Surrendering personal control to automation: Appalling or appealing?

There has been a growing interest in Autonomous Vehicle (AV) technology worldwide over the last decade. Nevertheless, various studies have noted some potential socio-psychological challenges to AV use and ownership. These challenges can be mitigated by designing AV that accounts for users’ personalities, such as their perceived control and power. The complex relationship between personal control and automation, two concepts that intuitively sound contradictory to each other, is less explored. In this study, two dimensions of personal control, the desire for control and the driver locus of control, were hypothesized to influence the attitude toward AV. The relationships were moderated by power distance, a cultural factor related to one’s sense of control. The hypotheses were tested using Structural Equation Modelling (SEM) approach via the Analysis of Moment Structures (AMOS) software. As many as 457 respondents from two sample groups, Hungarian and Indonesian drivers were gathered via an online questionnaire and compared. The results reveal that 1) the higher the desire for control, the more negative the attitude toward AV 2) the higher the external driver locus of control, the more positive the attitude toward AV 3) the more positive the attitude toward AV, the higher the intention to use AV and 4) power distance moderates the relationship between the desire for control and the attitude toward AV, such that the negative effect of the desire for control is strengthened in high power distance orientation. This study also provides theoretical contributions and managerial implications, especially to AV designers.     

Unmanned Aircraft Systems Selection Practices: Current Research and Future Directions

This review examines evolving personnel selection practices for unmanned aircraft systems/remotely piloted aircraft (UAS/RPA) across the U.S. Air Force, U.S. Naval Services, and U.S. Army. Findings across services revealed several themes, including strengths (e.g., strong predictive validities, consistency in operator profiles), weaknesses (e.g., small number of predictive validation studies, small sample sizes), and gaps (e.g., need for further investigation of noncognitive predictors). Ongoing and proposed research, including development and implementation of new instruments and methodologies, are discussed, followed by suggestions to facilitate enhanced UAS/RPA selection practices across the services.     

Measuring driver-vehicle cooperation: Development and validation of the Human-Machine-Interaction-Interdependence Questionnaire (HMII)

The development of partially and highly autonomous vehicles that take over parts of the driving task will result in changes in e.g. the responsibilities, interface and system design, task allocation and communication between driver and automated vehicle. To support this change and the increasing space of cooperative possibilities between driver and vehicle, generally accepted design principles and preconditions for successful driver-vehicle cooperation (Directability, Mutual Predictability, Joint Goals and Mutual Task-Dependency) were defined. However, research lacks validated scales measuring the proposed basic principles of driver-vehicle cooperation. Furthermore, a theory is missing that links those basic principles with a theory that enables an understanding of the influence of drivers' perception of the autonomous vehicle and context on driver-vehicle cooperation. Therefore, this work links the basic theoretical principles of driver-vehicle cooperation with the social psychological Theory of Interdependence and their dimensions (Conflict, Power, Mutual Dependence, Information Certainty, Future Interdependence). Filling the gap of missing validated scales for the principles of driver-vehicle cooperation, this study provides the development and validation of the Human-Machine-Interaction-Interdependence (HMII) questionnaire.In two studies, the new HMII questionnaire to measure drivers' perception in driver-vehicle cooperation was developed. In the first study (n = 94), items for the perception of the situation were transferred from the original Theory of Interdependence to the driver-vehicle cooperation. A 7-dimension model was identified via Explorative Factor Analysis. In the second study (n = 314), the model and items were validated via confirmatory factor analysis. A seven-factor model (Power, Conflict, Mutual Dependence Information Certainty: System to Human, Information Certainty (two levels) Future Interdependence (two levels) with 33 items showed a good fit to the data, chi² = 841, p < .001, adjusted chi² = 1.77, SRMR = 0.071. In sum, this questionnaire can help designers evaluate the impact of their system designs on driver perceptions of the driver-vehicle cooperation.     

One- and two-year prospective follow-up of cognitive behavior therapy or supportive psychotherapy

We followed up over 90% of 57 motor vehicle accident survivors, who completed a controlled comparison of cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) to supportive psychotherapy (SUPPORT). One-year results showed a continued significant advantage on categorical diagnosis (PTSD or not) and structured interview measures (CAPS) for CBT over SUPPORT. Other measures generally showed the same results. At two years, we were able to follow-up only 75% of one-year completers. Although there continued to be arithmetic differences favoring CBT over SUPPORT, with these attenuated samples only differences on PTSD Checklist and Impact of Event Scale scores and in overall categorical diagnoses were significant. There was very modest improvement from end of treatment to the two-year follow-up.     

