Autonomous driving will be a significant step change for not only those developing the enabling technology, but also for the eventual end-users. One question that remains unanswered is how such a car will transition from driverless mode to driver control in a safe, efficient and familiar manner.
Columbus, Ohio-based Lextant assists companies at the forefront of autonomous driving developments to understand what the drivers of today may demand from an autonomous vehicle in future through in-depth market research.
One potential sticking point that has been flagged is the fact that autonomy is set to change the way drivers have been operating vehicles for decades. “It’s grounded in 100 years of usage that this is the way you operate a vehicle,” explains Chris Rockwell, Chief Executive of Lextant. “When you change all that, there’s going to be a learning curve, and when you add the criticality of the transition period and the associated stress, it’s going to magnify potential problems in the short term,” Automotive World heard.
“It’s a matter of doing iterative design and testing programmes to ensure that when the technology does go to market, we know with confidence drivers can use it effectively”
The answer, he says, comes down to effective interface design – how man and machine communicate. “We know a lot about what people can do from a cognitive, perceptual and physical standpoint, and it’s a matter of doing iterative design and testing programmes to ensure that when the technology does go to market, we know with confidence that drivers can use it effectively.” Rockwell, however, was quick to point out that this is a solvable issue, “as long as we are aware that we have to put consumers at the centre of this process.”
The key is ensuring that when autonomous vehicles come to market, consumers understand how to operate them straight away. A familiar paradigm that drivers understand, such as a ‘push to stop’ button, could even be an option, Rockwell suggested.
In the case of an autonomous car, this button would inform the vehicle’s artificial intelligence (AI) that the driver wishes to safety transition to a state where he or she is in control. “There is some of that thinking coming from OEMs already, and I’m excited to see that,” said Rockwell.
In some cases, this button may also be a situational event where the driver wishes to control the vehicle when approaching the exit on a highway. In other cases, such a button could be used in a critical incident, “similar to what you see in some of the autopilot systems in aircraft,” he suggested.
Ultimately, Rockwell affirmed, bringing self-driving vehicles into mass existence will not hinge on the technology – which is largely in place already – it will be about consumer psychology. “OEMs are acknowledging this, and are beginning to put the kind of things in place to help us succeed in that area, which is exciting to see,” he concluded, adding: “The future is promising.”
Rockwell will be speaking at Autonomous Car Detroit by Automotive Megatrends on 16 March 2015, which will bring together the stakeholders making self-driving cars a reality.
