Teleoperation of Highly Automated Vehicles in Public Transport: User-Centered Design of a Human-Machine Interface for Remote-Operation and Its Expert Usability Evaluation

Michael Oehl,Carmen Kettwich,Andreas Schrank

doi:10.3390/mti5050026

Michael Oehl, Carmen Kettwich + Show 1 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.3390/mti5050026

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Abstract

Paving the way to future mobility, teleoperation of vehicles promises a reachable solution to effectively use the benefits of automated driving as long as fully automated vehicles (SAE 5) are not entirely feasible. Safety and reliability are assured by a human operator who remotely observes the vehicle and takes over control in cases of disturbances that exceed the vehicle automation’s skills. In order to integrate the vehicle’s automation and human remote-operation, we developed a novel user-centered human-machine interface (HMI) for teleoperation. It is tailored to the remote-operation of a highly automated shuttle (SAE 4) by a public transport control center and based on a systematic analysis of scenarios, of which detailed requirements were derived. Subsequently, a paper-pencil prototype was generated and refined until a click-dummy emerged. This click-dummy was evaluated by twelve control center professionals. The experts were presented the prototype in regular mode and were then asked to solve three scenarios with disturbances in the system. Using structured interview and questionnaire methodology, the prototype was evaluated regarding its usability, situation awareness, acceptance, and perceived workload. Results support our HMI design for teleoperation of a highly automated shuttle, especially regarding usability, acceptance, and workload. Participant ratings and comments indicated particularly high satisfaction with the interaction design to resolve disturbances and the presentation of camera images. Participants’ feedbacks provide valuable information for a refined HMI design as well as for further research.

Highlights

IntroductionA possible interim solution to use potential of today’s advanced automation without compromising the passengers’ safety is outsourcing the monitoring task from the driver’s on-board cabin to a higher-level actor, such as a control center that remote-controls and commands the vehicle if necessary [4,5]
Teleoperation is seen as a prerequisite for the introduction of SAE level 4 [6] highly automated driving features on public roads as remote intervention by a human can take over critical situations that the highly automated vehicle cannot handle itself [7]
Potential scenarios relevant in teleoperation were defined and analyzed. These were brought about using video analysis of critical scenarios regarding the interaction of highly automated shuttles with other traffic participants, observations of and interviews with control center professionals, as well as brainstorming sessions of experts in the field of automated driving and future mobility

Summary

Introduction

A possible interim solution to use potential of today’s advanced automation without compromising the passengers’ safety is outsourcing the monitoring task from the driver’s on-board cabin to a higher-level actor, such as a control center that remote-controls and commands the vehicle if necessary [4,5]. Teleoperation is seen as a prerequisite for the introduction of SAE level 4 [6] highly automated driving features on public roads as remote intervention by a human can take over critical situations that the highly automated vehicle cannot handle itself [7]. To achieve efficient and safe teleoperation, technological developments such as the data connection need to be considered and the interaction between operator and the remote-control workstation needs to be designed [8,9]

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