WP1 results

WP1, the analysis and experimentation work package in MEDIATOR has finished its activities. In the very first task we have described state-of-the-art knowledge in different expertise domains and identified knowledge gaps which together with the high level (non) functional requirements and relevant use cases for the MEDIATOR project set the research agenda for the remainder of the work package.

The task that focussed on human degraded performance focussed on three main drivers states, that are known to have a major impact on traffic safety and acceptance; fatigue, driver distraction and driver comfort. Despite the restrictions we faced due to the COVID pandemic, we were able to perform a field trial with 89 fatigued participants, ran several simulator experiments and analysed existing databases. The main outcomes of this task are the functional requirements for the MEDIATOR driver monitoring component.

The task that focussed on automation performance provides the foundations and concepts, that will allow the automation state module to estimate the automation fitness. Understanding the factors leading to degraded automation performance and the resulting effects throughout the various components of the driving automation system (such as perception or decision making), are seen as a key element of the process for estimating how long the automation may remain fit to drive. The research in this task led to the functional requirements for the automation state module of the Mediator system.

The task HMI design established the functional requirements for the HMI design based on state-of-the-art knowledge and the results from nine studies in which the specific knowledge gaps were addressed. In order to design the vast complexity of an HMI for partially autonomous vehicles while securing (intuitive) usability i.e., simplicity for humans, the MEDIATOR ‘s HMI design guidelines stated an holistic approach.

Based on the WP1 results, WP2 started to work on the technical design and development of the different components of the mediator system, and is building a lab prototype of the complete mediator system. The relevant part of the system will be implemented as two in-vehicle prototypes, two simulator prototypes and one computer simulation.