AMHERST, Mass. — You slide behind the wheel of your car, with your sights set on your destination. But while you’re on the roads, how much time do you really spend thinking about the technology you use, or the signs you see?
For researchers at the Human Performance Lab at UMass Amherst, that’s a primary focus. “Driving simulators are a really good tool for us to assess both new technology on the road as well as new technology in the vehicle in a safe environment,” said Associate Professor Shannon Roberts.
Roberts is one of the researchers at the lab using a simulator to study driver behavior and road infrastructure, as well as the technology of the future.
“We can look at new technology that isn’t even on the road in the simulator, and that’s because we can program it to fit our needs,” Roberts said. “So we can examine various forms of driver automation, whether that be something like automatic emergency braking, all the way up to a driverless shuttle. We can see how people react to those different technologies in a safe environment.”
Last semester, students at the lab collected data from nearly 50 passengers in a simulated self-driving car. Assistant Professor Anuj Pradhan said the goal was to get a sense of how well the drivers understood what the cars were doing.
The findings of the research could influence the types of messaging being used in self-driving vehicles. Pradhan explained that the virtual scenario was created, and then the recruits sat in the back seat of the car.
“They [were] wearing eye-tracking equipment and that becomes really important because what we like to see is what you’re looking at, it’s generally what you’re thinking about.”
The work here isn’t just focused on the future. One upcoming simulation will study tools many drivers already use: adaptive cruise control and lane keeping assist. “Once these technologies are introduced, what happens to the driver in terms of their scanning and monitoring and hazard anticipation abilities, because drivers are still ultimately responsible for that.”
The researchers say simulation allows them to create and study scenarios that might not be safe to explore on the actual roads.
The only real danger in the simulator? Motion sickness.
Despite that, the lab says they don’t have any trouble finding willing volunteers. But it’s not just a big video game. Simulation studies can sometimes take up to two years. They often complement other types of research, like interviews, road studies, and surveys. As Pradhan explained about one study looking at how drivers use vehicle technology,
“There was a very scary finding from a] survey that said drivers tend to learn from trial and error, which means they were on the highway pushing buttons. That led to MassDOT funding another project that we conducted, where we looked at further training development for advanced driver assistance systems.”
So the next time you’re on the road, some of what you see or use while you’re behind the wheel may be what it is because of the research happening in front of the screen.
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