1. Inauguration

A historical outline of automotive history shows that vehicle developers have always strived to adapt the automobile to the needs of customers and users. With the ever more extensive possibilities of technology, however, it has become necessary to support this process with scientific methods. Goal of the field of knowledge ergonomics is to provide work equipment and conditions for the properties, skills and wishes of the human being. This discipline thus provides the basic knowledge for a design of the automobile that includes the user. The different areas of ergonomics are defined and explained. The analysis of the driver’s tasks is of fundamental importance, as is the investigation of the information flow between the subsystems involved in the overall traffic system.

The expansion and potentiation of one’s own mobility is an old dream of mankind, as it is also expressed in many legends and fairy tales. Early on, humans used the strange power of the animal to realize this wish. But it was only through the technical revolution that it became possible to develop machines that made this dream come true in unexpected ways. This realization is sold by a significantly increased energy turnover compared to that necessary for immediate living. However, the invention and introduction of the railway was also accompanied by the bundling of individual mobility interests, some of which had already been realised in the organised carriage service before (albeit not to the extent that had at that point become possible). All attempts to individualize the fulfillment of the need for mobility on the basis of existing (steam) technology were without resounding success. Only the invention of the automobile brought the breakthrough. Due to the high energy density of the petroleum derivative petrol or diesel oil, the drive by the rather sophisticated combustion engine has prevailed over the much easier to handle, originally competing, electric motor. The various facets that go hand in hand with this kind of immediate, highly individual control of a machine continue to fascinate users of automobiles to this day. However, the triumph of the automobile over the world is also associated with considerable disadvantages, which today are the subject of intense scientific, economic and political debates. The advantage of the high energy density of fossil fuels and their use in automobiles means that almost one quarter of the total anthrogenic CO₂ input into the atmosphere is caused by individual traffic. Particularly in the conurbations of modern megacities, the pollution caused by exhaust emissions can reach an unbearable level with considerable health consequences. The barely controlled interaction between driver and vehicle, and the freedom experienced in the process, but also fundamental deficits in human perception and reaction capacity cause deaths and injuries worldwide. The number of these is only slightly less than that caused by illness and other accidents. The attractiveness of the automobile for both the realization of economic and private needs, as well as in creating jobs for their production, maintenance and operation, is a very important factor for the economic prosperity of a society. Last but not least, automobile freight traffic, automobile supply and rescue services, and automobile excursion traffic considerably enhance the quality of life so that a life without an automobile - in whatever form - is hardly imaginable.