the terminal express delivery in reality. The results of benchmark test show excellent performance of Clarke & Wright algorithm with an adaptive large neighborhood search algorithm (CW-ALNS) in terms of computational results and time compared with other algorithms. And the real case at Chongqing city shows that the DSS can effectively plan the delivery route for the courier and analyzes the effect of the maximum load limit of the vehicle used by couriers on route planning. The DSS provides a theoretical support on the express delivery enterprise developing a terminal express delivery route planning tool in reality.

For many people around the world, electric wheelchairs remain a practical means of regaining mobility. Unfortunately, some are not able to use power wheelchairs because of difficulties using a standard joystick. People suffering from neuromuscular diseases who experience a loss in muscular strength can find it difficult to use a standard joystick. In this paper, we explore an alternative steering device in the form of a tactile interface on smartphones. We outline some design choices that are meant to alleviate some of the challenges that may rise with respect to users with neuromuscular diseases. We then detail a study that investigates the usability of this interface over two phases. In the first one, 11 users with neuromuscular diseases tried this type of steering in free learning sessions. 4 among them took part in the second phase where we tested their kinematic performance between the use of the tactile steering interface and the joystick. The paper presents data and observations from both phases and tries to detect tendencies and draw hypotheses that can guide further in-depth clinical testing of the tactile steering for wheelchair users suffering from neuromuscular diseases. Overall, the user performance with the tactile interface was close to or the same as their performance with the joystick. In addition, the users reported a lesser level of physical demand of the tactile steering over the joystick and some of them even preferred the former over the latter.

To ensure safe interactions between automated vehicles and non-automated road users in mixed traffic environments, recent studies have focused on external human-machine interfaces (eHMI) as a communication interface of automated vehicles. Most studies focused on the research question which kind of eHMI can support this interaction. However, the fundamental question if an eHMI is useful to support interactions with automated vehicles has been largely neglected. The present study provides a methodological approach to examine potential benefits of eHMIs in supporting other road users during interactions with automated vehicles. In a bicycle simulator study, 20 participants encountered different interaction scenarios with an automated vehicle that either had the maneuver intention to brake or to continue driving. During dynamically evolving situations, we measured their behavior during interactions with and without eHMI. Additionally, the comprehensibility of the eHMI was measured with a special occlusion method. The results revealed that the eHMI led to more effective and efficient behavior of the cyclists when the automated vehicle braked. However, the eHMI provoked safety-critical behavior during three interactions when the vehicle continued driving. The set-up, experimental design, and behavioral and comprehension measurements can be evaluated as useful method to evaluate the benefits of any given eHMI.

Mobility-as-a-Service has been argued to lead to more sustainable mobility, but dissemination has hitherto been slow. Private and public actors have raised concerns as to the actual ‘market’ for MaaS as well as the desired effects. Based on an analysis of an excerpt of available literature, the paper attempts to provide tentative answers to the following questions: Who are the (potential) users of MaaS? And Does MaaS lead to any changes in users’ travel behaviour? Prospective studies propose that some user categories (e.g. urban, digitally mature) are more positive than others. The same studies indicate that the services should not be offered as packages but customised to the individual’s or household’s particular needs for transport and their present travel patterns. Evaluations of pilots reveal a slightly broader user profile. Changes in travel behaviours are reported but also imply that MaaS must offer a higher level of multimodal integration in order for the service to result in noticeable changes in users’ travel behaviours.

Passengers in public transport expect passenger information to be exact, timely and appropriate to their situation. Therefore, future passenger information systems should adapt to the passenger’s context as precisely as possible. In this paper, we present a context model and describe our architecture for an adaptive, multi-device passenger information system. We will also present adaptation scenarios that show the application of our context model.

User studies to evaluate public transport systems are often hard to set up. While field tests provide important insight into real-world usability of public transport systems, they are also complex and expensive. Especially in early development stages of public transport related systems, field tests are not appropriate. However, usability of public transport systems is often depending on “real-life” context factors that are hard to reproduce in lab-based user studies. We have developed a mockup of a tram or train compartment that can be flexibly used to create a public transport experience in user studies. In this paper we will describe our experiences and recurring challenges with user studies in public transport, the design and set-up of our mockup, as well as give an insight into its applications in studies we conducted and lessons we learned.

Virtual environments are best suited for developing new information concepts for public transport. The paper deals with this possibility and examines immersion and presence for the two end devices CAVE and HMD. As an example a virtual system with dynamic and interactive elements is examined. The paper shows the relevant guidelines that a virtual environment has to fulfill in order to perform a meaningful test. For a realistic virtual environment, the travel chain and the individual elements in stations were examined in advance. Thus, a virtual model was created which contained real elements such as sound, avatars, information points, trains and ticket machines. The test persons were thus able to fully immerse themselves in the station.

The automotive industry is rapidly evolving into automated vehicles by integrating cutting-edge technologies. This paper focuses on shared autonomous vehicles that are currently highly feasible in terms of commercialization and proposes a proper UX design that improves the factors that hinder the formation of trust in the user’s shared autonomous vehicles experience. The research method is largely divided into three processes. The first is to review the literature to address the importance of trust-building in the user’s autonomous vehicle experience and to derive sub-factors to evaluate it. The second is an empirical study, in which the participants are given an indirect experience of watching shared autonomous vehicles service video. This study has academic implications in that it has found that the formation of a user’s trust is an important factor for a user to accept new technology and showed that the factors that form trust in autonomous vehicles must be identified from various angles. When people think of fully autonomous vehicles, they are still hesitant and not completely comfortable. This is a critical point of how important it is to gain user trust in developing and simulating autonomous vehicles. In this respect, this study has academic implications in that it has found that the formation of a user’s trust is an important factor for a user to accept new technology and showed that the factors that form trust in autonomous vehicles must be identified from various angles.

