Human Factors in Transportation

AHFE International

Accelerating Open Access Science in Human Factors Engineering and Human-Centered Computing

Human Factors in Transportation

book-cover

Editors: Gesa Praetorius, Charlott Sellberg, Riccardo Patriarca

Topics: Transportation Engineering

Publication Date: 2023

ISBN: 978-1-958651-71-1

DOI: 10.54941/ahfe1003785

Articles

Investigating the Influence of Perceived Anthropomorphism of Vehicles on Pedestrians’ Crossing Decisions in a Test Track Study

People tend to anthropomorphize, i.e., perceive the fronts of vehicles in a face-like manner and attribute personality traits to them. This study investigates the influence of perceived vehicle appearance, in terms of perceived anthropomorphism of vehicles, on pedestrians’ crossing decisions. Therefore, a test track study with 20 participants and two vehicle types was conducted. No relationship between the perceived anthropomorphism of the vehicles and pedestrians’ decisions when crossing the road in front of the vehicles was found. However, the results show that the anthropomorphic description and the non-anthropomorphic description have opposite valences in case of both vehicles. A lack of influence of perceived anthropomorphism of vehicles on pedestrians’ crossing decisions in this study could be due to compensation mechanisms between anthropomorphic and non-anthropomorphic positive and negative attributions to the vehicles. The study concludes with a discussion of both approaches used for operationalizing vehicle appearance and implications for further research.

Nina Theobald, Philip Joisten, Felix Friedrich, Bettina Abendroth

Conference Proceedings

Detection of Unconscious Movements with RGB-D Camera for Objective Ride Comfort Evaluation

The previous studies reported a high correlation between the frequencies of the unconscious movements and participants' subjective ratings. Then, we have tried to develop other techniques that facilitate the digitization of participants' movements. For example, the method using body pressure distribution measurement system, and flex sensors have been reported. As these were instrument contact-constrained methods, this paper developed a measurement system that automatically extracts and classifies unconscious movements in a non-contact and non-constraint manner. In the accuracy evaluation experiment, the participants were asked to drive a driving simulator for 60 minutes and were captured with the developed system and a conventional video camera. As a result, the accuracy was insufficient, and there were two error types. The first error (false positive) was a case in which the program falsely detected the occurrence of a motion even though no unconscious movement occurred. The second one (false negative) was the opposite error, where the result incorrectly indicates the absence of movements when the movement was happening. By applying the proposed countermeasures to reduce these errors, the recognition accuracy of unconscious movements can be improved and applied to the objective evaluation of riding comfort.

Junya Tatsuno, Yushi Otsuka, Setsuo Maeda

Conference Proceedings

Development of an Adaptable Seating Buck for Ergonomic Vehicle Evaluation in a VR Environment

Status quo: For the real and ergonomic validation of vehicle concepts, seating bucks and vehicle mock-ups are used in industry and research. The adaptability of these mock-ups with regard to the vehicle dimensions standardized in SAE J1100 or in the GCIE exchange list has proven to be very complicated in the past, so that seating bucks that can only be adapted to a very limited extent are still generally used in industrial applications today. The validation of the extents represented in the seating bucks usually takes place in an environment that can be experienced to a limited extent.Problem: The time required for the development and manufacturing of the seating buck is to be regarded as critical, since the development activities of the various disciplines continue on a steady basis. Due to the resulting time lag between the time of the definition of the seating buck display scope and the current development status, it cannot always be ensured that current data is tested in the seating buck. In addition, the limited representation of design-critical environmental scenarios (e.g. urban environment) leads to limited evaluation results.Method of Resolution: The objective is to provide a adaptable seating buck for vehicle evaluation, in which all tactilely and haptically perceivable features are represented in a realistic position and orientation and, at the same time, the realistic visual and acoustic perception of the vehicle and its environment is ensured. Since a variety of seating positions of different vehicle types and degrees of automation should be representable, the physical human-vehicle interfaces (e.g. steering wheel, seat and pedals) are interchangeable. The visual and acoustic perception of the vehicle or the environment is performed in a VR environment and is not the subject of this paper.The development of the seating buck for ergonomic vehicle evaluation in VR environment is discussed in detail, highlighting development, design and manufacturing aspects. A grid model is used as a basis, in which the position of the standardized heel point (AHP), that of the standardized hip point (SgRP) and that of the steering wheel center are described relative to each other and with standardized dimensions (cp. SAE J1100). In a next step, ranges could be identified for these dimensions that can be used to represent a wide field of vehicles available on the market. The development of adaptable modules for the pedals, the seat as well as the steering wheel is discussed and it is also explained how the drive for the adjustability of these modules was controlled, implemented and integrated into an overall design. The CAD model was digitally validated using the RAMSIS® digital human model (cp. Human Solutions). Finally, it is explained how exactly the vehicle dimensions can be controlled in the real model.

Alexander Mueller, Fabian Schmiel, Simon Buck, Temidayo Amosu

Conference Proceedings

Construction of evaluation index system for vehicle occupant's riding posture comfort

In order to improve the comfort of the occupant's riding posture on the car seat, research was conducted from the perspective of human body posture in two sitting and semi-recumbent situations. Firstly, key angle indicators that affect the occupant's riding posture comfort were selected, and an evaluation index system of the vehicle occupant's posture comfort was constructed. Secondly, according to the index system, a subjective user experience survey of 30 expert users was completed. Finally, the weight coefficient of the evaluation index system was determined by the G1 method, combining the evaluation results. This index system can provide a reference and basis for the evaluation of the comfort of the car seat posture, and can be used to inform the intelligent adaptability of the vehicle layout and seat posture in the future.

Huimin Hu, Jianglan Chen, Wei Li, Ling Luo, Daoqi Su, Yinxia Li, Wenlei Niu, Anna Hao

Conference Proceedings

Effect of Secondary Tasks in Touchscreen In-Vehicle Information System Operation on Driving Distraction

With the rapid development of the automotive industry and the advancement of mobile communication technology, In-Vehicle Information System shifted from traditional button to touchscreen. However, while enriching the drivers' driving experience, there are also certain potential driving distractions when operating touchscreen IVIS during the driving process. This study takes the operation of touchscreen IVIS by the driver as the secondary driving task, and designs a simulated driving experiment to explore the im-pact of the operation of secondary tasks on driving safety from driving performance, secondary task performance and EEG. Research has shown that low load operation tasks can easily cause drivers to be distracted, while high load operation tasks can affect drivers' judgment ability and occupy too much action resources. And when the difficulty level increases, drivers develop a compensation mechanism to complete secondary tasks through self-regulation.

Wuweidan Duolikun, Binjue Wang, Xiaonan Yang, Hongwei Niu, Xuanzhu Wan, Qing Xue, Yan Zhao

Conference Proceedings

Perspectives of Commuters on Electric Vehicles, Charging Infrastructure, and Communication Measures

The German government's climate protection targets from 2021 require changes in the transport sector. By 2030, the transport sector must reduce its emissions from 164 to 95 million metric tons of CO2 [1]. One of the measures to save CO2 emissions is to replace vehicles with combustion engines with those powered by electricity from renewable energy sources.In Germany, the diffusion of battery electric vehicles (BEVs) has increased from 4500 in 2012 to 840,645 in 2022 [2]. However, the widespread use must further be promoted. Commuters are a major BEV user group. They account for about one fifth of German passenger traffic [3]. Although they represent an important group, only few studies address their perception of electric vehicles and charging infrastructure [4]. This paper presents an interview study addressing commuters and their perspective on BEVs, charging infrastructure. Commuters were asked about their views on BEV use, including the reasons that led them to use BEVs, their expectations of BEVs, charging infrastructure and charging management, as well as the need for communication measures and change to motivate more commuters to switch to BEVs. The study was conducted in 2022. The interview guideline consists of 33 questions. It focuses on usage motives and barriers, requirements concerning BEV design, charging costs, and expectations for the expansion of charging infrastructure. Participants were given a questionnaire on demographic data, their occupation and commuting behavior (means of transport, distance to workplace, type of roads used). The interviewees are commuters who already own an electric vehicle (n=20) or plan to purchase a BEV (n=11). Seven are female, 24 are male. The average age is 42 with a span of 24 to 64 years. Data were recorded as audio files, transcribed, and analyzed qualitatively as well as quantitatively using content analysis methods.Results show that commuters prefer charging at home. Workplace charging is the second most important option. Yet, they see the need for an area-wide expansion of the charging infrastructure in the public space and the increase of DC charging options. Here, they are calling for more and better accessible public charging stations. To ensure that they use the service, charging fees must become more transparent - billing must be simple and clear. Digital support needs to be updated and standardized. Commuters perceive the provision of information on BEVs and charging infrastructure as sufficient, yet reporting should be more transparent and neutral. This involves the planned expansion of the charging infrastructure, sufficiency of power supply, and technical aspects of BEVs such as their real world range.The broad implementation of electromobility requires concepts that take the needs of the target group into account (similar to [5]). In further studies, employers should be interviewed about BEVs regarding the obstacles of setting up charging infrastructure. This way, appropriate measures can be taken to increase the willingness to offer and use workplace charging. Transparent and complete communication between all stakeholders must be ensured throughout the transformation process to promote the diffusion of this innovation.[1] Bundesregierung (2021). https://www.bundesregierung.de/breg-de/themen/klimaschutz/climate-change-act-2021-1936846[2] Statista (2022). https://de.statista.com/statistik/daten/studie/265995/umfrage/anzahl-der-elektroautos-in-deutschland/[3] Agora (2022). https://www.agora-verkehrswende.de/veroeffentlichungen/pendlerverkehr-in-deutschland/[4] Wolbertus, R., Jansen, S., Kroesen, M. (2020). Stakeholders’ perspectives on future electric vehicle charging infrastructure developments. Future. Vol 123. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.futures.2020.102610[5] Niebuhr, L., Jakobs, E.-M. (2020). Stakeholder Profiles of Commercial Electric Vehicle Users. Similarities and Differences between Taxi Companies and Care Services. Spatial Research and Planning, Vol. 78, 5. https://doi.org/10.2478/rara-2020-0030

Lorena Niebuhr, Eva-Maria Jakobs

Conference Proceedings

Interaction Design of Closed Dark Cabin Driving Interface based on Situation Awareness

Purpose: In a closed dark cabin driving environment, the lack of external environmental information leads to a low level of driver situation awareness. At the same time, the design quality of the vehicle terminal interface will directly affect the driver's situation awareness level during driving. Therefore, this study explores the design of the vehicle terminal interface in a closed dark cabin driving environment as an example, to improve the driver's perception of the environmental information outside the cabin and the ease of use of the interface. Methods: Through analyzing the constraints and special features of the dark cabin driving environment and the driver's information perception needs during driving, we explore the key factors affecting the driver's situation awareness and the pain points of interface design in the dark cabin driving environment, and on this basis, we develop a design method for the dark cabin environment driving interface to improve the driver's situation awareness by combining relevant design principles. The design method is based on user performance measurement, SART scale and other methods to extract indicators such as completion time, difference from standard time and situation awareness level of drivers to explore the effectiveness of the design method. Conclusion: Through the experimental findings, it can be proved that the design method will effectively enhance the driver's situation awareness, give full play to the vehicle performance, reduce the driver's workload during driving, and improve the system performance.

Xiaodong Gong, Yang Yingxue, Yushun Liu, Qian Gong

Conference Proceedings

The effect of colored light in the vehicle interior on the thermal comfort and thermal responses of vehicle occupants

Light and colors have an impact on the mood of car drivers through their emotional change. This result was shown in our last year AHFE-Publication (2022) “Enhanced driver’s experience through emotion sensitive lighting interaction”. The result is that light and color can change the driver’s emotions to the positive and negative. This effect can have lots of further automotive application fields, e. g. the change of the drivers thermal sensation. In case of the e-mobility, warming light and color (red end of the visible spectrum) can support the heating system to get thermal comfort to the driver and will reduce energy for heating and for that increase the electric range. The thermal comfort is very important factor for driving comfort. This work aims to investigate the subjective thermal perception and physiological responses of vehicle occupants through the influence of thermal and visual stimuli in the vehicle interior. To achieve the described goal, a methodological approach was developed. The steps of the methodological approach and the research structure are shown below:•Definition of the research questions; the main question is whether colored light can influence the subjective perception of warmth and the physiology of vehicle occupants through static and dynamic lighting•Obtaining a literature review on the main topics: “thermal comfort”, “lighting in the vehicle interior” and “the influence of colored light on thermal sensation”•Derivation of requirements for the vehicle test setup•Realization of the experimental setup•Conducting a subject study•Evaluation of the data.Study design: A 4 x 2 factorial within subject design is used to determine the influence of “colored light” and “temperature” on thermal, visual, and overall comfort. Of the four scenarios of the predictor variable colored light, three are static and one is dynamic. The static light colors are blue, white, and orange and the dynamic light scenario is a video with candlelight or a video with a winter landscape depending on the temperature level. The two selected temperature levels are 24.5 °C and 26.0 °C. These were regulated via a self-built climate chamber and checked via several sensors. Since the study was conducted in summer, the temperatures were selected to be within (24.5 °C) and outside the comfortable temperature range for the vehicle interior, based on the recommendation of the German automobile association ADAC. Outcome Variables: After experiencing each colored light in combination with temperature, participants answered questions about their thermal, visual, and overall comfort of the vehicle interior environment. To check whether the colored light influences the physiology of participants, heart rate and skin temperature were continuously recorded via a wristband. Sample: Twelve valid subjects (six females, six males) participated in the vehicle lighting study, recruited without financial incentives through the University of Stuttgart and Fraunhofer IAO departments. Procedure: The combination of the predictor variables "colored light" and “temperature” resulted in eight sessions, which were all experienced by the subjects and randomized across the sessions. At the beginning of the study, the subjects received initial instructions and put on the wristband so that the recording of physiological data could start. They then entered the vehicle, and a 13-minute acclimation period began, which served to acclimate the subject to the temperature and to achieve a similar level of activity among the participants. The vehicle was then illuminated with the first color (blue or orange) for 6.5 minutes, and participants were asked to answer questions about the first session after the first four minutes. After that, the light color changed to white for one minute, and then the vehicle was illuminated with the next color. After the first four sessions at the first temperature level, there was a 15-minute break, after which the next four sessions began at the second temperature level. In total, the study lasted approximately 2 hours per participant. Analysis: Is performed using parametric and nonparametric tests. In addition, the covariates age, gender, and BMI of the subject and the temperature difference of the actual to the target temperature were examined for the influence on the outcome variables. The results show that colored light affects thermal perception under different temperature levels. The indoor environment under the orange light was perceived as warmer than under the blue light. In addition, participants found the blue light more comfortable than the orange light in warm environments and they preferred a lower temperature with orange light compared to the blue light or the dynamic video of a winter landscape in warm environments. The use of colored light could therefore lead to energy saving in the e-mobility. The full paper and presentation will go into more detail about the methodology and the results.

Sabina Bähr, Fabian Edel

Conference Proceedings

Predictive Validity of the Vehicle Seat Comfort Score by Using the Seat Design and Testing Factors

Vehicle seat comfort engineering is one of the most important things among vari-ous seat engineering fields. Many seat engineers want to make it easier to predict and improve comfort. There were several attempts, but it was not easy to predict due to the highly subjective nature of comfort. In this study, we tried to confirm the feasibility of developing a tool that can easily predict comfort by utilizing the main design factors of seats and vehicle packages. As Consumer’s various expe-riences while using cars were defined as comfort factors and models to predict them were developed. A total of 5 cars of mid-sized sedans with various charac-teristics were selected as the subject of this study. As objective measures, dimen-sions of the seats with SAE J826 OSCAR, calculated data from force-deflection curves of the seat, and occupants package layout dimensions were selected. SLD measurement, SgRP calculation, and 3D scans were conducted for all study ve-hicle models. In order to obtain consumer evaluation results, a comfort clinic was conducted for 33 Americans (28 males and 5 females). A model for predicting overall comfort was developed by analyzing both quantitatively and qualitatively measured and evaluated data. The adjusted R2 value of the developed prediction model was 0.8047, showing very high explanatory power.

