Research project: Are Automatic Cars Safer and more Efficient

With systems design plagued by criticism for failing to adequately define the role of the human operator within the system as a whole, there is lasting concern amongst the Ergonomics and Human Factors community that automated sub-systems in driving may contribute to safety concerns rather than overcome them. Failing to acknowledge the role of the driver in an automated vehicle system may lead to undesirable behavioural adaptation as a result of inadequately controlling for the changing role of the driver within the control-feedback loops.

This research attempts to address concerns surrounding driver behavioural adaptation by;

1. Increasing the awareness of Human Factors in the design of automated aids by focussing on the interaction that occurs between the driver and other system agents.
2. Assessing the appropriateness of automation deployment and context of use

Victoria Banks, an Engineering Doctorate Researcher, is currently using the Southampton University Driving Simulator to analyse the interaction that takes place between the driver and vehicle sub-systems at different levels of automation.