Overview
The AIDE Integrated Project (IP) has been set up to address HMI issues within a general European joint effort towards the large-scale deployment of Intelligent Road Safety Systems and, ultimately, a significant reduction of road accidents. HMI designs for maximising the safety benefits of new Advanced Driver Assistance Systems (ADAS).
Today, a wide range of Advanced Driver Assistance Systems (ADAS) are being developed for enhancing the driver's perception of the hazards, and/or partly automating the driving task. These include speed alert, lane support/blind spot detection, automated safe following, pedestrian detection, vision enhancement and driver impairment monitoring. These systems have great potential for reducing accidents, in particular the great portion related to human error (European Commission, 2002).
The safety impact of these systems depends to a great extent to be determined by their interaction with the driver. For example, in order to efficiently support the driver in avoiding crashing into a front obstacle, it is crucial that the warning/feedback given by the system intuitively generates the appropriate response (e.g. an avoidance manoeuvre). New technologies, exploiting new concepts for driver-vehicle interaction in multiple sensory modalities (e.g. visual, tactile and auditory), offer great potential for maximising the potential safety benefits of ADAS. Research and development on how to best exploit these possibilities to maximise the efficiency of ADAS is urgently needed.
Moreover, it is well known that the introduction of new safety functions may induce longer-term changes in driver behaviour. This type of behavioural change, often referred to as behavioural adaptation, may significantly affect the actual (as compared to the expected) safety benefits of a safety measure, both in positive and negative directions (OECD, 1990). Behavioural effects demonstrated for ADAS include system over-reliance on in-vehicle safety technologies resulting diversion of attention from the driving task and safety margin compensation.
However, the mechanisms underlying these effects are largely unknown and a model for predicting them does not exist. Finally, the potential safety impact of an ADAS ultimately depends on its market penetration rate and whether it is actually used by drivers.
Here, the human-machine interface is of crucial importance; annoying system behaviour (e.g. nuisance warnings) will lead to drivers simply abandoning the system, which hence obviousl
The general objective of the AIDE IP was to generate the knowledge and develop methodologies and human-machine interface technologies required for safe and efficient integration of ADAS, IVIS and nomad devices into the driving environment.
The objectives of AIDE were:
- to maximise the efficiency, and hence the safety benefits, of advanced driver assistance systems;
- to minimise the level of workload and distraction imposed by in-vehicle information systems and nomad devices;
- to enable the potential benefits of new in-vehicle technologies and nomad devices in terms of mobility and comfort.
Specifically, the goal of the IP was to design, develop and validate a generic Adaptive Integrated Driver-vehicle Interface (AIDE) that:
- maximises the efficiency of individual and combined advanced driver assistance systems by means of innovative, integrated and adaptive, human-machine interface concepts that prevent negative behavioural effects (e.g. under-load, over-reliance and safety margin compensation). It also maximises positive effects (e.g. enhanced situational awareness), thereby enhancing the safety benefits of these systems. AIDE should demonstrate significantly enhanced safety benefits compared to existing solutions;
- reduces the level of workload and distraction related to the interaction with individual and combined in-vehicle information and nomad devices, thereby reducing the number of road accidents. AIDE should demonstrate a significant reduction in the imposed workload and distraction compared to existing solutions;
- enables the potential benefits of new in-vehicle technologies and nomad devices in terms of mobility and comfort, without compromising safety.
The AIDE Project included developments of a model for prediction of behavioural effects of driver assistance and information systems. This model was the basis for the design of the adaptive integrated driver-vehicle interface; development's of a generic, industrially applicable, methodology for the evaluation of road vehicle human-machine interfaces with respect to safety. This methodology was used for verifying the quantified goals. Design, development and evaluation of three prototype vehicles, one city car, one luxury car and one heavy truck with implemented adaptive integrated vehicle interface.
Funding
Results
AIDE IP generated the knowledge and developed methodologies and human-machine interface technologies required for safe and efficient integration of ADAS, IVIS and nomad devices into the driving environment.
These three major lines of development were carried out in parallel exchanging information and data while work progressed towards the final Overall DVE-Predicting Model/Simulation:
- develop a basic understanding of the DVE interaction and the behavioural effects of IVIS and ADAS,
- develop this into a model and
- computer simulation for predicting these effects.
Technical Implications
In specific, five support systems namely ISA, CC, SL, FCW and LDW were studied. The methods that were used can be broadly grouped, according to the data collected, into two categories: those that provide subjective data on how participants describe their adaptation to a given support system (this is the case in the INRETS - Renault and PSA - TNO studies) and those that provide objective data on participants; driving behaviour after long-term exposure to a particular system based on various measures of vehicle parameters (this is the case in the Leeds - VTI and CERTH/HIT studies).
Policy implications
AIDE should demonstrate that the benefits of new in-vehicle technologies could be enjoyed without increased accidents risk. Moreover, the concepts and technologies developed should have high product-feasibility in order to penetrate the market and should contribute significantly towards the EC goal of a 50% reduction of fatalities by 2010.
In-vehicle driver information and support systems (eg navigation, communications, collision warning) need to be carefully designed so that they do not distract the driver and can properly support the driving task. In December 1999 the European Commission (EC) adopted the European Statement of Principles (ESoP) in acknowledgement of the importance of Human-Machine Interaction (HMI) safety for in-vehicle telematics. In recommending adherence to the ESoP, the EC urged the European motor manufacturing and in-vehicle information systems supply industry to comply with the ESoP which outlined a number of basic safety requirements concerning the design of, and driver interaction with, in-vehicle information, communication and entertainment systems.
Member States were invited by the EC to take steps to encourage industry to comply with the ESoP and report back on the awareness of ESoP within the industry and the degree of compliance to the ESoP by the industry by December 2001. Only a handful of Member States reported back. In recent months an EC e-Safety Working Group has identified the potential safety benefits of driver information and assistance systems for the driver and has recommended that HMI issues be given urgent attention. An Expert Group for HMI has therefore been set up under the e-Safety initiative. This Expert Group will effectively address the HMI safety issues as the 'next steps' to the outcome of the EC ESoP exercise.
The principles, 35 in total, are divided into six categories:
Overall design principles
Since there are only three of them, they can be quoted here in full in order to get an idea of the principles format and content:
- The system should be designed to support the driver and should not give rise to potentially hazardous behaviour by the driver or other road users.
- The system should be designed in such a way that the allocation of driver attention to the system displays or controls remain compatible with the attentional demand of the driving situation.
- The system should be designed so as not to distract or visually entertain the driver
Installation princ