Kim Sunwoong

Conference Proceedings

Autonomous shuttle or conventional cab? Investigating users’ decision to share a ride

Private motorized transport poses a major challenge for traffic and the environment. Shared mobility might increase traffic efficiency and reduce traffic-related environmental pollution. The use of autonomous shuttles is conceivable for the future, opening further opportunities, e.g., road safety. From the user's point of view, not having their own vehicle can mean a loss of flexibility. Skepticism may arise, e.g., regarding the reliability of a service provider. Research is needed on the general willingness to share a ride, considering individual motivations for or against shared mobility. Regarding autonomous shuttles, there are gaps in knowledge about the extent to which the lack of a human driver on board affects trust and the willingness to use them compared to conventional driving services.MethodWe designed a two-step empirical research approach. Our aims were to investigate 1.perceptions of autonomous shuttles compared to conventional cabs in terms of safety and reliability,2.trust towards and intention to use autonomous shuttles,3.decisions to use an autonomous shuttle or a conventional cab, considering human factors (e.g., personality traits, mobility behavior).In a preliminary qualitative study, guided interviews (language: German) were conducted to explore reasons behind people' s choice to share a ride and to identify factors that influence their well-being and trust. To evaluate how differences in the level of automation might affect attitudes, conventional cabs and autonomous shuttles (both on-demand mobility services) were compared. In sum, 17 adults of different age groups (19 to 58 years) participated. The interviews were transcribed verbatim and analyzed using content analysis. Results were operationalized and measured in an online questionnaire survey (N=182). ResultsIn general, passengers' feeling of safety is relevant for their decision to share a ride. However, safety is perceived and evaluated differently regarding different means of transport. In a conventional cab, safety perception is enhanced by a human driver, especially in emergencies. In the case of autonomous shuttles, road safety is the key in achieving a high sense of security, since it is assumed that the autonomous shuttle, unlike cab drivers, always adheres to the applicable traffic regulations. Participants would prefer a ride in the autonomous shuttle to a cab ride and indicate a high willingness to use it for people other than themselves. For children or care-dependent people, special booking options, e.g., on board-monitoring, are requested. The general willingness to share a ride seems to depend on the perceived importance of car ownership.OutlookOur results contribute to a deeper understanding of attitudes towards novel mobility services. Results clarify which factors determine the general willingness to use shared mobility and which are specific to new and autonomous driving services. They also strengthen the knowledge of predictors for technology trust and acceptance in this context. The practical relevance of our study lies in the possibility to derive design and action recommendations for the user-centred development of autonomous shuttles considering individual needs and demands of different target groups.

Hannah Biermann, Gian Luca Liehner, Ralf Philipsen, Martina Ziefle

Conference Proceedings

Who Will Drive Automated Vehicles? - Usability Context Analysis and Design Guidelines for Future Control Centers for Automated Vehicle Traffic

In order to create framework conditions for the introduction of highly or fully automated vehicles in Germany, the Federal Ministry of Transport and Digital Infrastructure has drafted a bill to amend the Road Traffic Act and the Compulsory Insurance Act. A key aspect of the bill on automated driving is the introduction of Technical Supervision. This serves as a fallback level and must be able to intervene from the Control Center if necessary. Since future Control Centers for automated vehicles will differ significantly from existing Control Centers in other contexts, an appropriate distribution of tasks between the Technical Supervision and the automated vehicle on the one hand, and between the personnel within the Control Center on the other hand, must first be found. Therefore, this paper describes the requirements for framework conditions, work contents and processes, the necessary tools and the qualification of the employees of future Control Centers, which were identified on the basis of an analysis of the context of use. Since an analysis of existing systems and the participation of actual Technical Supervisors is not possible due to not yet existing Control Centers for highly or fully automated vehicles, the analysis is based on a systematic literature review and an expert workshop.

Sarah Schwindt, Adrian Heller, Nina Theobald, Bettina Abendroth

Conference Proceedings

Enhancing User Acceptance of Shared Automated Vehicles – An exploratory Study on Mobility Behavior and Attitude towards Automated Mobility Concepts

Shared automated vehicles (SAVs) own the potential to contribute significantly to a reduction in urban traffic by reducing the share of motorized private transport in the modal split. Due to high traffic loads in cities, rapid introduction of SAVs is highly desirable. In order to enable the introduction of new, automated mobility concepts successfully, understanding mobility behavior as well as user needs is crucial. As part of the research project SAVeNoW, funded by the German Federal Ministry for Digital and Transport, this work aims to identify relevant patterns in mobility behavior as well as attitudes towards automated mobility concepts. Therefore, we conducted an online survey in the city of Ingolstadt.The promising effects of shared automated mobility concepts only hold true, if they are able to attract users from the motorized private transport sector. Otherwise, there is a high risk of pure cannibalization of public transportation by SAVs. It is therefore of utmost importance to precisely understand user needs and requirements long before the implementation of shared mobility services. This paper offers insights from an online-based survey on the aforementioned issues. Previous studies already investigated users' perspectives on shared automated mobility. The presented sample however stands out due to having been obtained in the city of Ingolstadt, which has an unusual high private car density. Results from this sample are crucial to understanding the desires of a car centric community regarding automated mobility concepts.An online survey was chosen as method to obtain relevant mobility data. The online link to the survey was distributed via e-mail and reached students and employees from the Technical University Ingolstadt of Applied Sciences as well as a group of senior citizens who gave their consent to participate in scientific studies. Furthermore, posters and flyers promoting the survey’s QR code were placed in the city’s public parking garages as well as in the public transport busses in order to generate a diverse sample of participants. The online-questionnaire took roughly 20 minutes to complete and included four sections: demographic data, mobility demographic data, mobility behavior and attitude towards autonomous driving and future mobility concepts.N = 85 participants completed the questionnaire. The assumption of strong car ownership was confirmed. Notable reasons for car ownership were higher flexibility as well as shorter trip duration. This falls in line with previous research. Stated reasons against the use of public transport like high prices and low availability could be overcome with SAVs. Generally, participants are strongly willing to use automated shuttle busses. Readiness to share rides with others is most firmly influenced by familiarity with fellow riders, followed by sharing the same employer or neighborhood i.e. destination. Besides ticket price, general availability and route network, interior related features like privacy, cleanliness and availability of seats as well as WiFi and itinerary information can be considered as important factors towards the decision to use such mobility concepts. Results indicate that SAVs are a welcome mobility alternative, but may need to be reconsidered in their current design.

Fabian Schlichtherle, Wolfram Remlinger

Conference Proceedings

I Want to Ride My Bicycle? - User Requirements and Usage Scenarios for Electric Cargo Bikes

The use of electric cargo bikes (ECBs) can be a solution for emission-free and sustaina-ble mobility as well as for relieving inner cities, which often suffer from air pollution, noise, congestion, and parking pressure caused by conventional cars. However, the successful integration of ECBs into urban transportation systems is highly dependent on their acceptance and adoption by users. Therefore, this paper uses an empirical survey (questionnaire study, N=180) to explore how different trip purposes and levels of prior experience influence the willingness to use ECBs. It could be shown that the perceived importance of individual ECB attributes, such as quality, comfort, or handling, is largely independent of previous experience and trip purposes. In terms of willingness to use, trips to bring children do not differ from shopping trips. Both find higher approval than the use of ECB on the way to work. The influence of previous experience can be seen in the fact that those who have used cargo bikes before show a higher general willingness to use them, but also a very low willingness to use them in adverse weather conditions. For personal attitudes, such as environmental awareness, only weak effects were found regarding the willingness to use.

Ralf Philipsen, Hannah Biermann, Simon Himmel, Martina Ziefle

Conference Proceedings

Can haptic signals aid to solve ADAS limitations?

The number of Advanced Driving Assistance Systems (ADAS) in the vehicle has continuously increased during the last years. There is, however, a lack of understanding in how this information can be better conveyed to the driver, in order to optimize its help. Drivers may become overexposed to visual information when driving, or acoustic alerts can be masked in noised environments. Moreover, if the user is not paying attention to the road or using headphones, visual and acoustic alerts would not be as efficient or desirable, but the key is the multimodal communication.Therefore, a study has been carried to evaluate the effectiveness of a new haptic and acoustic ADAS system comparing it to conventional visual ADAS. This new system is called Vibe system, that consists of a seat with haptic actuators and acoustic signals. In order to carry out the experiment, 20 subjects in ‘standard’ sleeping conditions and 10 in ‘sleep deprived’ conditions participated in the experiment. The experimentations were taken place in the dynamic driving simulator developed by the IBV’s Human Autonomous Vehicle (HAV). Users were immersed in driving tasks, in day and night conditions, with CARLA SW in the HAV simulator while several visual, auditive and haptic alerts appeared to simulate different ADAS of some of the most common vehicle brands. In every hazardous situation during the driving tasks, the following alerts were triggered: drowsiness, blind spot alert, overspeed alert and lane change. The driving behavior, the mental status and the user opinion of each user was gathered using telemetry, physiological signals and validated questionnaires such as TAM or SUS.In a general overview, there are barely no statistically significant difference in the main parameters between the haptic and the conventional visual ADAS evaluated, so the effect of each signal is similar in controlled conditions. Currently, the acceptance of traditional ADAS is slightly higher but haptic ADAS acceptance improves along sessions, even being a new technology.

Víctor De Nalda Tárrega, Andrés Soler, Jose Laparra, Jose Solaz, Adrian Morales Casas

Conference Proceedings

A research approach for studying the a priori acceptance of autonomous passenger transportation towards sustainable urban mobility planning

In this paper we investigated the a priori acceptance and the economic sustainability of passenger transportation with autonomous mini vans from the city center to the suburban area, in the context of the AVINT Program. In AVINT framework a pilot operation of autonomous mini vas has been performed in the Trikala city as a continuation of the pilot application of autonomous buses within the framework of the European project CityMobil2 in 2016. The acceptance analysis sample consists of 720 answered questionnaires and its distribution has been done by age, gender, vehicle ownership, education level, occupation, purpose of travel and means of travel. The research aimed to i) investigate the factors that will influence the choice of an autonomous vehicle's service over the existing service with conventional vehicles, ii) estimate the number of passengers who will ultimately choose the autonomous vehicle service over the conventional one and iii) examine a future deployment of the autonomous fleet service as well as new business opportunities for the transport operators and service providers. The study was a stated preference research, based on commuting interviews and wide online citizen’s survey. Information collected using structured questionnaires following a well-defined questionnaires’ design methodology. This method enabled the investigation of commuter choices presenting different hypothetical choice scenarios, covering a range of different system states and values of its attributes. In this way, the required variability was ensured for estimating the parameters of a suitable model, which satisfactorily describes the respondents' preferences. In order to record the respondents' characteristics and preferences, questionnaires included three distinct parts: i) scenarios of transport mean selection, ii) demographic characteristics, and iii) transportation profile. Particular attention was paid to determining eligibility and sample size, thus different questionnaires were designed, in terms mainly of the autonomous vehicles’ route. These have been distributed to two different important in terms of mobility, locations of the city. The collected data were first analyzed with the help of descriptive statistics tools, while appropriate econometric models (Multinomial logit models – MNL) are then used, through which the selection factors of autonomous vehicles were identified and the number of their potential users has been estimated. Results shown that from the 22% of the participants who answered positively to the question "Are you interested in the new service?", the selection of transportation mean between public transportation with conventional mini bus and autonomous vehicle is highly relevant to cost, waiting time and travel time. An increase in these variables leads to a decrease in the utility and selection possibility of the mean. The constant for autonomous vehicle choice is negative and statistically significant. Results have been correlated to the a posteriori analysis conducted within the framework of the Citymobil2 project and several similarities noticed. This led to the optimized specification of the service with the autonomous fleet based on user preferences and commuting attitudes.Furthermore, taking into account the existing demand for commuting by public transport in the city of Trikala at the selected scenarios, routes and locations as well as the demand that will be assumed by the new service, it emerged that users are willing to pay €0.30 extra for the autonomous fleet service to reduce the waiting time, an amount corresponding to 25% of the existing ticket price and €0.26 extra to their ticket to reduce the travel time.Finally, an economic sustainability analysis of the service with autonomous vehicles has been performed based on the assumption that the project has a 12-year horizon (2019-2031). As regards financial autonomy, it was examined whether the revenues from the operation of the autonomous vehicles can offset the costs of operation and maintenance and it emerged that the operation of them is financially sustainable.

Anna Antonakopoulou, Eleni Vlahogianni, Giannis Karaseitanidis, Eleni Patatouka, Evangelia Portouli, Angelos Amditis, Odysseas Raptis, Evangelia Latsa

Conference Proceedings

Development of Scenario-Based Approach Aided by Key PSFs to Design of New Interface of Autonomous Vehicles Monitoring System: A Case Study

In the present paper, we develop an improved scenario-based design approach to design a new interface of the monitoring system for autonomous vehicles that adapts to the autonomous driving levels 4 to 5 condition. Although the future society with high-level autonomous vehicles such as those having levels 4 to 5 is clearly anticipated, there still remains much uncertainty relating to how autonomous vehicles are implemented in terms of platform technology (e.g., AI, image processing, etc.), social norms (e.g., laws, safety responsibility, etc.), context of use (e.g., human role, allocated tasks, etc.) and so forth. For example, it is unclear the followings: What can be done automatically by the platform technologies of autonomous vehicles (i.e., uncertainty in technological advancement), what kind of socio-technical support can be given when human operators have to intervene in a critical incident that cannot be managed automatically (i.e., uncertainty in tasks required to human), etc. Caused by these uncertainties, it is of great difficulty to design user-centered interface of autonomous vehicle control/monitoring systems since the users/operators’ tasks and needs are not well defined.The paper proposes a design approach adapting to the above-mentioned background issues. The most part of the approach is based on scenario-based design (Rosson and Carroll 2002). This is referred to as the technique to elicit effective specifications of interface based on scenarios in which how a human uses and interacts with a specific system are vividly described to capture the essence of interaction and physical design. In the approach, requirements/rough draft of basic specifications are elicited by interpreting desirable interaction/behavior described in the scenarios Although the scenario-based design is applicable for a new product design, creating successful scenario having appropriate level of details and in which key behaviors/tasks and their contexts are covered requires rich knowledge about interaction design as well as expertise/experiences in practice. In order to support the difficulty in creating scenarios, we propose a series of processes where scenarios are created and refined iteratively supported by a list of PSFs (performance shaping factors) directly connected with the system’s context of use. The list of PSFs are, in our processes, used as guidelines/heuristics not only to obtain insight for creating narrative description of a human, but also to keep consistency of envisioned usage episodes in scenarios (refined iteratively) by maintaining an orientation to identical key context factors. A case study was performed with a big manufacturing company in Japan where our design approach was applied to design a new interface of autonomous vehicles monitoring system. The potential target users of the system are operators working at a general operation center of public transportation in high-level autonomous vehicles condition. In the beginning of the design phase, the first version of scenario where sequences of possible and desirable operators’ behaviors were stressed was created by referring PSFs in driving contexts. By interpreting potential needs and decomposing them into requirements logically, the first version of design solution was developed. Along with both of iterative revisions of scenarios and subsequent design improvements, interface design was refined. Based on the results of this application and feedbacks from our collaborating company, we discuss feasibility of our approach as well as implications for development of systems for autonomous vehicle monitoring.

Hirotaka Aoki, Nozomi Kobayashi, Mizuki Fuke, Tomonori Yasui

Conference Proceedings

Situational Awareness in the Context of Automated Driving - Adapting the Situational Awareness Global Assessment Technique

Automated vehicles offer the opportunity to disengage from the driving task, though in SAE Level 3 vehicles a Take-Over Request (TOR) can occur at any time. In this case, the driver must quickly assess the situation and completely take over the driving task. In order for the driver to be able to do this safely, the rapid development of sufficient situational awareness is of particular importance. To investigate how this can be supported, it is necessary to find a sufficiently accurate method for measuring situational awareness in the context of automated driving. The Situation Awareness Global Assessment Technique (SAGAT) provides an objective, direct method for measuring all three levels of situation awareness. However, in previous applications of the method, the relevance of the information measured by the SAGAT method was not taken into account. The aim of this paper is therefore to first identify suitable SAGAT questions by means of a literature review and then to assess the relevance of the information asked for the safe takeover of vehicle control by an online questionnaire (n = 78). Subsequently, a study in a driving simulator (n = 32) will test whether a weighted evaluation of the SAGAT questions according to the classification by the online questionnaire can further optimize the method for measuring situation awareness.

Sarah Schwindt, Paula Von Graevenitz, Bettina Abendroth

Conference Proceedings

Exploring use cases and user perception of a proactive voice assistant in automated vehicles

Future development of in-vehicle voice assistants (VA) aims at more adaptive and interactive interaction with users. One focus area is the development of proactive behaviour of VA. With the changing role from driver to passenger in increasingly automated vehicles, new opportunities for interactions with assistants in the car arise. However, potential use cases for proactive VA in automated vehicles have not been investigated so far. We present our approach to brainstorm and prioritize use cases for a proactive VA based on a specific persona and user journey, involving experts and users. Secondly, we present user’s assessment and reflections on the prioritized use cases after experiencing them in a driving simulator study. The findings show that especially office-work related use cases that enable an efficient use of the ride time or offers contributing to user’s well-being receive high acceptance from users. The analysis of the qualitative feedback highlights that for a proactive VA adaptivity to the user’s behaviour and non-intrusive formulation of suggestions and questions is important. The study provides a starting point to investigate proactive behaviour of in-vehicle VA in more detail. The proposed approach for use case derivation can also be applied to other personas or different application domains of VA.

