Breaking the cycle of frustration: Applying Neisser's Perceptual Cycle Model to drivers of semi-autonomous vehicles

Resilient interactions between cyclists and drivers, and what does this mean for automated vehicles?

The road transport system is a complex sociotechnical system that relies on a number of formal and informal rules of the road to ensure safety and resilience. Interactions between vulnerable road users and drivers often includes informal communication channels that are tightly linked to social norms, user expectations and the environmental context. Automated vehicles have a challenge in being able to communicate and respond to these informal rules of the road, therefore additional technologies are required to better support vulnerable road users. This paper presents the informal rules that cyclists and drivers employ within a cyclist overtake manoeuvre, through qualitative data collected from focus groups and interviews with road users. These informal rules are classified into the key elements of resilience (monitor, detect, anticipate, respond and learn) to understand how they guide the resilient interactions between road users. Using a human factors approach, the Perceptual Cycle Model shows how information is communicated between different road users and created by the situational context. This is then used to inform how automation will alter the communication between cyclists and drivers, and what additional feedback mechanisms will be needed to support the systems resilience. Technologies that can support these feedback mechanisms are proposed as avenues for future development.

Maritime autonomous surface ships: can we learn from unmanned aerial vehicle incidents using the perceptual cycle model?

Interest in Maritime Autonomous Surface Ships (MASS) is increasing as it is predicted that they can bring improved safety, performance and operational capabilities. However, their introduction is associated with a number of enduring Human Factors challenges (e.g. difficulties monitoring automated systems) for human operators, with their 'remoteness' in shore-side control centres exacerbating issues. This paper aims to investigate underlying decision-making processes of operators of uncrewed vehicles using the theoretical foundation of the Perceptual Cycle Model (PCM). A case study of an Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) accident has been chosen as it bears similarities to the operation of MASS through means of a ground-based control centre. Two PCMs were developed; one to demonstrate what actually happened and one to demonstrate what should have happened. Comparing the models demonstrates the importance of operator situational awareness, clearly defined operator roles, training and interface design in making decisions when operating from remote control centres. Practitioner Summary: To investigate underlying decision-making processes of operators of uncrewed vehicles using the Perceptual Cycle Model, by using an UAV accident case study. The findings showed the importance of operator situational awareness, clearly defined operator roles, training and interface design in making decisions when monitoring uncrewed systems from remote control centres.

Clear and present danger? Applying ecological interface design to develop an aviation risk management interface

Ecological Interface Design (EID) is a framework for developing dynamic interfaces that support operators to understand and take appropriate actions within highly-complex systems. This two-part study involved the development and evaluation of a novel EID-based static aviation risk management display. A within-subjects survey-based experiment employed measures of decision accuracy, situation awareness, user workload, usability, and user perceptions. Results from 23 participants showed that when compared to a risk interface utilised by a large aviation company, the EID display achieved higher usability and lower workload ratings with large effect sizes, with no differences in decision accuracy and situation awareness. The findings provide evidence that the EID framework can improve upon static traditional displays. Research contributions also include a novel model of an aviation ground operations system and an example application of EID to the development of a static display. Further research is necessary to identify the extent of the applications and benefits to static displays.

25 Years of road safety: The journey from thinking humans to systems-thinking

Research into road safety has evolved from individual level component analysis to a much broader, systemic approach that acknowledges the fusion of 'socio' and 'technical' system elements. Over the past four decades, Professor Neville Stanton has contributed to over 179 journal articles, book chapters and conference papers in the field of road safety. The journey from 'thinking humans' to 'systems thinking' is demonstrated in this paper through the novel application of the Risk Management Framework (RMF) to the categorisation of research activities. A systematic review of Neville's contributions to the field of road safety demonstrates that over the years, his research activities have evolved from investigating single technological or human performance aspects in isolation (e.g., in-vehicle information design and workload) through to the holistic analysis of much broader systems (e.g., investigating road safety as a whole). Importantly, this evolution goes hand in hand with a change in the focus and emphasis of recommendations for improvements to safety. Going forward, Neville has helped pave the way for fundamental changes and improvements to be made to road safety systems around the world.