Factors of acceptability,acceptance and usage for non-rail autonomous public transport vehicles: A systematic literature review

Non-rail autonomous public transport vehicles have emerged over the last few years. Technical progress in automation has resulted in a growing number of autonomous shuttle pilot experiments. Although these systems are technologically feasible, determining the extent to which they correspond to users’ needs and expectations remains a major issue. In order to answer that question, we conducted a systematic review which synthesizes the literature regarding the acceptability and willingness to use this type of autonomous public transport. This literature review allowed us to identify 39 documents addressing 70 factors of acceptability, acceptance and usage of non-rail autonomous public transport vehicles. The most cited factors in the literature concern service characteristics (times, schedules, fares) and safety issues (road-safety, on-board security). Factors related to automation level, comfort and access to the vehicle feature appear to a lesser extent. Acceptance is also related to personal factors, such as socio-demographics, travel habits, and personality. This review could be of interest to designers and manufacturers of non-rail autonomous public transport vehicles, as well as policy makers, and assist with the successful implementation of autonomous public transport services which are better adapted and meet the needs of all potential users.     

The impact of a dedicated lane for connected and automated vehicles on the behaviour of drivers of manual vehicles

Connected and automated vehicles (CAVs) are expected to enhance traffic efficiency by driving at shorter time headways, and traffic safety by shorter reaction times. However, one of the main concerns regarding their deployment is the mixed traffic situation, in which CAVs and manually driven vehicles (MVs) share the same road.This study investigates the behavioural adaptation of MV drivers in car-following and lane changing behaviour when they drive next to a dedicated lane (DL) for CAVs and compares that to a mixed traffic situation. The expectation is that in a mixed traffic situation, the behavioural adaptation of MV drivers is negligible due to lower exposure time and scarce platoons, while concentrating the CAVs on one dedicated lane may cause significant behavioural adaptation of MV drivers due to a higher exposure time and conspicuity of CAV platoons.Fifty-one participants were asked to drive an MV on a 3-lane motorway in three different traffic scenarios, in a fixed-base driving simulator: (1) Base, only MVs were present in traffic, (2) Mixed, platoons of 2–3 CAVs driving on any lane and mixed with MVs, (3) DL, platoons of 2–3 CAVs driving only on a DL. The DL was recognizable by road signs and a buffer demarcation which separated the DL from the other lanes. A moderate penetration rate of 43% was assumed for CAVs.During the drives, the car following headways and the accepted merging gaps by participants were collected and used for comparisons of driving behaviour in different scenarios.Based on the results, we conclude that there is no significant difference in the driving behaviour between Base and Mixed scenarios at tested penetration rate, confirming our research expectation. However, in DL scenario, MV drivers drove closer to their leaders specially when driving on the middle lane next to the platoons and accepted shorter gaps (up to 12.7% shorter at on-ramps) in lane changing manoeuvres. Dedicating a lane to CAVs increases the density of CAV platoons on one lane and consequently their conspicuity becomes higher. As a result, MV drivers are influenced by CAV platoons on a DL and imitate their behaviour.The literature suggests that dedicating a lane to CAVs improves the traffic efficiency by providing more possibilities for platooning. This study shows that implementing such a solution will affect the driving behaviour of human drivers. This should be taken into consideration when evaluating the impacts of dedicated lanes on traffic efficiency and traffic safety.     

Visualizing the autonomous vehicle’s maneuvers – Does an ecological interface help to increase the hedonic quality and safety?