Lesley-Ann Mathis, Kathrin Werner, Harald Widlroither

Conference Proceedings

Exploring Proactivity in Human-Vehicle Interaction: Insights for proactive interaction Design

Artificial Intelligence (AI) is rapidly evolving, and systems are becoming more proficient in collaborating with humans. These systems not only respond to users' requests but can also anticipate their potential needs and meet them. However, the understanding of proactivity in the context of human-vehicle interaction is limited, and existing research is based on common sense rather than a clear concept of proactivity. In this study, we explore the theme and concept of proactivity in human-vehicle interaction through a literature review and case study. We also provide insights about the content that needs to be designed for proactive interaction. The study's findings will help researchers and designers better comprehend proactive interaction in the new relationships between humans and vehicles and support interaction design in this field.

Li Jinglu, Xiaohua Sun

Conference Proceedings

Comprehensive System of Post-Accident Care in the Czech Republic - A Qualitative Study

Background and objectiveEvery road traffic accident has the potential to be a traumatic event and may result in significant disruption to the psychological integrity of the people involved. The impact of a road traffic accident can adversely affect the quality of mental and physical health and subsequently interfere with many areas of one's social life.This qualitative study aims to map post-accident psychological care in the Czech Republic in its entirety, from short-term psychological first aid (PPP) at the scene of a traffic accident to long-term psychotherapeutic care. The focus is on identifying weaknesses and strengths in the system of care provided, with an emphasis on describing the connection between each level of care. MethodsData collection was based on semi-structured interviews and focus groups. The survey sample consisted of experts whose practice involves providing some form of psychological care to road accident participants. The study involved 41 interviews with 39 experts and 3 focus groups with a total of 18 experts. The audio and audiovisual recordings were then transcribed and analysed using a thematic analysis method. Results Based on interviews with experts, a shift forward in the overall concern for the psychological state of those involved in traffic accidents was observed in comparison to the past. The Integrated Rescue System plays a significant role in the field of post-accident care. In particular, systematic educational activities are carried out within these units, which increase the motivation and quality of the psychological care provided by the responding emergency units. The establishment of intervention teams within hospital facilities was identified as an essential step in terms of short-term psychological care for physically injured individuals.The limitations of the current approach to short-term care are seen by many experts in the fact that intervention at the scene of a traffic accident is mainly provided to victims of serious traffic accidents who show obvious signs of traumatisation. The assessment of the situation with regard to contacting a crisis interventionist is based on objective criteria of the severity of the traffic accident, which are most often assessed by the police patrol or the intervention commander. In this respect, there is therefore a risk that psychological care will not be available, for example, to those involved in less serious accidents, but who are at a comparable risk of psychological traumatisation. The individuals who caused the accident are also a neglected group. A significant drawback of the current post-accident care system is the availability of follow-up care. The centres are unevenly spread over the country, and in the case of psychological care covered by health insurance companies, clients face long waiting times or financial difficulties in the case of private care. The experts interviewed all concurred that some potential clients are not captured by the aftercare system also because there is a general lack of public education about mental health, the potential impact of a traumatic event, and the options for aftercare. In some regions, post-accident care is tied to a specific individual who promotes or provides it. With their departure from the centre, there is then an insufficient continuation of activities. ConclusionsThe qualitative analysis of the collected data revealed the functional aspects of the current system of post-accident care and at the same time pointed out its shortcomings. The activities of the integrated rescue system providing short-term care directly at the accident scenes were described as highly functional. The limitations of the system are the difficulty in accessing follow-up care, the continuity and insufficient cooperation of the entities providing short-term and long-term care. In the current form of post-accident care, the problem at the most fundamental level is the absence of a systemically based and well communicated concept of post-accident care that would ensure widely accessible care for all those in need. There is no simple and well-connected system in terms of continuity and follow-up care.

David Červinka, Barbora Sulíková, Lucie Vondrackova, Eva Adamovska

Conference Proceedings

Investigation of the influences of sensors for automated driving on the perception of exterior design

Automated driving requires a large number of sensors. They are used to detect environmental influences and regulate vehicle guidance. Many of these sensors have to fulfil requirements regarding position and functional installation space. This creates a conflict of objectives between aesthetically appealing integration into the design and functional integration into trim parts or an aerodynamic concept. In addition, the perception of the sensors by vehicle users and other road users could favour the recognition of an automated vehicle (AV). Numerous studies showed the fundamental importance of a vehicle's exterior, especially with regard to the various semantic aspects of the resulting product effect. This is particularly apparent with regard to the communication between the driver or AV and other road users. Therefore, in this paper we consider the preconditioning of the user in relation to the degree of integration of sensor technology for automated driving. For this purpose, sensor configurations differing in shape and colour are applied to a concept car and examined in an eye-tracking study with regard to their influence on the perception of passengers and other road users. This will provide designers and engineers with insights into the design of sensor clusters in the exterior design of future vehicles.METHODSIn a first step, existing studies were systematically examined to determine the influence of the exterior design on the perception of the vehicle. In addition to the basic idea of appeal, the preconditioning by the design was examined in particular. It has been shown that the exterior design has an influence on the user's driving style, the spatial perception and the brand affiliation recognition. In more recent studies, the influence of so-called external HMIs (eHMI) on the perception of an automated vehicle has been increasingly investigated. Studies on the influence of more or less exposed sensors for automated driving on the perception of users or pedestrians are not known.In a second step, an eye-tracking study was therefore designed. In the study, the test persons were sequentially shown renderings in ¾ front and ¾ rear perspective of a concept car with different sensor configurations on the screen. The relevant sensor configurations are based on a previous study in which we conducted a position analysis and derived integration strategies for sensors. The stimulus patterns differ specifically in the sub-forms of structure (position), shape and colour. The test persons evaluated each of the stimulus patterns by means of a questionnaire with regard to their subjective impression in the use cases "crossing the street as a pedestrian" and "getting into the vehicle and being driven home". System trust, the perception of safety, recognisability and the judgement of appeal were assessed. Absolute dwell time, relative dwell time and fixation were recorded via eye tracking.RESULTSThe statistical evaluation of the results has shown that the sensors already have an influence on system trust and the perception of safety of the users and other road users in both use cases considered. In particular, for the configuration without visible sensors and additively integrated sensors, significant differences emerged as expected. As expected, there was a high degree of dispersion in the opinion towards liking the design of the users. Areas of interest were derived from the eye-tracking data via heat maps. The more accurate understanding of the perception of the degree of integration of sensors into the exterior design can support the work of designers by giving them the freedom to realise significantly more innovative designs in their design proposals compared to previous vehicles.OUTLOOKExtending the investigations to much larger vehicles, especially trucks or robotic vehicles according to SAE Level 5 without passengers could show whether the perception of sensors can already be used as a salient feature in exterior design. Furthermore, it should be investigated whether there are interactions with eHMI on AVs. In addition, system trust and safety perception could be investigated in an extended virtual reality test design with a variety of other relevant use cases such as: "oncoming AV at right-before-left intersection" to show influences of immersion. Also, the influence of time and the associated habituation factor certainly plays a role. For this reason, the effects of road users getting used to the sight with sensors should also be considered.ACKNOWLEDGMENTSThis research was supported by Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action in the national research project RUMBA.

Lutz Fischer, Lars Gadermann, Daniel Holder, Niklas Ihle, Julius Schlecht, Thomas Maier

Conference Proceedings

Building Trust in Highly Automated and Autonomous Vehicles

Trust in highly Automated and Autonomous Vehicles (AAVs) is a topic that has been gaining traction in recent years, across academia, the technology industry, and of course, the automotive industry. A number of automotive OEMs and tech companies across the globe are developing AAVs, with the short-term focus being on SAE Level 2 and Level 3 vehicles, and the longer-term focus being on SAE Level 4 and Level 5 vehicles. Alongside the development of the core technology needed for such AAVs, these companies have been grappling with a key question that will influence the uptake and ultimate success of AAVs; How to get people to trust these vehicles? This paper outlines a series of small-scale projects undertaken by Jaguar Land Rover Research between 2016 and 2018 as part of the UKAutodrive project that attempted to address this question. Across this series of user trials, participants experienced a number of autonomous drives in a low-speed (6mph/10kph) prototype SAE Level 4 autonomous ‘pod’ for up to fifteen minutes at a time, and then asked to rate their trust at the end of each individual drive. Overall, the data shows that Trust is something that can indeed be reliably measured, something that changes/fluctuates over time, and can be undone if the occupant experiences a negative event (e.g. a near miss), with the impact of this event depending on when the occupant experienced it (first trip vs. fifth trip). Finally, we show that it seems to be the number of trips in, or exposures to, an autonomous vehicle rather than the length of time per trip that influences trust, with more, shorter trips (8x4 minute trips) recording higher reported trust compared to fewer, longer trips (4x8 minutes trips).

Karl Proctor

Conference Proceedings

How personality, demographics, and technology affinity affect trust in autonomous vehicles: a case study

Autonomous vehicles’ companies are awakening of cutting-edge technology by offering self-driving cars, however, customers’ acceptance and trust of this high-tech product has become a significant open challenge in the world. It can be expected that autonomous vehicles (AVs) ameliorate traffic flow, lessen accidents and injuries, and save the time on travel in addition to people’s life. Despite the increment of human replacement by the artificial intelligence in various industries and artifacts, most customers have not convinced with this big revolutionize transportation yet. This paper presents an experiment that evaluated the impact of personality, affinity to technology and demographics on human’s trust in autonomous vehicles. Methods: 19 engineering students did participate in the experiment by using an autonomous vehicle with level 2, that had automated speed and trajectory maintenance, but without automatic detection for obstacles, objects or events while driving. First, the AV programmer explained its function and information about the track for all participants. Then, they were asked to answer to 9 questions of Affinity for Technology Interaction (ATI) scale, 17 demographic questions, and 10 questions of Big Five Questionnaire (BFQ). Afterwards, all participants rode 10-minute path in a pre-defined rout by accompaniment of the AV programmer to control probable dangerous situations. Finally, they completed Trust in Automation Scale questionnaire. Gathering data was analysed using IBM SPSS 26. The mean and standard deviation were calculated for descriptive data and the Spearman for analytical data. Results: The analysis’ results showed a behavioural split (50/50) among people having and not having complete confidence in the autonomous vehicle. Nervous people trust the AV less than others, like people with little or no experience in using an AV. As well, the more transparency in the AV’s behaviours and presenting information about it, the more trust and security perception of participants. People with high level of technology affinity experienced more trust in the AV, as the effect of frequent exposures with an AV. It’s worth mentioning that females are more conservative and prefer to trust an AV less than males. Conclusions: The results indicated that various variables could affect people’s trust in AVs. Obviously, changing people’s demographics and some aspects of personality seem to be impossible most of the times, while as approved by other recent studies, their affinity to technology, as a new type of personality, can change or be changed. As the results showed, it is recommended to AVs companies to design a good system in the vehicle, in order to present all information to passengers clearly. In addition, if some conditions are provided that people can test these vehicles and know more about their functions in detail, their trust will definitely increase significantly.

Saeedeh Mosaferchi, Rosaria Califano, Alessandro Naddeo

Conference Proceedings

The new interaction mode of human-vehicle in automatic driving: Overview of the Reification-Perception interaction

Under automatic driving, the driver and the vehicle systems control the vehicle together, interface interaction is no longer the main form of human-vehicle interaction. The new interactive form based on the reification-perception of the vehicle interior through the technology cluster emerge. The Intelligent Interior is capable to perceive the user and then makes the feedback close to the prior experience of users. Based on the review of the characteristics of human-vehicle interaction in the Intelligent Interior of the vehicle, this paper named human-vehicle interaction as Reification-perception interaction（RPI）, and summarizes the current trend characteristics of human-vehicle interaction. Current study suggests that the RPI could be the new form of human-vehicle interaction formed by the cross-fusion of multiple interactions (Whole-Body interaction; Natural Interaction; Entity interaction). This paper proposes the relationship and structure mode of RPI which provides an appropriate and novel research direction for the human-vehicle future study.

Yikai Zhong, Xing Chen, Danhua Zhao, Zhizi Liu

Conference Proceedings

“Hand-Over, Move-Over, Take-Over” – HoMoTo as a Holistic Method to Analyze Take-Over Scenarios

Automated driving in Level 3 (SAE) allows the driver to temporarily devote his or her time to other activities (non-driving related activities, NDRA). If the system reaches its limits, take-overs back to Level 2 are mandatory. During the take-over phase, both the driver and the vehicle interior are in a state transition in order to regain a drivable condition. In Level 4, a complete and continuous devotion of the driver is possible and take-overs are not necessary by definition. Due to initial limited application areas, the use of Level 4 systems will initially also include take-overs. Then, the state transitions of driver and interior increase in complexity since a higher number and more variations of NDRAs are permitted. For the development and design of safe take-overs in automated vehicles, the prediction and assessment of the time required for these state transitions under different conditions, like NDRA and the associated body postures and interior adaption, is necessary. Currently, a procedure for describing and documenting the states and tasks of vehicle occupants and vehicle interior, and for the evaluation of positions and attitudes during the take-over does not exist. To close this gap, Schäffer et al. (2021) developed the method “Hand-Over, Move-Over, Take-Over” (HoMoTo). HoMoTo provides a description format of the driver's postures, movements, and cognitive states by dividing the take-over phase into subphases and subtasks. In this work, HoMoTo will be explained in detail with focus on the individual phases, steps, and influencing factors. Nevertheless, to obtain valid results further investigation of the procedure based on this work is necessary.

Miriam Schäffer, Philipp Pomiersky, Wolfram Remlinger

Conference Proceedings

Topological Shape Differences in High-speed Trains from a Human Perspective

The shape of high-speed trains is a combination of engineering and design, taking into account both performance requirements and aesthetic form. With the increase of operating speed, the shape design and aerodynamic research need to be synergistically unified. Different topological shapes have large differences in air resistance and aerodynamic noise, so trains in different regions have their own characteristics in terms of shape. By analyzing the evolution of the shape spectrum of high-speed trains in each platform in the world, we extract the genes of high-speed train aerodynamic performance shape, and analyze the regional characteristics and the influence of human factors on train shape to help the brand construction of high-speed trains in different regions.

Jingming Ma, Peng Ji

Conference Proceedings

Proving ground evaluation of enhanced ADAS: context understanding ADAS

Advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS) are developed to increase safety and provide a more efficient and comfortable experience when traveling by car. ADAS are reliant upon sensors to provide the intended assistance for the driver, and the driver is reliant upon an HMI interface to interact with the feature at hand. A prototype ADAS, including a human machine interface (HMI) and enhanced ADAS functionality, was developed and then evaluated on proving ground. The purpose of the study was to evaluate how the enhanced ADAS performed as compared to baseline in terms of trust, acceptance, efficiency, and perceived situation awareness. The evaluation of the full prototype was conducted with 24 participants (13 men and 11 women) who drove a Lincoln MKZ equipped with longitudinal and lateral ADAS support (SAE Level 2) at the AstaZero proving ground facilities in Sweden. In total the participants drove four laps (familiarization lap, baseline lap, gaze-related functionality lap, active ADAS functionality lap) on the proving ground. The gaze-related functionalities tracked the gaze to assure blind spot gaze and correct turning gaze behavior and provided support for this. The active ADAS functionalities included that the system was able to override the time gap setting of the longitudinal control system to provide the driver with more time to react as the feature was triggered in the presence of driver distraction, as well as a system that alerted the driver about upcoming situations in which the longitudinal and lateral assist systems were unable to support the driver due to exceeding of the operational design domain (ODD). Gaze-related functionalities were associated with a significant increase in usefulness and satisfaction compared to baseline, and active ADAS functionalities were associated with a significant increase in satisfaction compared to baseline.