Festschrift in honour of Professor Neville Stanton: A lone crusader in a world of driving simulators

The automotive future has always pointed to a world of intelligent co-pilots and robot cars, but perhaps no more so than Knight Rider. In this 1980's television series the fictional Knight Industries Two Thousand (KITT) was a supercomputer on wheels with 1000 megabytes of memory. The protagonist was Michael Knight, a young loner on a crusade to champion the cause of the innocent and the helpless. This was a shadowy flight into the trials and tribulations of different levels of automation, re-claiming control when automation failed, and a wilful, chatty computer co-driver. An amusing metaphor, perhaps, for the research impact made by Neville Stanton in the field of vehicle automation. Without question - to paraphrase the Knight Rider outro - "one man can make a difference". This festschrift in Neville's honour tells the story of how.

Situation Awareness in Remote Operators of Autonomous Vehicles: Developing a Taxonomy of Situation Awareness in Video-Relays of Driving Scenes

Even entirely driverless vehicles will sometimes require remote human intervention. Existing SA frameworks do not acknowledge the significant human factors challenges unique to a driver in charge of a vehicle that they are not physically occupying. Remote operators will have to build up a mental model of the remote environment facilitated by monitor view and video feed. We took a novel approach to “freeze and probe” techniques to measure SA, employing a qualitative verbal elicitation task to uncover what people “see” in a remote scene when they are not constrained by rigid questioning. Participants (n = 10) watched eight videos of driving scenes randomized and counterbalanced across four road types (motorway, rural, residential and A road). Participants recorded spoken descriptions when each video stopped, detailing what was happening (SA Comprehension) and what could happen next (SA Prediction). Participant transcripts provided a rich catalog of verbal data reflecting clear interactions between different SA levels. This suggests that acquiring SA in remote scenes is a flexible and fluctuating process of combining comprehension and prediction globally rather than serially, in contrast to what has sometimes been implied by previous SA methodologies (Jones and Endsley, 1996; Endsley, 2000, 2017b). Inductive thematic analysis was used to categorize participants’ responses into a taxonomy aimed at capturing the key elements of people’s reported SA for videos of driving situations. We suggest that existing theories of SA need to be more sensitively applied to remote driving contexts such as remote operators of autonomous vehicles.

Thinking aloud on the road: Thematic differences in the experiences of drivers, cyclists, and motorcyclists

This study takes a qualitative approach to exploring the experiences (and differences therein) of individuals using either their car, bicycle, or motorcycle to navigate a ∼10.5 km urban route in a provincial UK city, with the aim of contributing to our understanding of the needs and requirements of different road users. Forty-six individuals provided concurrent verbal reports, using the 'think aloud' method, whilst using their vehicle to navigate the test route, the transcripts of which were subjected to a theory-agnostic, inductive, thematic analysis. A number of group differences were observed, revealing (among other factors) the importance of road surface quality to cyclists, the focus on vigilant observation in motorcyclists, and the heightened emotionality experienced by both two-wheeled groups, particularly those on bicycles. This affective component has, as yet, been under-explored in the academic domain and under-utilised in road transport policy and strategy; this is discussed, with attention drawn to the cyclists' greater tendency to make negatively valenced value judgements. Results are also discussed in terms of the potential to improve road users' experiences, foster inter-group empathy and understanding, and encourage a shift in mobility towards more sustainable modes.

Supporting Drivers of Partially Automated Cars through an Adaptive Digital In-Car Tutor

Drivers struggle to understand how, and when, to safely use their cars’ complex automated functions. Training is necessary but costly and time consuming. A Digital In-Car Tutor (DIT) is proposed to support drivers in learning about, and trying out, their car automation during regular drives. During this driving simulator study, we investigated the effects of a DIT prototype on appropriate automation use and take-over quality. The study had three sessions, each containing multiple driving scenarios. Participants needed to use the automation when they thought that it was safe, and turn it off if it was not. The control group read an information brochure before driving, while the experiment group received the DIT during the first driving session. DIT users showed more correct automation use and a better take-over quality during the first driving session. The DIT especially reduced inappropriate reliance behaviour throughout all sessions. Users of the DIT did show some under-trust during the last driving session. Overall, the concept of a DIT shows potential as a low-cost and time-saving solution for safe guided learning in partially automated cars.