Integrating Trust and Driver’s Safety By Robin Mitchell

Components of Focus Area Improving driving safety through the use of in vehicle warning devices Trust in automation

Automotive Warning Devices Designed to help alert the driver to potentially dangerous driving situations Currently, there are several Adaptive Cruise Control (ACC) Forward Collision Warning (FCW)

Adaptive Cruise Control (ACC) Uses radar and laser range sensors to detect vehicles ahead of the driver and adjusts the vehicle’s speed to maintain a minimum headway with the other vehicles Able to control the engine, power train, and/or the service breaks

Adaptive Cruise Control (ACC) Maintains both set speed and headway Is able to control both these settings for the vehicle and adapt them to the current driving situation

Forward Collision Warning (FCW) Uses the same sensors as ACC to assess collision potential and warn the driver of emerging collision situations Helps the driver to avoid striking the rear end of another vehicle

Combined Use of ACC and FCW Improve ability to avoid collisions by helping the driver to maintain safe speeds and headways Conveyed through visual, auditory, and tactile cues Helps refocus driver attention when it is diverted to another place

Example of ACC and FCW If ACC detects a slower or stopped vehicle, it will create an alert If the driver does nothing, this would cause the FCW to also alert (as a forward collision would be imminent) It is up to the driver to react to the warnings

Change in Driving Tasks Changes driver tasks by taking some control from the driver Creates different tasks for the driver to perform The driver relies on the automation to determine the safety of the situation

Trust Defined Generally it is an attitude towards technology regarding expected performance Most widely used definition comes from Mayer, Davis, and Schoorman, 1995: “the willingness of a party to be vulnerable to the actions of another party based on the expectation that the other will perform a particular action important to the trustor, irrespective of the ability to monitor or control that party”

Characteristics that govern Trust Ability: the group of skills, competencies, and characteristics that enable the agent to influence the domain. – Similar to predictability Integrity: degree to which the agent follows a set of principles – Similar to dependability Benevolence: the extent to which the motivations of the agent are aligned with those of the trustor – Working towards a common goal

Trust is dependant on 3 dimensions Performance Process Purpose of Automation Definitions from “Trust in Technology: Designing for Appropriate Reliance” by John Lee and Katrina See

Performance The competency or perceived expertise of the automation as demonstrated by its ability to achieve the operator’s goals In other words, will it do what I want it to do Trust will increase when the automation performs to expectations

Process The degree to which the algorithms of the automation adhere to the operator’s understanding of how the automation works In other words, does it work like I think it should work in this situation Trust will increase if the algorithms used are appropriate for the current situation

Purpose of Automation The degree to which the automation is being used within the realm of the designers’ intent In other words, is it being used in the manner for which it was designed This is often based on if the designer’s intent has been properly communicated to the operator Trust will increase when the automation performs as intended

Trust based on Use Trust is largely based on observation If a system is not trusted, it will not be used—trust will not grow The more the automation is used, the more trust will be facilitated in the system Highly trusted automation is monitored less frequently

Trusting ACC and FCW ACC and FCW are emerging technologies with the possibility of improving driving safety Drivers need to trust these automations and use them appropriately An important concept not yet investigated

Proposed Research Investigate the degree of trust a driver places in these devices Test ACC and FCW individually Test ACC and FCW together Examine the differences in driver trust across conditions

Integrating Trust and Driver’s Safety Questions?