While it is well-known that the implementation of new technologies requires appropriate technical capabilities, research has for a long time almost neglected the behavioural capabilities of organisation’s employees to adopt innovative technologies. Employees have to trust new technologies and thus, to be willing to become vulnerable when they adopting it as they have to cope with something they are not familiar with. This paper highlights the challenge for local authorities to cope with employees’ unwillingness to become vulnerable when it comes to implementing new technologies in local authorities. Based on semi-structured interviews that have been conducted under the umbrella of the European project SUITS, we were able to identify two indicators for the unwillingness of employees to adopt new technologies - attribution of negative motives and incongruence of values. Furthermore, we show best practise examples how to overcome the negative consequences of the unwillingness to become vulnerable and to be able to implement new technologies successfully in the long-run. Our practical implications in the end are derived by the experiences when introducing new technologies in the partner cities of the SUITS project.

The implementation of digital manufacturing laboratories today in Brazil has become very common in universities, federal institutes and schools. The so-called FabLab’s, Maker Spaces, Hacker Spaces, or any environment in which technology is considered an issue and where the experience is applied, can serve a variety of fields. However, due to a diversity of economic and social problems, sometimes it is impossible for students and teachers to attend or even visit universities or those spaces. The purpose of this paper is to show the benefits and realities of a mobile digital manufacturing laboratory that takes along experiences and solutions to communities, schools and events where technology is not yet reached. It is believed that children, teachers, parents or anyone who has contact with the lab and the real manufacturing possibilities may open their minds and realize that anything may be feasible and constructed to enhance education, life quality and open job opportunities. The intention of the research is also to identify, describe and exemplify the results of the mobile digital fabrication lab in different communities, schools and economic realities. Each place that the lab visits has different attributes and characteristics conducted by people that compose the place. The relevance of overpassing university boundaries and carrying out projects in other scenarios, provides knowledge and experience not only to students involved but also to the community.

With the increased need to pursue the climate protection goals much more intensively efforts in many countries are directed towards a perceptible change in the mobility behavior of citizens. The main priority here is to reduce the private car ownership significantly making transport as a whole more environmentally friendly. A great variety of mobility providers are entering the market and complete the network around public transport with a wide range of services such as car sharing, bike sharing, e-scooter sharing, ride hailing, ride pooling, car rental, taxi, on demand shuttle or bus services, booked and paid via electronic platforms and smartphone apps. The comprehensive approach to combine these different mobility services into bundled subscription packages with special pricing schemes is one of the most important features of the MaaS concept.

First of all, the article considers the definition and general concept of MaaS. Afterwards, a step by step conceptual approach for designing mobility flat rates and subscription packages to support multimodal transport behavior will be presented and its possible effects will be discussed.

Adaptive passenger information for an enhanced mobility experience may be the next step towards a smart public transport. In our research project, we have developed a multi-device evaluation approach for adaptive passenger information systems of mobile public displays. An adaptive passenger information system needs to be aware of the passenger’s context. In order to fulfill this requirement, we use the passenger’s personal devices like smartphones or smart watches as context sources. In this paper, we describe our approach of a multi-device passenger information system evaluation focusing on privacy aspects. We present three different methods of pseudonyms that were used to visually link the personal information on passenger’s private devices with the displayed information on the public display. In addition, we report on our evaluation results from a user study evaluating the acceptance and the intelligibility of the used visual pseudonyms.

The user experience is a main determinant of the user satisfaction of car-sharing services. This research aims at investigating the users and their experience of using shared cars through interview and questionnaire survey. 14 influencing factors are extracted from literature research and user research. The depth interviews are deployed with Decision-Making Trial and Evaluation Laboratory (DEMATEL) questionnaires to evaluate the influencing directions and the degrees of the interactions among the 14 influencing factors of user experience in car sharing service. The findings show that three factors including “vehicle efficiency”, “supporting service facilities” and “pricing model”, are the three key factors influencing the satisfaction degree of the using experience. “Vehicle condition and performance”, “complete supporting service facilities” and “vehicle service safety” have greater impact on other influencing factors. “Value identity”, “brand and visual presentation” and “fun and novelty” are mainly affected by other factors. Based on the influence relationship and experience level of each factor, 14 factors are summarized into three levels: availability, easy-using and enjoyment. A user satisfaction optimization model of shared car travel service is proposed, aiming at providing a feasible way to enhance the user experience of car sharing service.

The Smart City is a multifaceted objective aiming at increasing viability of the city for its inhabitants. Mobility in the city is an important dimension of the Smart City for humans and goods, which can either move without assistance or may need special assistance. The objective of this paper is to investigate the role of assistive systems for the mobility of humans and goods in order to take into account special needs. We discuss and classify different situations for assistance of humans and goods either by means of technology or humans (and technology) and present different assistive system behaviors already used or to be implemented in the future.