Daban Rizgary, Niklas Strand, Jonas Andersson

Conference Proceedings

Exploring various dimensions of perceived usefulness on the intention to use Mobility-as-a-Service

In response to society’s volatile and changing mobility requirements, many new mobility concepts and business models are currently being developed and piloted. The Mobility-as-a-Service (MaaS) concept attempts to meet rising customer demands in a needs-based and situational manner. For the success of innovative mobility offers, user acceptance and thus a user-centred business model and product development is crucial. The aim of this study is to provide deeper insights in the perception of society’s usefulness in a potential MaaS use to derive recommendations for the design and development of MaaS business models from a user perspective. This is done under consideration of the Importance-Performance-Matrix. The question is investigated to what extent differentiated usefulness dimensions (functional, emotional, social, economical, and ecological) influence the intention to use Mobility-as-a-Service. By applying the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) in the context of an empirical study the relationships between perceived usefulness dimensions, attitude towards using MaaS and intention to use MaaS were examined. For that, an online survey with more than 6400 respondents from four European countries was conducted. In this, we took care to select latent constructs with the highest possible fit that had already been tested in other studies. This database allowed the proposed TAM to be modelled using structural equation models (SEM) to analyse the relationships between perceived usefulness and behavioural intention to use MaaS.The results show that the perceived emotional, functional, and economical usefulness dimensions significantly correlate with both, the attitude towards and the intention to use MaaS positively. Especially the perception of emotionally increasing elements were identified as main drivers for an intensified MaaS use: The more likely users are to enjoy, feel good about, or have fun using MaaS, the more likely they are to use such a system. One design approach for increasing emotional benefits is to add means of transport to a MaaS package whose use is characterized by a high degree of enjoyment, such as e-scooters and e-bikes. Here, we were able to investigate high correlations between the desire for those transport modes and the intention to use MaaS. Another approach is to remove "pain points" in the transaction process in the MaaS app. It is recommended to implement an integrated booking and payment function. Generally, a MaaS app should simplify the processes that users perceive as complicated in intermodal travel. However, no significant results could be found on the social dimension, which means there is currently no need for action in improving a MaaS system regarding social components. The ecological usefulness dimension shows a significant negative influence on the intention to use on the one hand, and a significant positive influence on the attitude towards using MaaS on the other. The results provide impulses for a user-centred development of MaaS, enable an approach for a differentiated consideration of usefulness dimensions in the context of Mobility-as-a-Service, and suggest a need for more in-depth research.

Nicolaj Motzer, Marco Amorim, Michal Matowicki, Mira Kern, Pavla Pecherková

Conference Proceedings

Human Factors Issues of Advanced Rider Assistance Systems (ARAS)

Advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS), such as adaptive cruise control (ACC), automatic emergency braking (AEB), and blind-spot monitoring (BSM) for passenger vehicles are becoming ubiquitous, with some features being standard on vehicles. The same is not true for motorcycles. However, limited analogous advanced rider assistance systems (ARAS) have been introduced, and the ARAS market is expected to grow significantly in the coming years. Some reasons for the development and implementation lags of ARAS include functional differences between passenger vehicles and motorcycles, such as lack of passenger restraints, more pronounced vehicle dynamics, greater operator physical involvement in achieving vehicle control, and more constrained means of presenting information for motorcycles. In turn, these differences highlight notable human factors issues, especially because ARAS may produce unique or unexpected riding situations that may impact the performance of the motorcycle operator. For example, abrupt, unexpected changes in the orientation and/or dynamics of the motorcycle, such as through application of AEB, could result in control problems, operator or passenger separation from the motorcycle, or both, even while still mitigating collision involvement. In this paper, we review relevant scientific and technical literature and discuss how unique demands of ARAS applications can shape the ways research can be translated into practical innovation, development, and implementation of ARAS features. Relevant scientific topics include feedback modalities, perceptual-motor behavior and control, perception-reaction time, user acceptance and trust, learning, and attention, with a focus on safety-critical issues spanning multiple scientific topics. For example, operator visual behavior, and in particular, operator sight distance (i.e., how far the operator is looking down the road at a given time), have been identified as critical variables that can affect rider safety. An operator can be said to override the sight distance when they travel above a speed that would allow them to safely stop the motorcycle after detecting a hazard. In this situation, ARAS may be able to alert the operator via forward collision warnings and/or intervene more directly via AEB. Important questions exist about whether and how to present warning information through vision, audition, or touch modalities, and with what physical features (e.g., frequency, duration, and intensity). Regarding the latter possibility, using more direct ARAS intervention with assistive control inputs to the motorcycle raises safety-critical questions about the degrees to which the ARAS technology can predict and/or detect the state of the operator and the degrees to which the operator can predict and/or detect and respond to the assistive actions on the motorcycle. We discuss these topics in the context of relevant literature with the overarching goal of informing future research, development, and adoption of ARAS, in addition to the development of evaluative test criteria and standards.

Chason Coelho, Stephen Garets, Jordan Bailey, Todd Frank, Iiona Scully, David Cades

Conference Proceedings

A mobility app for everyone? An empirical analysis of user types based on social lifestyles and personal characteristics

Moving via an app? Necessary information or tickets to arrive at the required destination can be accessed via smartphone, which is a constant companion anyway. Whether taking the train, choosing a ride-sharing service or even an electric scooter - all one must do is download the right app to use and operate the preferred means of transport.This work focus on the understanding of user types and their relationship with mobility apps with the motivation of better understanding mobility user needs when it comes to the digitalization of services. Through an in-depth literature review, we identified a variety of models that study behavior and specifically the use of technological innovations, such as apps. While approaches such as the Theory of Planned Behavior, the Norm Activation Model, or the Utility Approach apply to different contexts, the Acceptance Theory or the Mobile Phone Appropriation Model sets the specific focus on apps and mobile devices. Since each of the models has certain limitations, several approaches were integrated into a new, conceptual research model, which was empirically examined by a representative survey. We collected empirical data using a survey spread throughout Germany, with a representative sample size of 2501, and afterwards applied a cluster analysis to describe user types. Since the respondents needed to be typified according to both individual characteristics and social characteristics, two clustering focuses were carried out i.e., user types according to personal characteristics/user types according to social lifestyles. The cluster analysis included attributes related to attitudes, the general use of technical devices and mobility behavior. Mean differences were considered to compare the identified groups to each other. The first clustering approach shows that two types of mobility app users can be distinguished. "Combiners" i.e., people who spend more time with technical devices and apps, that are more willing to use different means of transport and have a more positive attitude towards shared consumption, are more inclined to use mobility apps than "Privacy protectors", for whom private property and the protection of their data are more important.In a second clustering, respondents were grouped according to their social lifestyles. The analysis revealed that individuals characterized as “Modern Materialists” and “Relationship-Oriented” have higher mobility app awareness and use it more often. In contrasts, “Conversative Lovers”, individuals which do not attach great importance to social contacts or a modern, upscale standard of living, are hardly aware of and use mobility apps. Thus, we could conclude that consolidated social relationships and openness to multiple social contacts seem to influence mobility app awareness and use.The further assessment shows that respondents feel that the functions that are already established to a greater or lesser extent in apps are important. The ability to combine or communicate different means of transportation via a mobility app does not meet an acute need. Depending on the cluster, however, the needs vary in strength and functions are seen as having different relevance.

Irini Tsaga, Nicolaj Motzer, Mira Kern, Marco Amorim

Conference Proceedings

Information Provision on Interactive Smart Public Displays in Public Transport in Events of Disruptions

The communication of information is an important component of public transport. New designs for interactive displays integrated into public transport vehicles, called SmartWindow1, are being developed and implemented. In this paper, we conduct a laboratory user study evaluating the information communication in cases of disruptions. The user study focuses the kind of information and the timing of the information being displayed as well as determines what improvements in the disruption communication can be made. The two scenarios selected for the user study are based in real live scenarios from the local public transport network of Karlsruhe, Germany. The user study is being conducted in combination with a study on notifications on smartphones, resulting in three test groups. Similar to a prior proven approach group A tests only the notifications on the smartphone, group B tests only those on the SmartWindow and group C tests both media outputs.

Waldemar Titov, Carl Gerlach, Thomas Schlegel

Conference Proceedings

A case study of the Shanghai No. 20 tram on cultural bus service design based on the AT-ONE Rule

In the new era environment, the metropolitan public transportation system is constantly evolving. The relevant administrative departments in Shanghai have proposed measures to create cultural buses and build characteristic lines in order to promote Shanghai culture and improve bus service. Using the Shanghai NO.20 tram as an example, this paper investigates how to combine Shanghai culture with tram ride service in order to make the NO.20 tram a distinctive route. The study employed participatory observation and the AT-ONE rule to investigate the entire waiting, boarding, and alighting process, as well as to analyze the passenger experience and service flow of the NO.20 tram, in combined with the urban cultural elements of Shanghai. Based on the service design concept, the corresponding design strategies and measures were proposed.Study content. 1.Service design and the AT-ONE rule The goal of service design, which establishes the service from the customer's perspective, is to ensure that the service meets the user's requirements. One of the most common methods in service design research is the AT-ONE rule. It is a method of user-centered design that connects stakeholders through various touch points.2.Analysis of Shanghai culture Shanghai culture is a unique cultural phenomenon based on the traditional culture of Jiangnan (Wu-Yue culture) and the fusion of modern industrial civilization from Europe and the United States, which had a profound impact on Shanghai after the opening of the port. 3.Analysis of No.20 tram and design elements The "Mobile Bus Museum" is the name given to the No. 20 tram, which connects Jing'an Temple Station and Zhaofeng Park Station. Passengers, ride process, primary touch points, and other design components are all examined. This section examines individual passenger characteristics, focusing primarily on the elderly, with less emphasis on the young and middle-aged populations. The ride has three stages: waiting, riding, and getting off. The main points of contact are the armrests, seats, LED screen, and so on. Analyzing numerous design features is an important part of improving passenger riding experience and creating a cultural bus.4. No.20 tram design strategy External design strategy（1）External painting artistry The purpose of exterior painting artistry is to improve the appearance of the vehicle and the passenger riding experience. It primarily mixes Shanghai's history and contemporary style, with a concentration on Art Deco, technology, Pop, and retro styles.（2）Stylized external shape The outside shape is mostly mixed with Shanghai's characteristic architectural style for local enhancement, such as Art Deco style, in order to evoke a nostalgic feeling of Shanghai culture among local passengers and increase the recognition of No. 20 tram. Internal design strategy （1）Scientific interior layout The scientific layout of the car ensures the passengers' ease, comfort, and safety during the voyage. This part is concerned with the scientific design of the interior space in order to fulfill the needs of various passengers and improve their riding experience.（2）Humanized design of interior facilities Humanized design is a growing trend and an unavoidable requirement in modern urban bus design, and humanized interior facilities can improve passenger travel quality. The intelligent facilities (LED screen, intelligent audio, etc.) and infrastructure (seats, handrails, etc.) inside the bus are designed to effectively improve the comfort and fun of passenger travel based on the results of the pre-AT-ONE rule analysis. 5. 20 cultural bus prototype test The styling elements of the No. 20 tram were taken from the old trolleybus, and the side of the body depicts the major changes of Shanghai trams over the past century, presenting an overall retro style. The interior is predominantly blue, echoing the body painting. To meet the travel needs of different passengers, the interior space is divided into love seat area, wheelchair area, and seating area; the interior facilities are also optimized based on the preliminary contact analysis, such as more beautiful and intelligent LED screen style and interactive interface, more comfortable and safe seats and handrails, etc., which not only improve the travel experience of passengers but also promote the spread of Shanghai culture. 6. Summary Creating an image of Shanghai's 'Century Bus' culture and bus service is a major goal proposed by the Shanghai government, with the goal of combining Shanghai culture with buses, improving bus service, and promoting Shanghai's cultural heritage. The AT-ONE rule guides the exploration of cultural bus service design strategies for its five dimensions of service subjects, touchpoints, service supply, user needs, and user experience, with the goal of improving the original bus service model and enhancing user experience.

Lei Zeng, Hong Chen

Conference Proceedings

Acceptance analysis of value-creating service cooperations and extensions for Mobility-on-Demand solutions

The mobility sector is considered one of the key levers for achieving the climate targets specified in the Paris Agreement and reducing carbon dioxide emissions in cities. To achieve this goal, lower-emission mobility solutions such as public transport, cycling or shared forms of mobility are increasingly strengthened and expanded. Mobility-on-Demand (MOD) offers innovative transport solutions that can compete with the private vehicle in terms of comfort or flexibility. However, this mode of transport faces the following major challenges: the user group is still very small as the service is operating only in specific cities or regions and the operation is quite expensive. Thus, it’s quite difficult for MOD providers to elaborate a sustainable business model. A good way to achieve more profitability is to exploit potential synergies through service collaborations, which at the same time increases popularity. Therefore, this study addresses the research questions of whether and which specific service collaborations significantly increase the acceptance as well as the likelihood to use MOD. To answer the research questions, an online survey in Germany, Switzerland and Austria was conducted. Three different areas of cooperation were tested for acceptance: mobility service providers (e.g., public transit), other service providers (e.g., hotel, restaurant) and retail stores. A total of n=1403 respondents were included in the online survey. Univariate ANOVA with repeated measures and t-tests were used to analyse the potential cooperations. The results show that the cooperation between MOD providers and other business partners is generally accepted as a value creating service extension, and that cooperation with public transport is descriptively the most attractive. Furthermore, cooperations with mobility service providers and other service providers lead to a significantly higher probability of using on-demand shuttles (even among non-users). Therefore, it is hypothesized that these two collaborative opportunities are a suitable means to increase the use and profitability of on-demand shuttles and attract new target groups. It is recommended that those collaborations should be pursued and analysed in future research or pilots.

Mira Kern, Niklas Kluge, Benjamin Burkard, Marco Amorim, Nicolaj Motzer

Conference Proceedings

Does it Press? Investigating the Efficacy of an Ultrasonic Haptic Button Interface for Non-Visual Driving Applications

Ultrasonic haptic (UH) feedback employs mid-air ultrasound waves detectable by the palm of the hand. This interface demonstrates a novel opportunity to utilize non-visual input and output (I/O) functionalities in interactive applications, such as vehicle controls that allow the user to keep their eyes on the road. However, more work is needed to evaluate the useability of such an interface. In this study, 16 blindfolded participants completed tasks involving finding and counting UH buttons, associating buttons with audio cues, learning spatial arrangements, and determining button states. Results showed that users were generally successful with 2–4 arranged buttons and could associate them with audio cues with an average accuracy of 77.1%. Participants were also able to comprehend button spatial arrangements with 77.8% accuracy and engage in reconstruction tasks to prove user understanding. These results signify the capability of UH feedback to have real-world I/O functionality and serve to guide future exploration in this area.

Maher Alsamsam, Paul Fink, Justin Brown, Velin Dimitrov, Nicholas Giudice

Conference Proceedings

Cybersecurity Best Practices for Managing Mixed Fleets

This paper provides an overview of the cybersecurity of mixed fleets with vehicles both equipped and not equipped with automated driving systems. The focus is cybersecurity from the perspective of ADS-equipped commercial motor vehicle (CMV) fleets that incorporate some level of automated driving capabilities after being manufactured and during their commercial operation. The owners and operators of these fleets are naturally concerned about the threats and vulnerabilities of ADS technologies and the security of their operations. This paper includes sections on cybersecurity best practices, both general and specific. The intended audience includes mixed fleet owners and operators, policymakers, and other stakeholders. This overview is best viewed as a starting point for CMV fleets and other audiences with a general interest in the practical real-world implementation of cybersecurity measures and ADS deployment. It provides general guidelines on cybersecurity and specifics related to cybersecurity for mixed fleets.

Xiaojian Jin, Elena Griffor

Conference Proceedings

Driver Engagement

One of the great challenges around the advent of driver assistance systems is to ensure that drivers understand the true capability of technology, such that they can behave accordingly for safe vehicle operation. This understanding can be influenced by a range of factors including vehicle instructions, user interface and warnings, and system control behavior. Validation accounting for these important aspects is therefore central to understanding and comparing safety performance for real world use for overall system design implementations.This paper presents a test methodology specified for implementation on an automotive proving ground facility capturing pre-use information, and driver-vehicle interaction during assisted driving regarding user interface and system control behavior. Data collection was defined around the quantification of driver engagement with the driving task using subjective measures to assess progressive effects of system use and objective metrics considering driver behavior and capability to respond to an emergency scenario.In a pilot assessment, a between-subjects test was conducted using two vehicles with differing assisted driving concepts. A sample of naïve drivers (n=39) was recruited and, following a customer focused description of system functionality, was instructed to drive on a test track in continuous highway driving scenario with longitudinal and lateral driver assistance features active. Subsequently, a critical ‘cut-out’ event was presented requiring a driver response to avoid an in-lane obstacle.Results indicate variability in how drivers interact with the system during ‘normal driving’ with subjective measures demonstrating differences in metrics associated with engagement. Likewise, objective measures for driver reaction to the critical event signify differing levels of driver vigilance associated with perceived functionality of individual systems.Outcomes from this experimental test mark a step in the development of test methods for global assistance system assessment and provide a platform for further progression and refinement of tests. This has implications system design verification with highly replicability whilst accounting for use by representative drivers, alongside possible applications in consumer and regulatory testing with representative drivers.

