Within the EU project ADAS&ME (www.adasandme.com), a study is being conducted where bus drivers try using an automatic docking system at a bus stop. The study is carried out using Virtual Reality (VR), which means that the test subjects wear a head mounted display that places them in a completely computer-generated traffic environment. The scenario consists of driving a bus that, upon approaching a bus stop, can steer in and out completely autonomously, provided that the driver has accepted this setting. The experiment is led by Mohamed Nasser and Daban Aram Kamal, who are students at Linköping University. They intend to explore how to optimally design the user interface in a driver environment so that the transition between the actions of the driver and the bus is safe and complies with the intentions of the driver. They are also studying the timing of the transition between the driver and the autonomous system. The bus driver must have enough time to react and act in order for the driving to be as safe and attractive as possible.

“This study can contribute to the development of autonomous vehicles, a safer traffic environment, not to mention reduce the stress on bus drivers,” says Mohamed Nasser and Daban Aram Kamal.

Published: 3 October 2018