Abstract
When negotiating bends car drivers perform gaze polling: their gaze shifts between guiding fixations (GFs; gaze directed 1–2 s ahead) and look-ahead fixations (LAFs; longer time headway). How might this behavior change in autonomous vehicles where the need for constant active visual guidance is removed? In this driving simulator study, we analyzed this gaze behavior both when the driver was in charge of steering or when steering was delegated to automation, separately for bend approach (straight line) and the entry of the bend (turn), and at various speeds. The analysis of gaze distributions relative to bend sections and driving conditions indicate that visual anticipation (through LAFs) is most prominent before entering the bend. Passive driving increased the proportion of LAFs with a concomitant decrease of GFs, and increased the gaze polling frequency. Gaze polling frequency also increased at higher speeds, in particular during the bend approach when steering was not performed. LAFs encompassed a wide range of eccentricities. To account for this heterogeneity two sub-categories serving distinct information requirements are proposed: mid-eccentricity LAFs could be more useful for anticipatory planning of steering actions, and far-eccentricity LAFs for monitoring potential hazards. The results support the idea that gaze and steering coordination may be strongly impacted in autonomous vehicles.
Highlights
Manual driving is a complex task that requires continuous processing of visual information to control the vehicle’s speed and lateral position, read traffic signs, examine potential hazards, etc
The small amount of look-ahead fixations (LAFs) observed when actively steering around corners, and the proportionally larger amount of LAFs observed both before the bend and during passive driving, are consistent with the notion that guiding fixations (GFs) are involved in visuomotor coordination
The study analyzed gaze behavior when negotiating bends at various speeds when the driver was in charge of steering or when it was delegated to automation
Summary
Manual driving is a complex task that requires continuous processing of visual information to control the vehicle’s speed and lateral position, read traffic signs, examine potential hazards, etc. In highly automated driving the driver delegates lateral and longitudinal control of the vehicle to the system. He or she becomes the supervisor of decisions made by the system. The driver is by definition outside the operational control loop, even without engagement in a secondary task, which can lead to changes in gaze strategies. The general objective of this study is to examine how gaze behavior differs between active (manual) and passive (automated) driving in curves, with a particular interest in anticipatory visual behavior under different spatiotemporal constraints
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