Francesco Deiana, Adria Roig, James Jackson, Cristina Periago, Clara Cabuti Ferrer

Conference Proceedings

Contributing factors to fatigue among high-speed train drivers: A questionnaire study in China

Based on global statistics from 1993 to 2017, most railway accidents were caused by human errors, and drivers’ unsafe operation was one of the most common types of human errors ( Liu et al., 2019). One of the main contributing factors to drivers’ unsafe operations is driver fatigue. Therefore, it's essential to evaluate the level of fatigue among High-speed train (HST) drivers and identify the main influencing factors of fatigue. We designed a questionnaire that used the subjective score of SSS to assess the fatigue of HST drivers . A follow-up questionnaire survey was conducted with 243 HST drivers, and then exploratory factor analysis and hierarchical regression was conducted to determine the significant influencing factors of fatigue and form a prediction model. The results showed that HST drivers' personal characteristics (health status, personal trait score, number of chronic diseases), sleep, and working task (communicate task, lookout task) had significant effect on fatigue. The outcome of this research provided the main influencing factors of HST drivers’ fatigue and proposed an effective prediction model to promote structural understanding of HST drivers’ fatigue.

Yanyi Li, Ziteng Wang, Qidi Zhang, Musen Kingsley Li, Wei Zhang

Conference Proceedings

Communication of intent among drivers: does it deteriorate with age?

Interactions among drivers of neighbouring vehicles, aiming to communicate intent and agree on a safe motion plan, are a crucial component of driving activity. Empirical evidence from on-road, video-assisted observations and analysis of parallel commentaries by twenty-two experienced drivers show that the performance of older drivers (mean age 72.8 years) as regards interactions relevant to lane changes was similar to that of younger drivers (mean age 36.3 years). No difference was found in trip duration, number of lane changes, frequency and type of cues signifying intent to change lane and frequency of perceiving such cues. This may be an indication that the interpretation of traffic events, once acquired, does not loose in significance with age. Still, older drivers reacted less often after a cue signifying lane change intent although there was no difference in the perception of cues. Older drivers may adopt a more defensive driving strategy so that they do not need to adjust their driving, having found ways to compensate for their possible performance deterioration due to age.

Evangelia Portouli, Dimitris Nathanael, Nicolas Marmaras

Conference Proceedings

Communication Needs and the Drivers’ Activity in Platooning Systems

The freight transport sector is requiring new solutions to overcome both the increase of energy consumption costs and the environmental concerns about CO2 emissions. Thus, automation and truck platooning are being put into practice imposing to truck drivers’ behavioral adaptation and new training needs. Such changes introduce human factors issues that must be studied and put into the new equations towards the service improvement without compromising road safety. Thus, this is the right moment to talk to truck drivers and explain them the two main positive effects of the introduction of the platooning technology in the freight transport: 1. the clear improvement of the previous truck drivers’ working conditions, represented by long hours on the road and the related passive fatigue leading to drowsiness and sleep risk; 2. the fact of being assisted by the technology and being a team on the job cooperating in every task on board toward the main task completion. The platooning technology allows for two or more trucks running in convoy at a pre-defined distance between each other, being virtually connected using connectivity technology and automated driving support systems. Two categories of drivers are considered: the leader, who is responsible for the driving task, and the followers, who, depending on the level of function automation required by the job, may or may not have responsibilities in the driving task. Truck platooning use automated driving and different V2X (vehicle-to-everything) communication such as V2V (vehicle-to-vehicle). This highlights the importance of human-to-human communication and the multiple human-system interactions towards the perfect coordination of actions. However, during the transition to full automation, the driver will still be kept “in the loop” or “on the loop”, as he/she will still be responsible for the driving task or, at least, for its supervision. Due to a strong dependence on different types of communications by this system, recent studies mention the need of a new categorization for the automation levels presented by SAE. Thus, the ENSEMBLE Project team proposes two new categorizations: Platooning Support Function and Platooning Automated Function. For this categorization, the following were considered: time between vehicles, lateral automation, speed lane, and the required operational areas. This requires deep research to avoid compromising road safety by the introduction of new risks, together with specific training for both categories of drivers.Portuguese freight companies, with regular transport across Europe are interested in introducing the platooning system. A new national research project (TRAIN) addresses these issues through an integrated approach that will identify the requirements for the development of truck platooning services and assess the requests for safe deployment in the real world. In a first stage, TRAIN selected professional truck drivers for Focus Groups (FG) aiming at collecting qualitative data about their acceptance, trust, reliance and willing to use levels. Due to the reduced number of participants, and taking into account the collected FG data, a survey is being launched. Then, the results will be discussed allowing for the simulations parametrization and tuning for the next experimental testing in driving simulator.

Catarina Neto, Anabela Simoes, António Lobo

Conference Proceedings

Highway work zone warning system design based on drivers' requirements

With the full coverage of the highway network in each country, the workload of highway construction and maintenance is getting bigger and bigger. The establishment of highway work zones has brought a more complex road environment for motorists. A large number of injuries and fatalities occur in work zones, of which about 60% are estimated to be road drivers. Many accident analysis studies have also shown that these accidents are mainly caused by driver's own human factors and inadequate road safety facilities. In order to reduce the occurrence of these accidents, some advanced technologies are being applied to traffic warning facilities. However, the real needs of drivers, who are the actual recipients of the warnings, are not fully considered in the warning design. Therefore, in this study, a Quality Function Deployment (QFD) approach is used to systematically analyze the user requirements and to design the actual design requirements of the traffic warning system in the work zone in conjunction with the emerging warning technologies. The new warning system design is expected to reduce work zone accidents caused by human factors because its requirements are based on real drivers' requirements. To achieve a human-centred safety design. In this study, two steps are taken. First, user requirements were obtained by interviewing driving experts. Second, the design requirements of the intelligent warning system were analysed and prioritized using a QFD method, resulting in the output of key design requirements.

Shuo-Fang Liu, Peng Ni, Shiyu Wang

Conference Proceedings

High-speed train drivers’ operation performance: A focus group study with drivers and managers

Although the rapid development of high-speed rail enhanced the national transportation and boosted the economic growth in China, it had great impacts on the behavior of high-speed train (HST) drivers. To stay safe, HST drivers may need to continuously keep alert for a few hours, detect potential hazards in time, make quick reactions, and strictly follow Standard Operating Procedures. The purpose of this study is to explore the potential influencing factors of HST drivers' operation performance and provide practical management implications. Six focus groups with 22 HST drivers and 18 front-line managers were conducted to collect qualitative information concerning drivers’ operation performance. The results were unfolded in two perspectives. From the individual level, high-performance drivers were more experienced, more likely to detect hazards in time, and performed better in emergency handling. They also tended to be in good health, had quality sleep and effective anti-fatigue measures. From the organizational level, crew scheduling factors played an important role in HST drivers’ operation performance. These factors include switch frequency of HST models, intermittent rest time and task duration.

Ziteng Wang, Yanyi Li, Yi Wang, Wei Zhang

Conference Proceedings

Risk assessment and observation of driver with pedestrian using instantaneous heart rate and HRV

Currently, human drivers outperform self-driving vehicles in many conditions such as collision avoidance. Therefore, understanding human driver behaviour in these conditions will provide insight for future autonomous vehicles. For understanding driver behaviour, risk assessment is applied so far as one of the approaches by using both subjective and objective measurement. Subjective measurement methods such as questionnaires may provide insight into driver risk assessment but there is often significant variability between drivers. Physiological measurements such as heart rate (HR), electroencephalogram (EEG), and electromyogram (EMG) provide more objective measurements of driver risk assessment. HR is often used for measuring driver’s risk assessment based on observed correlations between HR and risk perception. Previous work has used HR to measure driver’s risk assessment in self-driving systems, but pedestrian dynamics is not considered for the research. In this study, we observed driver’s behaviour in certain scenarios which have pedestrian on driving simulator. The scenarios have safe/unsafe situations (i.e., pedestrian crosses road and vehicle may hit pedestrian in one scenario), HR analysis in time/frequency domain is processed for risk assessment. As a result, HR analysis in frequency domain shows certain reasonability for driver risk assessment when driver has pedestrian in its traffic.

Riku Kikuta, Daniel Carruth, John Ball, Reuben Burch, Ichiro Kageyama

Conference Proceedings

Driver Monitoring Systems: Design Considerations for Aging Drivers

A number of automotive manufacturers including General Motors and Tesla offer vehicles with advanced semi-autonomous driving functions that the driver is expected to monitor. Monitoring by the human driver is essential given that these systems are known to have difficulty handling driving situations that human drivers negotiate easily. The human operator must, however, adjust to this new supervisory role of monitoring system operations rather than traditional driving. Additionally, drivers may trust the automation too much, believing the systems are more capable than they are and not actively monitor the operation of the semi-autonomous systems. This belief may be engendered by the use of terms like “self-driving” or “drive pilot” in vehicle marketing materials. In response to these concerns, automotive manufacturers have developed driver monitoring system(s) (DMS) that assesses the driver’s attentional engagement in the driving process and alerts them when it determines they are not attending to the vehicle’s operation. Driver attention is assessed by monitoring their eye-gaze direction, head pose, steering wheel torque input, and facial action units. During the aging process, there are many changes in perceptual, cognitive, and musculoskeletal systems that may not have been addressed in the design of the DMS. An example of these limitations include hearing or vision impairments, which could make perceiving warnings presented by the DMS more difficult. The potential limitations of DMS will be discussed, as well as ideas for future research, which encourages consideration of older adults in interface design and discusses trends in technology adoption by older adults.

Molly C Mersinger, Daniel Graff, Carmen Van Ommen, Sabrina Ehrenfort, Jamie Talley, Alex Chaparro

Conference Proceedings

Beyond Detection: Intervention Approaches in Driver State Monitoring Systems

Driver state monitoring systems (DSMS) – technologies that detect driver impairment and provide interventions – are becoming crucial components of driving safety technology. However, despite plentiful research on impairment detection, literature on corresponding interventions is limited. To gain insight into technology-based risk prevention and mitigation approaches to driver impairment, we review the state of the art in solutions targeting stress, fatigue, and cognitive load. We systematically analyze the latest literature published in two technology databases between 2017 and 2022. We first provide a general summary of reviewed studies, quantifying trends in technical, HCI, and methodological characteristics and additionally focus on user-evaluated solutions. Overall, we observe a general focus on fatigue and a prevalence of simple binary alerts. We report that only a minority of solutions are user-evaluated, although these exhibit greater diversity both in terms of the impairments they target and the methods they employ. Our findings show that the field offers extensive possibilities, although the proposed solutions are mainly in early developmental stages. Ultimately, we evaluate possible intervention approaches, identify the gaps, and provide guidelines to support future research.

Lenart Motnikar, Zoja Anžur, Peter Fröhlich, Alexander Mirnig, Manfred Tscheligi

Conference Proceedings

Effects of Intelligent Warning Systems on Drivers' Steering Wheel Angle in Fog Situations

Visibility is essential for the driving task and its reduction due to fog influences drivers' behavior. A solution to reduce accidents in fog is adopting intelligent transport systems that notify the driver in advance about the road conditions, allowing the driver to adapt his driving behavior. Intelligent Transport Systems (ITS) based on connected vehicle communication have increasingly been incorporated into vehicles to help overcome the abovementioned problem. They notify drivers of potentially dangerous road conditions, such as fog, to adapt their driving behavior better. Few academic studies link driver behavior with their safety in low visibility situations, leaving gaps in understanding a driver's directional change strategy in low visibility situations and the relationships due to the use of in-vehicle warning systems. In order to achieve the objectives of the work, this study proposes a controlled experiment with real drivers in a simulated driving environment. Through driving simulators, drivers can be repeatedly confronted in different circumstances, including specific weather conditions, without risk to life and with reduced costs, which is a tremendous advantage over field tests. This work investigated the effects of the presence or absence of fog on the steering wheel angle of drivers. A driving simulator was used to recreate real scenarios of a Brazilian highway with a high incidence of fog, showing the geometric and meteorological conditions of the site. The physical structure of the simulator is composed of a driving cockpit with a car seat, steering wheel with force feedback, gearshift lever and pedalboard with accelerator, brake and clutch pedals. The cockpit station also allows for height and distance adjustments between the seat and the steering wheel. The simulated environment was projected onto a 1.40 x 0.80 m flat panel by a DepthQ HDs3D2 projector with a resolution of 1080p and a refresh rate of 60 Hz. The projected field of view is 120º and 50º in horizontal and vertical views, respectively. For eye tracking, a device specifically designed for this purpose was attached to the simulator: Smart Eye, model Pro 5.10® (SE). A frame-by-frame analysis was performed on each video with gaze position superimposed on the field of view to identify participants' attentional allocation on the HUD when the fog warning was displayed. To investigate how often and when participants inspected the HUD, the fog alert region on the HUD was defined as a region of interest (ROI), as seen on the right of Figure 1 and only those participants whose fixation at the time of the warning was included in this area were part of the sample of this research. Rearview mirrors are also projected into the dashboard, as well as a Head-Up Display (HUD) to show fog warning messages and the speedometer. Speakers with 32 watts RMS of power were used to reproduce sounds similar to the vehicle's engine and the wind, in order to improve immersion. The simulated rural road is a 5 km stretch of an essential Brazilian highway. The stretch is in a mountainous region with a high incidence of fog and many curves in its geometry. The highway administrator provided the geometric design of the section necessary for the virtual modeling, the VDM (Average Daily Volume), as well as the location, type, and severity of accidents that occurred in recent years. The simulation period was the month of June, and the time was set to 6 am, which, according to data from the Federal Highway Police (DPRF, 2022), is the most frequent period of accidents with foggy weather conditions. The results agree with those found by Abdel-Aty et al. (2011), who observed in the state of Florida (USA) that fog was the leading cause of collisions in rural areas during the winter months and in the early morning hours. However, the results of the most common type of collision analyzed in Brazil differ from those found by Abdel-Aty et al. (2011). In Brazil, between 2017 and 2021, the fog's most common type of collision was “Exit from car bed” (23%) and involved only one vehicleIn the foggy scenario, the driver adjusted the steering wheel angle more times than in the no-fog scenario. This text, in addition to presenting detailed analyses of accidents that occurred under foggy weather conditions, also sought to clarify drivers' behavior when driving in fog with a warning system built into the vehicle.In Brazil, unlike what is found in the USA, the most common type of accident to happen is "Exit from a cart" and it does not involve multiple vehicles.

Ana Paula Larocca, Felipe Calsavara

Conference Proceedings

Chinese Drivers’ Attitudes toward L2+ Level of Driving Automation

In addition to SAE 6 levels of driving automation, the industry has introduced Level 2+ driving automation (L2+), which includes features such as Highway Driving Pilot (HDP), Automatic Parking Assist (APA), Valet Parking Assist (VPA) and Remote Parking Assist (RPA). A mixed-methods study was conducted to investigate the daily usage and attitudes of L2+ experienced drivers toward L2+ features. 395 L2+ experienced drivers in China participated in the on-line survey, and 11 of them joined successive validation interviews. The results show that HDP and APA are the most commonly used features. Drivers experience more fun with tech from using parking features, while HDP provide users with relaxing time. Safety concerns are the main reason why drivers do not use L2+ features, which in turn decreases usage and negatively correlates with performance-related reasons for not using them. These findings suggest that drivers hold divergent attitudes towards L2+ features, with a focus on safety or efficiency. Such findings can guide product design and customer education.

