Safety and experience of other drivers while interacting with automated vehicle platoons
2021 (English)In: Transportation Research Interdisciplinary Perspectives, E-ISSN 2590-1982, Vol. 10, article id 100381Article in journal (Refereed) Published
Abstract [en]
It is currently unknown how automated vehicle platoons will be perceived by other road users in their vicinity. This study explores how drivers of manually operated passenger cars interact with automated passenger car platoons while merging onto a highway, and how different inter-vehicular gaps between the platooning vehicles affect their experience and safety. The study was conducted in a driving simulator and involved 16 drivers of manually operated cars. Our results show that the drivers found the interactions mentally demanding, unsafe, and uncomfortable. They commonly expected that the platoon would adapt its behavior to accommodate a smooth merge. They also expressed a need for additional information about the platoon to easier anticipate its behavior and avoid cutting-in. This was, however, affected by the gap size; larger gaps (30 and 42.5 m) yielded better experience, more frequent cut-ins, and less crashes than the shorter gaps (15 and 22.5 m). A conclusion is that a short gap as well as external human–machine interfaces (eHMI) might be used to communicate the platoon's intent to “stay together”, which in turn might prevent drivers from cutting-in. On the contrary, if the goal is to facilitate frequent, safe, and pleasant cut-ins, gaps larger than 22.5 m may be suitable. To thoroughly inform such design trade-offs, we urge for more research on this topic. © 2021 The Author(s)
Place, publisher, year, edition, pages
Elsevier Ltd , 2021. Vol. 10, article id 100381
Keywords [en]
Automated vehicle platoon, Cut-in, eHMI, Highway on-ramp, Interaction, Merging, Perceived safety, User experience
National Category
Control Engineering
Identifiers
URN: urn:nbn:se:ri:diva-55668DOI: 10.1016/j.trip.2021.100381Scopus ID: 2-s2.0-85110769602OAI: oai:DiVA.org:ri-55668DiVA, id: diva2:1583727
Note
Funding details: VINNOVA, 2015-04881; Funding details: Stiftelsen för Kunskaps- och Kompetensutveckling, KKS, 20140220, 2019-05901; Funding details: Högskolan i Halmstad, HH; Funding text 1: The authors would like to acknowledge Bruno Augusto, Gunilla S?rensen, Niklas Strand, Alexander Eriksson, Mattias S?derholm Mullaart, and Henrik Nilsson for their support. Also, the authors would like to thank Eric J?rpe at Halmstad University for his insights in statistics, Joshua Bronson at RISE for proofreading the manuscript, and all study participants. The research was funded by the Swedish government agency for innovation systems (VINNOVA) through the NGEA step 2 project (ref 2015-04881), SAFER Vehicle and Traffic Safety Centre at Chalmers, Knowledge foundation (KK) through the AIR project (ref 20140220), and the Strategic vehicle research and innovation programme (FFI) through the project External interaction principles for creating trust in heavy automated vehicles (ref 2019-05901).; Funding text 2: The authors would like to acknowledge Bruno Augusto, Gunilla Sörensen, Niklas Strand, Alexander Eriksson, Mattias Söderholm Mullaart, and Henrik Nilsson for their support. Also, the authors would like to thank Eric Järpe at Halmstad University for his insights in statistics, Joshua Bronson at RISE for proofreading the manuscript, and all study participants. The research was funded by the Swedish government agency for innovation systems (VINNOVA) through the NGEA step 2 project (ref 2015-04881), SAFER Vehicle and Traffic Safety Centre at Chalmers, Knowledge foundation (KK) through the AIR project (ref 20140220), and the Strategic vehicle research and innovation programme (FFI) through the project External interaction principles for creating trust in heavy automated vehicles (ref 2019-05901).
2021-08-092021-08-092024-08-30Bibliographically approved