This paper examines whether ecological speed information describing ongoing driving maneuvers during automated driving enhances the hedonic quality and driving safety immediately after a driving takeover. Visualizing maneuvers and trajectories has already proven effective. However, planned acceleration and deceleration in an automated vehicle have not yet been investigated. Therefore, this paper assesses how an automated vehicle’s speed control information might be presented by an ecological interface. Besides a possible increase in the hedonic quality, this information might enhance safe behavior of the human driver when it comes to a takeover. To assess these two aspects, 43 drivers participated in a dynamic driving simulator study. Using a within-subject design, two scenarios were used to compare an ecological interface, dynamically visualizing speed changes, to a conventional pop-up interface, using pop-up icons to visualize speed changes. The experimental results indicate that ecological feedback and conventional pop-up feedback do not differ regarding the hedonic quality, which was reflected by the state anxiety, usefulness, and satisfaction with the overall human-machine interface (HMI). Nonetheless, the post-hoc questionnaire on situational awareness showed a significantly lower rating for the ecological interface which may be the result of a more automatic and subconscious processing of the information given. Analyzing the takeover performance, the initial takeover time was comparably low for both interfaces. However, concerning safety, the ecological interface significantly enhanced the lateral control after takeover, and the drivers looked at the vehicle mirrors significantly earlier. In conclusion, the results show that the information given by the ecological interface may help drivers cope with a sudden takeover in a faster and more controlled way. Future applications of these findings might serve to enhance the acceptance and safety of semi-autonomous vehicles by implementing ecological interfaces.     

A Recourse Stochastic Goal Programming Approach for the Multi‐objective Stochastic Vehicle Routing Problem

This paper addresses a multi‐objective stochastic vehicle routing problem where several conflicting objectives such as the travel time, the number of vehicles in use and the probability of an accident are simultaneously minimized. We suppose that demands and travel durations are of a stochastic nature. In order to build a certainty equivalent program to the multi‐objective stochastic vehicle routing problem, we propose a solution strategy based on a recourse approach, a chance‐constrained approach and a goal‐programming approach. The resulting certainty equivalent program is solved to optimality using CPLEX. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Child restraint system use in the United Arab Emirates

ObjectiveDeaths and injuries among infants due to traffic crashes in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) are very high when compared to other countries. An efficient way to improve the safety of children in moving vehicles is to use Child Restraint Systems (CRS) to hold the child during any possible collision. The aim of this study is to estimate the rate of CRS use among children under the age of five in UAE, to determine demographic characteristics that affect CRS use, such as parent’s age, and education level, and to assess parents’ perceptions and knowledge of this issue.MethodsA roadside observational study was done in two of the seven emirates that constitute UAE, involving 1000 randomly taken observations. Also, a questionnaire was randomly distributed to a sample of 494 parents of children under the age of five.ResultsResults of the observational study show that 16.7% of parents restrain their children in moving motor vehicles. Questionnaire results show that approximately 9% of respondents reported not or rarely restraining their children in moving motor vehicles. Also, 3.4% of them indicated their disbelief in the importance of CRS in reducing harm in case of a crash. Moreover, questionnaire results indicate that young, less educated and male parents reported lower use rate and have less belief in the importance of CRS use in harm reduction in crashes than other groups of parents.ConclusionsCRS use in UAE is very low and awareness of its importance needs to be improved. Based on the results, practical suggestions are put forward to increase CRS use rate and improve safety conditions for this group of road users.     

Re-framing the characteristics of concepts and their relation to learning and cognition in artificial agents

In this work, the problems of knowledge acquisition and information processing are explored in relation to the definitions of concepts and conceptual processing, and their implications for artificial agents.The discussion focuses on views of cognition as a dynamic property in which the world is actively represented in grounded mental states which only have meaning in the action context. Reasoning is understood as an emerging property consequence of actions-environment couplings achieved through experience, and concepts as situated and dynamic phenomena enabling behaviours.Re-framing the characteristics of concepts is considered crucial to overcoming settled beliefs and reinterpreting new understandings in artificial systems.The first part presents a review of concepts from cognitive sciences. Support is found for views on grounded and embodied cognition, describing concepts as dynamic, flexible, context-dependent, and distributedly coded.That is argued to contrast with many technical implementations assuming concepts as categories, whilst explains limitations when grounding amodal symbols, or in unifying learning, perception and reasoning.The characteristics of concepts are linked to methods of active inference, self-organization, and deep learning to address challenges posed and to reinterpret emerging techniques.In a second part, an architecture based on deep generative models is presented to illustrate arguments elaborated. It is evaluated in a navigation task, showing that sufficient representations are created regarding situated behaviours with no semantics imposed on data. Moreover, adequate behaviours are achieved through a dynamic integration of perception and action in a single representational domain and process.