Liping Li, Yurong Chen, Jifang Wang, Xiaojun Luo

Conference Proceedings

Service Quality of Inclusive, Sustainable and Resilient Community Transport Systems

The paper aims at presenting a conceptual framework integrating a Service Quality Assessment Concept in a methodological approach towards inclusive, safe, sustainable, and resilient transport systems to accommodate everyone’s mobility needs. Despite the improvement of public transport systems around the world, many users perceive: 1. Poor accessibility in most public transport systems; 2. Existence of physical barriers to free mobility in urban walking areas; 3. Increasing frequency of unexpected incidences as new norm in this 21st century (floods, earthquakes, terrorist attacks, pandemics, etc.).Furthermore, as transport operations are dynamic, increasing the level of uncertainty, the entire system is susceptible to extreme stresses that could propagate shocks throughout the entire network. Such risks highlight the importance of safety and comfort along each trip, such as providing seats for all, avoiding crowds in the vehicle, on stops, stations, and waiting areas, with contingency transport services in case of incidents.Meeting individual and collective mobility needs within a community is influenced by the existing and planned land use and depends on the available transport services. Furthermore, the enormous dispersion of individual limits to a free mobility related to a disability, older age or any temporary or occasional impairment or condition, accessible and inclusive transport services are required to fit the user’s mobility needs. The steps of the planned trip, like connections to other vehicle or network, could impose some difficulties that should be previewed, offering solutions to avoid exclusion. Finally, a barrier-free walking environment to reach or leave a transport network should complete the requests for the provision of transport services to accommodate everyone’s activity limits.The proposed Service Quality Assessment model is based on the quality loop involving the users’ feedback and the transport operators’ awareness of the planned and actual service level. Innovative technology supporting an Immersive Virtual Environment as a design, testing, and demonstration tool, will be described to identify new needs, design, test and to apply new solutions.

Anabela Simoes, Ling Suen

Conference Proceedings

Use and usability of shared micromobility among underserved youth in California

The aim of this research was to document user experience with shared micromobility as part of a program that provided at-risk youth (age 18-27) with free shared micromobility services for a year. The study found that the young participants readily embraced shared micromobility services, which were used to access jobs, health and social services, and for social and recreational purposes. Users were often effusive about their enjoyment of e-bikes and e-scooters compared to other modes of transportation. The study also identified usability challenges that highlighted needs for more education on proper use and protected street infrastructure for micromobility, as well as opportunities for increased utility through vehicle design features. Findings can inform service providers, equipment manufacturers, and mobility program designers to improve micromobility user experience for a segment of the population who can reap great benefits from these services.

Eli Alston-Stepnitz, Angela Sanguinetti, Emily Searl

Conference Proceedings

Converting Driving Time to Leisure: Subjective Evaluation of Innovative Seating Positions

One of the current challenges of the automotive industry is the launch of automated vehicles. At SAE Level 4 (SAE J3016, 2021), the automation performs the entire driving task, including monitoring the environment on predefined ODDs. Thereby, the driver becomes a passenger who can use the driving time to pursue non-driving-related activities (NDRAs). While previous research gives insights into the anticipated needs of future users regarding the performance of activities (Gold et al. 2015; Pfleging et al., 2016), there is still a lack of research in terms of future vehicle interiors to enable high comfortability while performing these activities. Next to various design aspects, human factors play an important role: Which seating positions are acceptable while carrying out NDRAs? Are seating positions and constructs such as trust or perceived safety correlated? Since the thematic breadth of these questions requires a systematic approach, we conducted a literature review and interviews in preparation of the actual participant study. Based on literature, we selected work and leisure trips as relevant scenarios for the subsequent qualitative interviews. Here, n = 30 people were asked which NDRAs they would like to carry out during those trips. Based on the results, we defined two scenarios for the participant study in a highly dynamic driving simulator: “Relaxing” on the way to work and “Chatting” during a leisure trip. A total of n = 36 participants experienced different relaxing positions or seating rotations and evaluated the subjective comfort, perceived safety, suitability and trust in automation. The results point to a conflict of objectives between the perceived safety and the utility of seating positions for performing NDRAs. Following, in order to enable future passengers to use the full potential of Highly Automated Vehicles interior configurations this large field of research touched by this study needs further exploration and elaboration.

Julia Pelzer, Matthis Hötter, Claus Bertram Bonerz, Torben Böddeker, Lutz Eckstein, Stefan Ladwig

Conference Proceedings

The Design Thinking Practice of Future Urban Public Transport Service under the Thinking of Double Diamond Model

In the post-epidemic and digital era, with the rapid development of autopilot technology and transformation processes of society, the project aims to study the service design strategy and specific scheme of the transport system in complex urban public environments for the future. Based on the divergent convergence and iterative characteristics of the double diamond model, the collaborative design of community residents and professional design based on research methods and design tools were connected to carry out design practice and envision future scenarios intertwined with physical and digital in the autopilot system. In this paper, the whole process of transport in the urban scene was investigated, the key pain points of users and corresponding design opportunities were sorted out, and the service system framework of future transport in urban settings in the future era was proposed. The key touch points of transport services for residents in urban scenes were explored to form integrated design interventions of convenient, considerate, constructive, and inclusive products and systems. The innovative solution with strong integration in this project is conducive to better grasping the product and service forms of transport at the grassroots level and improving users' positive feelings, sense of participation, and experience in the autopilot system in their daily life, thus improving the quality and availability of public transport services which have a positive impact on the efficiency and sustainability of urban areas.

Yifei Wang

Conference Proceedings

Use of Tactile Alerts in Urban Air Mobility Vehicles

Urban Air Mobility (UAM) has been proposed as a solution to congested roads in cities. We tested an early concept of operation for UAM, where participants flew a simulated vehicle along a freeway route to and from two locations in the San Francisco area. We found that novice participants were able to pilot our UAM vehicle when it deviated from an automated route and return it back on course. Our study also provided a demonstration of how tactile cues can be used in UAM vehicles as part of an alerting system. We found little difference between whether the tactile alerts were administered on the arms or thighs or whether they provided directional information or not. The lack of an effect of directionality can be due to the low workload for the scenarios we examined. Future works should examine the effectiveness of the alerts in more complex task environments. However, the findings from the present study show that a tactile alerting system is feasible and that participants rated it high in terms of usability and trustworthiness.

Kali Haneji, Kristine Leung, Alina Tran, Justin Cheung, William Deabaapilux, Panadda Marayong, Kim-Phuong L. Vu, Praveen Shankar, Thomas Strybel, Vernol Battiste

Conference Proceedings

Change Detection in Head-Up Displays (HUDs) and Twilight Environments

In the current research, we evaluated the influence of Head-Up Display (HUD) luminance configurations on change detection in mixed luminance environments (i.e., twilight conditions - sunrises and sunsets). Such environments provide a particular challenge for determining the appropriate HUD luminance. Using the flicker paradigm, participants viewed an image of a HUD overlaid on a twilight environment and had to detect changes that could occur on the HUD display or in the environment. The HUD luminance was configured in one of three ways: bright, dim, and segmented (bright above the midline, dim below – matching the entire twilight environment). Although segmented HUDs seem to intuitively provide a compromise in twilight conditions, we found that this was not the case – detection performance was overall lower with segmented HUDs than with uniform HUDs. We discuss how the current results relate to spatial as well as object-based attention orienting when HUDs are used. Additionally, we provide potential reasons for the inferiority of segmented HUDs, including a reduced ability to separate information displayed on the HUD and in the environment from one another when scanning the display.

James Miles, Monica Rosas

Conference Proceedings

Effects of Napping on Pilot Performance: An Experimental Study

Several strategies can be employed to combat a sudden onset of fatigue. Napping is widely used as one of these strategies. Commercial airlines allow one pilot on flight deck duty to avail of a short rest period in the pilot seat while the other pilot is responsible for the aircraft control – this technique is called controlled rest. Controlled rest is considered a tool to enhance flight safety; this is based on the premise that reducing fatigue leads to an improved pilot condition in the context of cognitive and motor functions. However, this assumption has not been explored on an experimental level and is not supported by objective data. The aim of this study is to evaluate the effect of control rest on pilot performance. Ten pilots participated in the study. The experiment consisted of four experimental flights in a simulator. Two flights were flown on the first night of the experiment without a controlled rest period and several days later another two night flights were flown with a controlled rest period. Deviations from the instrument landing system guidance during the final approach phase were evaluated in terms of precision and accuracy. The analysis of flight data revealed an improvement in horizontal path tracking for flight with controlled rest; this is further supported by the evaluation of excessive deviations in 3D space. On the other hand, significant performance degradation is observed in the vertical plane for flights with controlled rest.

Lenka Hanakova, Viktor Valenta, Aleš Řezníček, Roman Matyas, Vladimir Socha

Conference Proceedings

Student Air Traffic Controllers' performance under conditions of increased workload

The work of an Air Traffic Controller (ATCO) involves a constantly changing mental workload and the occurrence of stressful situations to which one must react adequately. Candidates for this profession are expected to demonstrate sufficient resilience and adaptability to such situations already in the selection procedure and during the training process. However, the complexity of Air Traffic Controllers' tasks has increased dramatically in the last decades. A transformation of the ATCO training syllabus was inevitable to ensure the ability of future ATCOs to cope with this changing environment. This change has mainly become apparent in the number of practical skills a trainee has to possess even before initiating the On the Job (OJT) training. Training Organizations are constantly optimizing training processes to prepare a candidate able to withstand challenging situations with varying workloads.To investigate trainees' reactions to increased workload in the context of conducted errors, an experiment was organized examining 30 subjects that participated in a simulator exercise with increasing intensity. The subjects of the experiment were Department of Air Transport students with no particular experience in ATC but considerable knowledge of standards and procedures in air traffic control and familiarity with the simulation environment. It is therefore supposed that the level of skills and knowledge of the subjects are equivalent to student Air Traffic Controllers conducting the basic training. The aim of the experiment was to assess the impact of increased workload, utilizing ECG measurement, on the trainees' performance and subsequent error analyses. The increased workload is achieved by continuously increasing the difficulty of the exercises on the ATC simulator. To analyze, the ECG measurement, data, including R-R intervals, were processed by a short Fourier transform(STFT), filtered and further processed by HRVAS (in Matlab) by time-frequency analysis. Data were processed for Low and High Frequency (individual sympathetic and parasympathetic values). A stress value could be obtained by dividing these two values, which were projectedand plotted against time. Further, error analysis has been conducted, observing 12 categories of errors, including wrong phraseology, application of wrong ATC procedures, separation infringement, and loss of situational awareness. The experiment has shown that the students are prone to conduct mainly errors associated with basic procedures while with time and increasing workload, also errors connected to aircraft separation, situational awareness, and flight efficiency. The results indicate that the most common errors include failure to report aircraft/target identification, failure to confirm ATIS and QNH information for a given airport, descending below the transfer level, failure to respect airspace within vertical boundaries, loss of situational awareness or overall delayed response to the situation, or incorrect phraseology. This paper aims to assess student Air Traffic Controllers' psychophysiological state and performance during times of increased workload and provide an overview of physiological reactions and subsequent mistakes conducted by the trainees. Also, it should serve as an outlook of possible drawbacks that might have a negative impact on the initial training progress and should therefore be addressed with special care. Further, the experiment's results can be used for the adjustment of basic training where the most common types of errors occurring during increased workload can be addressed and trained within the enhanced practical part of the basic training.

Terézia Pilmannová, Lenka Hanakova, Vladimir Socha, Michal Freigang, Stanislav Schmidt

Conference Proceedings

CVR data unavailable: A study of 52 airline accidents and incidents 2014-2022

Concern has grown in recent years over the number of airline accidents and incidents for which investigators were unable to retrieve cockpit voice recorder (CVR) data. In 2018, a National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) report listed 34 events in which “pertinent CVR data were overwritten” and called for the introduction of CVRs with a 25-hour recording duration. In 2021, the European Union introduced regulations that require new transport aircraft weighing over 27,000 kg to be equipped with 25-hour CVRs. Building on a previous study (Cookson, 2019), this paper presents a protocol for examining safety events for which CVR data were unavailable, and examines 52 safety events that occurred between 2014 and 2022. In a majority of cases, the pertinent CVR data were overwritten because there was no prompt deactivation of the CVR after the safety event and/or a delay in notifying the investigating agency. The paper highlights a lack of standardization in the way that CVR data are presented in accident and incident reports, and a worrying subset of cases with a minimal description of CVR data or no mention at all.

Simon Cookson

Conference Proceedings

Perceived Affective Qualities in Flight Deck Design

Human Factors/Ergonomics (HF/E) practices in aviation generally focus on the system’s functional features like human performance, human error, workload, and situation awareness, without considering the emotional aspects of the interaction. However, there is a shift from a cognitive perspective to an affective one, which concerns promoting pleasure instead of just preventing design deficiencies. While traditional human factors have focused on efficiency, usability, and safety, emerging approaches have also focused on product experience. There has been a growing interest in affect and pleasure in such areas as engineering design, psychology, neuroscience, human factors, and industrial design. This study aims to transfer these emerging approaches into aviation by determining the perceived affective qualities in a flight deck design. For this purpose, interviews were conducted with pilots by using the Repertory Grid Technique with Laddering Technique to elucidate how pilots experience a flight deck design. According to the results, 33 constructs were determined which show the qualities of attributes produced by flight deck and the affective states of pilots when these qualities are provided.

Çiğdem Güneş, Gülşen Töre Yargın

Conference Proceedings

Accessibility of Air Travel for Passengers with Reduced Mobility: Results of Passenger Focus Group

Air travel is reported in the UK as the most difficult form of transport to navigate for disabled people [1]. Disabled people are half as likely to have travelled by air than non-disabled people, with lower satisfaction, and poor flight experiences putting them off flying in the future [2, 3]. This study aims to explore the experiences when travelling by air of passengers with reduced mobility due to neuromusculoskeletal (NMSK) disability. This was a qualitative study using focus groups to explore passenger experiences. Four focus groups (two in-person, two virtual) were undertaken, until data saturation was evident. A targeted recruitment strategy was used with a subsequent snowball effect. Eligibility criteria requirements were to have travelled by air and have reduced mobility due to a NMSK condition. The focus group worked through the stages of the air travel journey. Focus groups were audio recorded and transcribed before thematic analysis was undertaken using NVivo. 15 participants (male=7, female=8) took part in the focus groups (7 wheelchair users, 4 mobility aid users, 4 non-visible). Key findings related to the visibility of disability, getting on/off the plane, communication between stakeholders and staff awareness. The most popular codes related to boarding and exiting the plane. Within this part of the journey several themes emerged; forgotten at the gate or long delays, first on-board policy not followed leading to lack of dignity, poor confidence in handling and transfer into the plane seat techniques, and unsuitable seat location or type. Delays were also strongly linked to the inability to access toilet facilities on board. Getting off the plane was also linked to anxiety about the safe return of mobility aids and potential damage. Staff awareness of medical devices (stoma, catheter bags, prosthetics) emerged as a theme during security with many participants reporting embarrassment and humiliation. The visibility of disability was raised in all focus groups with those without visible aids finding it harder to access assistance. In contrast, those with a more visible restriction such as a wheelchair expressed frustration at how they shouldn’t be treated differently. The difficulties faced by disabled passengers are complex and varied. Reported problems span over multiple departments involved in the journey from communication between organisations, physical infrastructure or equipment availability, organizational policy and training, through to the individual’s attitude/perception. A key finding is that each disability is individual, their needs differ and assistance needs to be responsive to this. Following on from this study, a questionnaire will be developed and shared with a greater participant reach to evaluate if these findings remain consistent across the target group. This will then enable targeted research focused on practically addressing the issues raised. 1.Motability, The Transport Accessibility Gap. 2022.2.Department of Transport, The Inclusive Transport Strategy: Achieving Equal Access for Disabled People, Department of Transport, Editor. 2018: UK.3.Department of Transport, Access to air travel for disabled persons and persons with reduced mobility - a code of practice. 2008.

Kay Atkin, Arun Ulahannan, Paul Herriotts, Stewart Birrell

Conference Proceedings

Handling disruptions in Total Airport Management using what-if enabled systems

Total Airport Management (TAM) is an operational concept that brings together the main stakeholders at an airport to collaboratively develop a plan for the airport operations, the so-called Airport Operations Plan (AOP). This AOP contains scheduled and targeted times as well as resource plans for all flight operations related events such as on- or off-block times, runway scheduling, ground handling resource planning, etc. In case of a disruptive event at the airport the stakeholders will collaboratively develop a strategy on how to best solve the issues such that the impact on operations overall is minimized. Such disruptive events could for example be related to weather, strikes, or security incidents.The flight related processes, e.g. stand/gate planning, turnaround planning, runway assignments, flight scheduling are forming a closely-knit process network. Each of these processes is under the control of one of the stakeholders, and therefore it is very difficult for them to predict the effect of any decision they might take on the overall operations. This necessitates a process on how to analyze the effects of different stakeholder options on the overall operation before actually taking a decision and activating it in the AOP. This process is called a what-if process and is seen as a vital enabler for an efficient and successful TAM. In the context of the SESAR TAM projects an operational concept for performance-based airport management in case of meteorologically caused disruptions has been developed along with tool prototypes to support the operators with what-if functionality. In the latest TAM project (PJ04) this concept has been validated to reach Technology Readiness Level (TRL) 6 (prototype in operational environment) and both performance and human factors benefits of the approach have been demonstrated with a validation exercise taking place in the Airport Control and Operations Center Simulator (ACCES) at DLR in Braunschweig with operational experts from Oslo Gardermoen airport. In this validation exercise the stakeholders were confronted with a forecasted winter weather situation typical for the airport, where de-icing and runway cleaning is required. The weather forecast and actual weather conditions during the exercise were based on real recorded data and a newly developed MET alerting service provided de-icing and snow alerts with increased accuracy as the actual time of the event approached. The first section of the paper will address the operational concept with a focus on the use of the what-if functionality. Then a brief description of the newly developed tools is given, explaining processes and essential tools enabling effective what-if analysis, the prediction algorithm required to perform what-if analysis and the graphical user interface for the interaction between stakeholders and tools. Next the validation exercise will be described, followed by a presentation of the results, which clearly show benefits both in airport performance as well as the human factors situation awareness, workload, trust, teamwork and usability. Especially the human factors related results, which have been obtained both from standard and bespoke questionnaires, will be explained in detail. The results obtained from the exercise are very promising and suggestions for future research will be provided to conclude the paper.

