Abstract
Research on partially automated driving has revealed relevant problems with driving performance, particularly when drivers’ intervention is required (e.g., take-over when automation fails). Mental fatigue has commonly been proposed to explain these effects after prolonged automated drives. However, performance problems have also been reported after just a few minutes of automated driving, indicating that other factors may also be involved. We hypothesize that, besides mental fatigue, an underload effect of partial automation may also affect driver attention. In this study, such potential effect was investigated during short periods of partially automated and manual driving and at different speeds. Subjective measures of mental demand and vigilance and performance to a secondary task (an auditory oddball task) were used to assess driver attention. Additionally, modulations of some specific attention-related event-related potentials (ERPs, N1 and P3 components) were investigated. The mental fatigue effects associated with the time on task were also evaluated by using the same measurements. Twenty participants drove in a fixed-base simulator while performing an auditory oddball task that elicited the ERPs. Six conditions were presented (5–6 min each) combining three speed levels (low, comfortable and high) and two automation levels (manual and partially automated). The results showed that, when driving partially automated, scores in subjective mental demand and P3 amplitudes were lower than in the manual conditions. Similarly, P3 amplitude and self-reported vigilance levels decreased with the time on task. Based on previous studies, these findings might reflect a reduction in drivers’ attention resource allocation, presumably due to the underload effects of partial automation and to the mental fatigue associated with the time on task. Particularly, such underload effects on attention could explain the performance decrements after short periods of automated driving reported in other studies. However, further studies are needed to investigate this relationship in partial automation and in other automation levels.
Highlights
Automated vehicles (Level 5 in Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE’s) j3016 classification, see SAE, 2016) have received a great attention in recent years
One of them can start at early stages of automated driving, and it is a consequence of the perceived low demand itself
The other effect occurs after a prolonged time of driving, regardless the level of automation. Such effect reflects vigilance decrements associated with the increasing mental fatigue over time
Summary
Automated vehicles (Level 5 in Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE’s) j3016 classification, see SAE, 2016) have received a great attention in recent years. New advanced driver-assistance systems (ADAS) that enable the simultaneous longitudinal (i.e., speed and distance with the vehicle in front) and lateral control (i.e., position in the lane) of the vehicle, leading to partial automation or SAE’s Level 2 (SAE, 2016) are being commercialized. Until higher automation levels are launched (e.g., Level 3 or ‘‘conditional automation’’), the driver will still be required to closely monitor the system performance and intervene when necessary, as the system is not capable of handling every situation (e.g., degraded lane markings or visibility). This shift in the driver’s role may lead to changes in his/her behavior and performance that need to be investigated
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