The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety has issued a set of research-based safety recommendations on the design of partially automated driving systems. The guidelines emphasize how to keep drivers focused on the road even as the vehicle does more of the work.
According to IIHS, today’s partially automated systems still need the driver to be involved at all times. That means they need robust methods of monitoring driver engagement and more effective ways of regaining the driver’s attention when it wanders. Designs should also be based on a principle of shared control, and they should have built-in limits that prevent them from being used on roads and under conditions where it isn’t safe to do so, IIHS researchers say.
As part of that philosophy of shared control, partially automated systems shouldn’t change lanes or overtake other vehicles without driver input. They should also be responsive to driver steering input even when automatic lane centering is engaged.
“Unfortunately, the more sophisticated and reliable automation becomes, the more difficult it is for drivers to stay focused on what the vehicle is doing,” says IIHS President David Harkey. “That’s why systems should be designed to keep drivers actively engaged.”
Under the classification system developed by SAE International, there are five levels of automation, ranging from 0 (no automation) to 5 (fully self-driving). The highest level available in production vehicles today is Level 2. These systems continuously control acceleration, braking and steering to keep the vehicle traveling at a set speed in the center of its lane while maintaining a selected following distance from the vehicle ahead. They require the human driver to remain vigilant and ready to intervene in the event that the system encounters a situation it cannot handle.
The systems that are currently available either assume the driver is paying attention when his or her hands are on the wheel or use a driver-facing camera to determine if the driver’s head is oriented toward the road, but neither is foolproof. The researchers recommend employing multiple monitoring methods, including using a driver-facing camera and measuring things like manual adjustments to the steering wheel and how quickly the driver responds to attention reminders.
When the driver monitoring system detects that the driver’s focus has wandered, that should trigger a series of escalating attention reminders. The first warning should be a brief visual reminder. If the driver doesn’t quickly respond, the system should rapidly add an audible or physical alert, such as seat vibration, and a more urgent visual message.
Moments later, all three types of warnings should be presented. Throughout this sequence, the urgency of each alert should continue to escalate. If the driver doesn’t respond to the alerts, the system should increase following distance from the vehicle ahead and pulse the brakes to provide a warning that is difficult to ignore.
If the driver still fails to respond, the system should deploy the hazard lights and gradually slow the vehicle to a stop — though a design capable of first moving the vehicle onto the shoulder would be preferable. The driver can interrupt this safe stop procedure at any time by resuming control over the throttle or brake pedal and steering. However, the driver should be locked out from accessing the Level 2 system for the remainder of the drive anytime that the safe stop procedure has been triggered or a maximum number of attention reminders has been reached.
Recommended escalating attention reminders for Level 2 automation
Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.
No manufacturer currently incorporates all these measures. Some systems only monitor one type of behind-the-wheel behavior and do not use an escalation process beyond a visual-audible attention reminder. Others switch themselves off if the driver fails to respond to repeated alerts. If the driver is incapacitated, that would mean that neither the driver nor the lane-centering system is actually steering.
The post IIHS Issues Safety Recommendation for Vehicle Manufacturers to Keep Drivers with Automated Systems Focused on the Road appeared first on CollisionWeek.