Reiner Suikat, Nils Carstengerdes, Yves Guenther, Sebastian Schier, Dag Kjenstad, Michael Sinen

Conference Proceedings

Intelligent Pilot Advisory System: The journey from ideation to an early system design of an AI-based decision support system for airline flight decks

The availability of more and more data from commercial aircraft , opens up new development potential for AI-based assistance systems on the flight deck . In this context, a number of research areas need to be addressed, including the interaction between AI and the cockpit crew. Designing systems which can facilitate this new interaction between the crew and the AI merits exploration.This concept paper discusses the need for an AI-based decision support system in the cockpit of commercial aircraft. An initial proposal is made on how such a system can be developed to address human-machine interaction aspects of implementing AI-based systems in the cockpit.To discuss the need for such a system, interviews with pilots, as well as videos of emergency situations from simulator-sessions were analyzed. Based on the findings, potential use cases and research topics were identified and a system design for a selected use case was developed.The interviews have shown that crews would like to be assisted by a system during high workload events, such as emergencies and abnormal situations. According to the interviews, one of the most important demand is assistance in the decision-making process. Situations where the crew need to abruptly select an alternate airport due to a technical failure or unforeseen changes at their destination, are of particular interest. In such situations, pilots must collect and interpret information and discuss options for action. The system requested should help pilots improve their available information, situation analysis and option generation. Based on the interviews, a use case and a basic system design will be outlined, and finally two approaches for implementing the system will be proposed, focusing on separate research topics . One approach develops the system from the end-user's perspective while the other examines it from the AI development perspective.For the first approach, the challenge of designing an interface between the crew and the artificial intelligence is discussed. One requirement is that the system present the information and generated options in a comprehensible way so that the crew can understand them quickly. One possible approach would be the research area of explainable AI, which attempts to explain to the user how the system computed the proposed solution. However, there is also the approach that domain-specific, more interpretable Human-AI-Interfaces is the better solution for end-user friendly systems. In this paper, we propose a human centered approach to develop an AI-based decision support system so that the AI-based information is presented in an understandable and interpretable way.Second ly, we present some additional details regarding the AI core. The focus here would be on how this system might be envisioned and which contemporary methods from the field of AI may be employed. Given the nature of the system the Learning Classifier System (LCS) will be discussed as one of the most suitable models for the AI core, as it is characterized by a more human understandable approach. Additional benefits of LCS’s will also be presented and compared with the most currently relevant models from the field of AI and machine learning.

Jakob Würfel, Boris Djartov, Anne Papenfuß, Matthias Wies

Conference Proceedings

Metrics to Evaluate Multi-Stakeholder Airport Control Center Decision-Making Processes - a Critical Discussion

Since the beginning of the century, airport management decision-making processes have been under scientific discussion. The introduction of Airport Collaborative Decision Making (A CDM) has set an operational standard which is a about to be succeeded by Total Airport Management and Performance Based Airport Management. Within the design and validation of these concepts and the necessary tools multiple assessments of the decision-making processes have been made. Although being under research for almost 20 years, the right selection of metrics to evaluate the decision-making processes remains still a challenge. Reflecting the different stakeholder objectives and the intricate dependent working processes into metrics and performance indicators is complex and was in some cases not sensitive to the introduced operational improvement.Summarizing the experiences of the past, this paper suggests a novel approach towards the evaluation of airport control centre decision-making processes. This approach assesses performance on bases of comprehensive indicators such as costs and decision time which are valid for all stakeholders. It allows the application of computational power to calculate reliable reference values as well as to identify optimization potentials. Moreover, this paper suggests to encounter objective metrics for human factors aspects as well as to consider additional communication and personality indicators. Last but not least recurrence analysis and cross-lagged panel designs are introduced to analyse effects over time and causal relationships between human factors and performance indicators.This novel approach to decision-making evaluation leads away from single performance indicator selection and assessment to a more comprehensive evaluation of the airport in connection with highly sophisticated communication pattern analysis.

Florian Piekert, Nils Carstengerdes, Sebastian Schier, Yves Guenther, Reiner Suikat

Conference Proceedings

Why the stability-flexibility-dilemma should be taken into consideration when studying pilots multitasking behaviour

The ability to execute multiple flight tasks simultaneously is a basic requirement for safe aircraft operation. To the present time, there is no consensus about the degree to which simultaneous task execution is actually possible without performance decrements. The flexibility perspective on multitasking explains how cognitive control enables task sets to be flexibly activated and shielded from interference. However, cognitive control is subject to the stability-flexibility dilemma. This dilemma describes the conflicting demands on cognitive control that influence goal-directed behaviour in multitasking situations. On the one hand, cognitive stability has the advantage of minimizing task interference, while not facilitating flexible goal updating. On the other hand, cognitive flexibility allows for constant background monitoring and facilitates task switching. In addition, it has been demonstrated that overlearned action sequences reduce multitasking costs, but are also accompanied by mitigated behavioural flexibility. However, behavioural flexibility is particularly necessary in novel and complex flight scenarios to ensure a pilot’s rapid operational readiness. This issue raises two questions: How does the stability-flexibility-dilemma affect multitasking performance in flight environments? And which control mode is strategically beneficial in which flight scenarios? To answer these questions, the cognitive control mode of 34 subjects was experimentally manipulated in a multitasking flight environment. A gamification method shifted the participants control mode in a more stable and more flexible control mode respectively. Results show not only differences in the performance of the individual flight tasks, but also in the subjective workload and various eye tracking metrics. The latter could be taken into account by a cognitive assistance system to detect the control mode of pilots in real time. It enables appropriate assistance to be provided, taking into account the control mode and situational demands. Ultimately, this leads to the provision of situation-specific assistance with the potential to enhance the overall safety in the cockpit.

Sophie-Marie Stasch, Wolfgang Mack

Conference Proceedings

Project AVIAN-S: Development of a Natural Language Processing Model for Analyzing Aviation Safety Event Reports

Voluntary Safety Reporting Programs (VSRPs) allow civil aviation authorities, operators, and manufacturers to actively monitor and identify potential safety issues within their operations. These first-hand reports enable organizations to develop and implement safety and efficiency improvements based on front-line observations. The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) operates the Aviation Safety Reporting System (ASRS) to empower the aviation industry and its participants to report observed safety problems, discrepancies, or deficiencies. ASRS receives, processes, and publicly releases thousands of reports annually. For example, 6,428 ASRS reports are currently available detailing events that occurred in 2019; any interested party can download these ASRS reports and associated data. Often, researchers and analysts will then read and manually label factors of interest in each report to gain safety insights. This manual process can be labor-intensive and relies on the ongoing efforts of subject-matter experts. The full potential of various voluntary safety reporting data can be difficult to realize due to the limited resources available to analyze and summarize these data. New machine learning techniques involving natural language processing offer opportunities to assess and label factors of interest within safety reports more efficiently and effectively. A novel machine learning model has been developed and trained to identify human factors issues within aviation safety reports. The AVIAN-S model has been built and iteratively trained on over 50,000 rows of manually classified aviation safety reporting data. The model uses machine learning and natural language processing to automate the process of labeling aviation safety reporting data and codifying reporter narratives according to an established human factors taxonomy. This paper will describe lessons learned from the initial model development iterations and present interim results of the model as applied across a set of sample event reports. The paper will further discuss the challenges and implications of using natural language processing to identify human factors issues emerging from this or other large aviation safety reporting data sets.

R Jordan Hinson, Edward Bynum, Amelia Kinsella, Katherine Berry, Michael Sawyer

Conference Proceedings

The Artificial Intelligence (AI) Certification challenges in Future Single Pilot Operations (SiPO)

The aviation industry is characterized by innovation, change management, and human factors implementation in flight operations. The aviation industry anticipates the Single Pilot Operations (SiPO) implementation in commercial airliners. Further de-crewing on commercial airline jets would necessitate using artificial intelligence (AI) in the flight deck to support the pilot duties. This paper outlines human factors and ergonomics (HF/E) certification concerns regarding Human System Integration (HSI). The International Air Transportation Authority's (IATA) Technology Roadmap (IATA, 2019) and the European Aviation Safety Agency's (EASA) Artificial Intelligence (AI) roadmap give an overview and evaluation of current technology trends that will change the aviation environment with the use of AI and the introduction of extended Minimum Crew Operations (eMCO) and Single Pilot Operations (SiPO). A review of the existing research on Artificial Intelligence certification challenges in single pilot operations structured the research themes in cockpit design and users' perception-experience. AI certification challenges in future single pilot operations were examined through interviews with Subject Matter Experts (Human Factors analysts, AI analysts, regulators, test pilots, manufacturers, airline managers, examiners, instructors, qualified pilots, and pilots in training) and questionnaires were sent to a group of professional pilots and pilots in training. In the current regulatory environment, the associated risk-based approach for systems, equipment, and components is primarily driven by a requirements-based "development assurance" methodology during the development of their elements. Although system-level assurance may still necessitate a requirements-based approach, it is acknowledged that design-level layers that rely on learning processes – learning assurance cannot be addressed with only 'development assurance' techniques.Moreover, this research focuses on mitigating residual risk in the 'AI black box.' Results were analyzed and evaluated the Artificial Intelligence (AI) certification and learning assurance challenges under the future single pilot operations aspect.

Dimitrios Ziakkas, Michael Wayne Suckow, Konstantinos Pechlivanis

Conference Proceedings

Black Hole Illusion In Aviation – A Simulator Experiment to examine Predominant Criteria in a Real–Life Environment

Black Hole Illusion (BHI) is the cause of a significant number of fatal aviation accidents, Controlled Flight Into Terrain (CFIT) events due to “lack of vertical and/or horizontal position awareness in relation to terrain” [1] and is listed as an “environmental threat”, owning a specific section in annual worldwide safety reports [2] [3]. To date, relevant studies focused on whether and how much a single factor affects the pilot’s disorientation, whereas this study considers all the known factors plus runway illumination levels in the same simulation. The simulations conducted in these studies involved one pilot each time and were conducted with a single computer screen and a joystick or in a non-movable fixed-base simulator whereas this study aims to explore BHI in the realistic environment of a movable airline-approved A-320 full-flight simulator with a real-life aircraft cockpit operated by two pilots (captain and first officer). We examine all the factors that have been thus far explored as – causes of BHI and we added light illumination levels [4] and lateral deviation of the flight path that have never been examined before. We followed an exploratory approach with active airline pilots in a simulation where conditions causing BHI were replicated. To measure deviations from the standard approach path, all crews were asked to attempt visual starless night approaches to a predetermined set of airports. While one participant was performing the approaches, the other silently observed, taking notes to assess agreement or disagreement with the flown approach path. In each scenario, landing approaches were attempted by both captain and first officer to establish whether the pilot’s position also affects BIH. We used mix-ed methods to record the outcomes [5]. Quantitative data were generated by specific measurements from deviations of the standard flight path generated by the participants attempting the landing. Qualitative data were collected from the co-pilots’ observations and post-simulation interviews. The initial analysis indicates that the occurrence of BHI in general can be confirmed at a certain distance in the final approach sector (~ 2,5nm – 0,3nm before the runway). Light intensities and the shape of the runway could be confirmed as contributing factors due to significant variations in altitude deviations. The pilot flying the aircraft and the pilot monitoring the approach seem to not have suffered from the illusion to the same extent. Significant lateral deviations could not be observed.It is anticipated that the final findings will affect both flight situational awareness training standards and flight operational policies, contributing towards reducing human error in aviation and increasing flight safety.This study is expected to contribute to the minimisation of human errors and will consequently help increase flight safety. Originality factors are:-common commercial aviation standard full-flight simulator to generate real-life pilot environment and landing conditions-two-subject-participation to represent a complete cockpit crew to assess differences in landing the aircraft from the captain´s or first officer´s perspective-different runway lighting illumination levels in combination with varying lengths of runway and widths References[1] Kelly, D. and Efthymiou, M. (2019). An analysis of human factors in fifty controlled flight into terrain aviation accidents from 2007 to 2017. Journal of Safety Research, 69, pp. 155–165.[2] IATA (2020). Safety Report: 2019 Edition, Montreal (CA): International Air Transport Association, p.234. [3] IATA (2021). Safety Report: 2020 Edition, Montreal (CA): International Air Transport Association, p.222[4] Socha, V. et al. (2020). Black Hole Approach: A Systematic Review, Proceedings of the 22nd International Conference on New Trends in Civil Aviation 2020, pp. 117–121.[5] Almalki, S. (2016). Integrating Quantitative and Qualitative Data in Mixed Methods Research—Challenges and Benefits. Journal of Education and Learning, 5(3), p. 288.

Felix Teifer, Ivan Sikora, Alexandros Paraskevas

Conference Proceedings

Ergonomic evaluation involved in an eVTOL vehicle design process for the application of future transport operations in urban ecosystems

As the global population grows every year, urban terrestrial transportation is becoming severely challenged by mobility problems. Because of this phenomenon, an increased interest in electric aerial vehicles adapted for operation in urban environments presents itself as one of the best solutions among urban developers and big aerospace companies. This trend represents a considerable solution to increased congestion, delays, accidents, and environmental problems. With the foreseen apparition of said vehicles in the global market and the development of concepts of operation that promote the emergence of urban air mobility (UAM) ecosystems, there arises a need to study the design factors associated with electrical Vertical Takeoff and Landing (eVTOL) aircraft. In this process, ergonomics plays a significant role in the daily use of the vehicle and its interfaces with the end user. This study aims to evaluate what a proper cockpit arrangement would be for a personal eVTOL aircraft from an ergonomics standpoint. It achieves this by identifying several factors regarding pilot posture, comfort, safety, and general interaction with the vehicle (flight controls and instrument panel) and, with the design and construction of a testing rig, to recreate a single-seat eVTOL aircraft cockpit. Known methodologies based on postural analysis methods are used to determine how this affects pilot performance and flight safety and define the preliminary cockpit geometries before subject trials. Testing is conducted on the model with the use of test subjects with varied anthropometric measurements spanning the expected percentile range for the operation, and with this performing a validation of the human joints’ comfortable angles biases digital human models with computer simulation software. Additionally, a modified Cornell Musculoskeletal Discomfort Questionnaire (CMDQ) was conducted to suit operating conditions in these vehicles better, and the results obtained were used as constant feedback from the test subjects to adjust the testing rig properly. The outcome of this is a proposed arrangement for a single-seat cockpit for an eVTOL aircraft with specific dimensions, which can accommodate a considerable range of differently sized people to make the vehicles as accessible, comfortable, and safe as possible from an ergonomics perspective.

Upb- Julián García, Sebastian Munoz Pelaez, Pablo Alvarado

Conference Proceedings

Flying blind: Exploring the visual cues used by helicopter pilots in degraded visual environments

Helicopter pilots rely on visual cues from the environment and instrument displays during critical phases of flight – particularly final approach and landing – to safely land. However, the specific visual cues pilots rely on and how they integrate those cues to make anticipatory inceptor inputs or corrections are not well understood. Importantly, those cues may be degraded under nighttime and brownout/whiteout conditions where the downwash of a helicopter’s rotors cause loose dirt/snow to be projected into the air, resulting in the obfuscation of the pilot’s vision outside the aircraft. The lack of visual cues in these conditions means that pilots are often ‘flying blind’ and must transition from using visual scene-based cues and motion-based cues to alphanumeric or pictographic information on displays. This transition of in-flight rules involves changes in perceptual and cognitive processing during a time of increased cognitive and physical workload. Pilots must shift their visual and attentional focus from the external scene to head-down displays. Additionally, cognitive processing shifts from natural visual cues to detection and response. This shift is not instantaneous. Delays in recognizing and understanding the alphanumeric information increases the risk of spatial disorientation. Therefore, it becomes imperative to identify what cues pilots may rely on to inform the design of displays that may be more effective under degraded viewing conditions. To address this issue, we reviewed the literature on the visual cues used to process forward motion (i.e., speed, heading), altitude, position in space, and collision detection (specifically during the landing flare). Analyses conclude that (a) optical flow supports awareness of linear motion, (b) lines of splay and depression promote altitude regulation, (c) accretion and deletion of environmental features outside the aircraft allow for roll, yaw, and heave detection, (d) motion parallax is crucial for motion detection when an aircraft is hovering, and (e) a successful landing flare may rely on a combination of time-to-contact and time-to-passage cues. These results suggest that visual cues can be incorporated in an artificial visual environment. Providing information on the visual cues processed during landing can assist designers and developers alike to design a synthetic display that facilitates spatial awareness.

Brandon Dreslin, Molly C Mersinger, Shivani Patel, Alex Chaparro

Conference Proceedings

Simulation Study of Human Input Devices in a Variable Gravity Environment for Commercial Space Transportation

Commercial spaceflight is an exciting and rapidly growing segment of the space industry. Recent accomplishments by private companies taking non-professional astronauts into space have added additional momentum to the growth of the Commercial Space Transportation (CST) industry. It is expected that increasing numbers of private individuals will participate in commercial orbital and sub-orbital human spaceflight activities as Spaceflight Participants (SFPs). In several circumstances, the SFPs will be launched without the assistance and supervision of professional crew, requiring the SFPs to be able to manage their own safety and emergency procedures. To ensure SFPs’ safety, it is imperative to understand the unique effects of the spaceflight environment, particularly the effects of microgravity on the physio-cognitive capability of SFPs. The goal of this study is to develop general CST design guidelines for control input devices usable in variable gravity with or without a spacesuit. To accomplish this, we conducted an experiment to identify the best physio-cognitive control input logic and mechanisms for human operators in a variable gravity environment. The physiological effects of microgravity were produced by reclining participants in a Head-Down-Tilt (HDT) posture, using the Adaptive Spaceship Cockpit Simulator (ASCS). Participants were asked to perform a Fitt’s target selection task where the size and distance of a target were varied to produce different levels of target selection difficulty according to Fitt’s Law. We tested 27 participants in shirtsleeves in both the upright and HDT conditions using four input devices: (i) a touchpad, (ii) a touchscreen, (iii) a joystick, and (iv) a numpad. We investigated the accuracy of the target selection and response time across the four input devices in the two orientations. The experimental data indicated a significant difference in the target selection performance, and the touchscreen produced significantly more errors than the other devices. We conducted a regression analysis between the target width and the accuracy of target selection to determine the minimum target width required to ensure 95 percent selection accuracy for each type of input device. The approach used in this study allows for the inclusion of speed and accuracy in determining control input size and distance recommendations. This study paves the way for establishing an industry design guide in the growing CST domain.

Kazuhiko Momose, Troy Weekes, Thomas Eskridge

Conference Proceedings

Developing an Adaptive Instructional System for Simulation-Based Lifeboat Training Using Instructor Feedback

Integrating adaptive instructional systems (AIS) into simulation-based lifeboat training creates the opportunity to customize instruction and practice to meet the individual needs of trainees. Embedding an AIS into lifeboat simulation could make training more accessible for on-demand and remote learning applications such as practicing lifeboat coxswain duties while onboard vessels. An AIS evaluates performance, tailors instruction, and delivers practice exercises using four key models: the domain knowledge, the student/learner, the instructional framework, and the user interface. This paper applies a human-centred approach to developing the instructional model for an AIS to ensure the adaptive simulation-based training is attuned to the learning strategies of seafarers. Specifically, we gathered information from users of the lifeboat simulators by conducting semi-structured interviews virtually with three lifeboat instructors. The instructors were asked questions about how they provided instruction, assessment, and feedback and to comment on video examples of lifeboat operations in a simulator. The videos depicted a trainee launching the lifeboat, clearing away from an offshore installation, and manoeuvring the lifeboat in the simulator. The instructors explained how they use simulation-based training to help trainees practice lifeboat operations and build the trainees’ confidence and leadership skills as coxswains. Information from the interviews was used to develop a conceptual instructional model for an AIS. Future work will integrate the instructional model into the AIS and test its functionality for providing adequate instruction, deliberate practice opportunities, and corrective feedback to trainee lifeboat coxswains.

Jennifer Smith, Reza Zeinali Torbati, Randy Billard, Bruno Emond, Brian Veitch

Conference Proceedings

Mining Students' Digital Footprints to Enhance Simulator Training

Offshore emergencies are dynamic in nature and personnel on board are challenged with stress, uncertainty, and complexity. The lack of knowledge about how these factors affect peoples’ egress performance in emergencies undermines organizations’ ability to manage safety. A solid understanding of the impact of these factors on egress performance can help design better training programs. This paper investigates the effect of three factors: hazard proximity (to reflect stress), information quality (to reflect uncertainty), and situation familiarity (to reflect complexity) on seven different performance criteria of emergency egress. The performance criteria include mustering in time, maintaining a safe pace, keeping fire doors closed, avoiding interaction with hazards, reporting at the correct muster location, selecting appropriate personal protective (PP) gear, and selecting an efficient egress route. The investigation is driven by digital footprints of individuals performing in a training simulator under the influence of these factors. Besides measuring the impact of the factors, the data is also used to mine correlation among the performance criteria themselves (i.e. if a participant selects an efficient egress route, does that mean s/he will muster in time as well?). Finally, the data were analyzed to investigate if task performance can be modelled as a function of the factors that were identified to have a significant impact. Plotting the relationship between a performance criteria (outcome variables) and the significant factors (predictors) helps visualize the plausibility of a predictive model. In cases where predictive models were deemed plausible, binary logistic regression models were used as all performance criteria were categorical and dichotomous. The models predicted the probability of success in the performance criteria under the pressure of an emergency. The predictions are an indication of the degree of emergency preparedness of participants subsequent to training. A high probability of success in each criterion increases confidence in the training program. A low probability of success in one or more criteria highlights the gap in the training. The corresponding logistic regression model can provide direction on how the gap can be addressed.

Mashrura Musharraf, Jennifer Smith, Brian Veitch, Faisal Khan

Conference Proceedings

Distributed leadership and seafarers' emergency response in a simulated navigation environment

Merchant shipping is an occupation with a high rate of fatal injuries caused by accidents and maritime disasters. Human error plays a massive role in accidents; however, the shipping industry lacks substantial human factors research. A human factor, particularly leadership, has been implicated in numerous maritime disasters. However, there is a tendency for most research to focus on holders of formal positions. A lot of previous work on leadership has been carried out on the assumption that leadership rests with a single leader. The current study adopts a practice-based perspective to examine distributed leadership among seafarers. A simulation is used to investigate the relationship between one form of distributed leadership i.e., planfully aligned leadership, and the emergency response of the team members in a simulated navigation environment. The results showed that planfully aligned leadership was a positive and significant predictor of the team’s emergency response as compared to authoritarian leadership. This study makes a shift from the unitary view of the leader to a more practice-based perspective whereby leadership is conceived of as a collective social process emerging through the interactions of multiple actors seems to be the need of the hour. It would be worthwhile to study different configurations of distributed leadership and analyze the factors that facilitate distributed leadership.

Delna Shroff

Conference Proceedings

Applied Cognitive Task Analysis (ACTA) of marine piloting in a Swedish Context

Modern-day marine pilots are a competent and experienced workforce. They are highly skilled navigators that support the merchant fleet in transiting through challenging sea areas and rivers, as well as in the navigation in and out of ports. In this study, Applied Cognitive Task Analysis (ACTA) was used to pursue a deeper understanding of expertise and tacit or procedural knowledge that experts rely on and exhibit, mostly in safety-critical situations. ACTA is a structured interview method, which relies on three distinct phases: a task diagram, a knowledge audit and a simulation interview. In this article, results from the first two interview steps are presented to show the intricate complexity of pilotage and building blocks of expertise within marine pilotage. A total of eight experienced pilots from two different port areas in Sweden were interviewed. The results show that there are large differences in how pilotage is conducted in the two areas with regards to both tasks, knowledge and understanding of the service as such. Further, despite recognizing maneuvering as cognitively demanding, the pilots emphasized social skills and learning on the job as key elements of expertise. Conclusions drawn from the ACTA structure highlight the mentally and socially complex task that piloting is, and that the pilots use great discernment and acuity when processing verbal and non-verbal input, as well as physical human and vessel movements.

Cecilia Berlin, Gesa Praetorius

Conference Proceedings

Integrated Planning for safe and efficient maritime autonomous transport operations

Introducing new technology and autonomy into the supply chain are expected to result in more efficient, safe, and environmentally friendly transport operations. Autonomy is likely to change the transport operations, and especially the way of planning. There will likely come new threats, unfamiliar events, and new types of incidents, and the rapid pace of technological and societal change creates a strong need for new competence and work practices. This to exploit the benefits of the new technology, without operating at an unacceptable risk level. In this paper we elaborate on the different planning needs and what will be important for a successful implementation of Integrated Planning for Autonomous transport operations (IPA). The IPA is a suited framework when planning and addressing the resilience perspective, in addition to identify criticality within the transport system when new technology is introduced. This knowledge forms an important basis for decisions about which measures should be implemented when introducing IPA.A new challenge associated with autonomous technologies is the realisation of new ways of planning, working and collaborate in a transport system. This requires new routines and practices. Hence, the authors introduce Integrated Planning for Autonomous transport operations (IPA), as a framework towards successful implementation of autonomy into the transport system. The procedures for conventional planning must be changed from being a human based process, to a scenario where the collaboration between humans and technology will become stronger. IPA is based on the Integrated Planning and Logistics (IPL) that initially developed for the offshore petroleum industry in a previous Norwegian research centre (The Centre for Integrated Operations) and is based on the concept of IO (Integrated Operations), where principles of integrating people, work processes, and technology was developed for the purpose of making smarter decisions and achieve better execution. This enabled by real-time data, collaborative techniques, and sharing of expertise across disciplines, organisations, and geographical locations (Ramstad et al., 2013). When working with autonomy it will be important to understand the threats along the value chain, to identify different barriers, and to plan for actions if something differs from plan. Increasingly, automation is being implemented in vessels and infrastructure (e.g. at ports and terminals), and it is therefore important to consider the impact of an even more widespread use of such advanced technology across the whole transport chain. Thus, resilience is of high importance for being able to prepare and plan for the unknown, what can happen, how to enter back to normal or adapt to changed premises if something deviates from a plan (Fjørtoft et al 2021). This also requires an integration of plans across the value chain, also covering different planning stages and geographical areas. However, increased digital transformation and exchange of real-time data may lead to increased brittleness. For example, studies of cyber resilience of ship information systems, indicate that the increasing use of remote-controlled autonomous technology used on ships today will likely leads to an increase in worldwide new types of cyber attacks (Onishchenko et al., 2022). Zhou et al. (2019) examined sea transport from a resilience perspective. They tried to improve safety based on comprehensive risk assessment at the theoretical and operational levels concerning the specificity of water transport (Stene et al. 2021). Moreover, the current transport domain experiences a lack of coordination between different organisations, technologies, and transport operations. Execution of activities are often sub-optimal, in addition to difficult to prioritise in case of conflicts of interests. One main challenge in this context is that changes to plan often results in a win - lose situation, where the consequences of a change are not addressed to all involved stakeholders. Weak planning may affect inefficient utilisation of means as example.

Kay Fjørtoft, Even Holte, Trine Stene, Lone Sletbakk Ramstad

Conference Proceedings

Human-Machine Interaction Challenges for Bridge Operations in Large Passenger Ships and Future Improvements from The Deck Officers' Perspective

Technological bridge solutions have been implemented to improve safety and efficiency, but deck officers still face challenges in their daily use of these tools. Prior maritime human factors research has primarily focused on investigating issues such as workload, stress, teamwork, and situation awareness in ship operations, with limited attention given to the integration work, dynamic context, and factors on the system design level. Through interviews with maritime experts and field studies on two large Baltic passenger ships, this study examines the human-machine interaction challenges in today's bridge operations and identified areas for improvement. The results do not only explore the integration challenges imposed on the mariners, but also identify several contextual and system factors that contribute to these challenging bridge operations: dynamic situations and uncertainties, potentially conflicting goals, trust issues, lack of tool support and standardization. Suggestions for future improvements to bridge systems from the deck officers' perspective are also presented, with a focus on supporting proactivity, trust, context-awareness, and system integration. A few system design reflections were also made to fathom the challenges and inform potential future design directions. The study provides a thorough understanding of human-machine interaction challenges in bridge operations, which sets a foundation for future design and deployment of human-centered integrated bridge systems.

Yemao Man, Emmanuel Brorsson, Petra Bjorndal

Conference Proceedings

Design of a Sustainable and Modular Shuttle Vessel for Inland Waterways

Issue of slow mobility in inland waterways represents an important opportunity for the design research community, as part of the objectives of the main research programs in EU (e.g., Horizon Europe); hence, complex problems related to mobility can be faced by the design community through sets of smart solutions, both tangible and intangible. Recent trends in the sector suggest that the Design discipline should employ conceptual, methodological and operational tools to produce meaningful visions for urban and territorial scenarios oriented towards sustainable mobility. This is important in the perspective of sustainable development, and the related development of sustainable solutions supporting local authorities in enhancing the environmental and socio-economic quality of living contexts. Among the possible interventions that can be proposed to deal with this scenario, this paper proposes a project of a sustainable water shuttle. The boat is a part of a more complex project – system design approach – comprising service design and communication. It considers different users and stakeholders, as well as ergonomics standards like accessibility, safety, sustainability, mobility on waterways, modular design, enhancement of the natural and cultural heritage, etc. Specifically, this project focuses on the use of modular and photovoltaic components for green ferries, and how the design process used for this work can contribute to define the structure for a system-oriented design for sustainable mobility on waterways cities and natural contexts. The result presented in the document provides evidence and validity on the use of green technologies, alongside insights related production and management of sustainable products for water cities (re: shuttle boat). Ultimately, this work suggests good design practices and opportunities for intelligent solutions, opening up even new research avenues for community design.

Sarah Jane Cipressi, Massimo Di Nicolantonio, Emilio Rossi

Conference Proceedings

The impact of safety factors on decision-making in maritime navigation

On the basis of the Safety System Project theory, the navigation system is a ‘ship-human-environment’ [1,2]. Hence, approximately 85% of maritime accidents are accounted for by navigation accidents (i.e., collision and grounding) [3], caused by human errors such as mistakes in impropriate decision-making [4,5]. In maritime navigation, decision-making skills are the key to safe sailing [6]. However, the assessment of decision-making based on objective measurements is rarely studied.This paper aims to assess the impact of safety factors on decision-making in maritime navigation. In this study, two different levels of complexity with a different number of safety factors are designed for the experiment. NASA-TXL rating is used as a subjective assessment tool to rate the perceived workload and performance of the participants [7,8]. In addition, several learning objectives were listed, performance criteria were developed, and objective performance measures such as deviation from the planning route are used to analyze the participants’ decision-making and performance. Statistical tests are applied to determine the significance of the results. The experiment is conducted on a full-mission, motion-platform ship bridge simulator. A total of 22 nautical science students voluntarily participated. The participants are familiarized with the simulated ship model from their previous navigational training. The voyage is in an area near Tromsø in the north of Norway. The sailing route is about 14 kilometers long in narrow water with a sharp turn and passes under a tall, narrow bridge. The results indicate that when the participants were in a more complex scenario with more safety factors associated with navigational tasks, they felt a significantly higher workload and stress level than they were in an easier scenario with safety factors. In the complex scenario, the deviation from the planned route is overall higher than in the easy scenario, however, the trend seems to be that they fast sail back into the planned route. While the grope of sailing in an easy scenario takes more time to get back to the planned route from the point where the deviation is largest. The results also showed that while they were under different stress due to different safety factors, they all performed about the same. The finding of the study proved that when the participants are more stressed, safety is the priority in their decision-making. Human behavior has adaption so that under a certain range of stress, the performance can be stable and does not change with the stress level [9]. The research helps enhance decision-making skills in maritime training programs.

Hui Xue, Johan-Fredrik Røds, Bjørn-Morten Batalden

Conference Proceedings