Automatic Intelligent Cruise Control

Neville A. Stanton and Mark S. Young

School of Engineering and Design

Brunel University

Uxbridge

Middlesex

UB8 3PH

UK

 ABSTRACT

This paper reports a study on the evaluation of automatic intelligent cruise control (AICC) from a psychological perspective.  It was anticipated that AICC would have an effect upon the psychology of driving: i.e., make the driver feel like they have less control, reduce the level of trust in the vehicle, make drivers less situationally aware, but workload might be reduced and driving might be less stressful.  Drivers were asked to drive in a driving simulator under manual and automatic intelligent cruise control conditions.  Analysis of Variance techniques were used to determine the effects of workload (i.e. amount of traffic) and feedback (i.e. degree of information from the AICC system) on the psychological variables measured (i.e. locus of control, trust, workload, stress, mental models and situational awareness).  The results showed that: locus of control and trust were unaffected by AICC, whereas situational awareness, workload and stress were reduced by AICC.  Ways of improving situational awareness could include cues to help the driver predict vehicle trajectory and identify conflicts.

KEYWORDS:  Automation, Driving, Workload, Stress, Trust, Situational Awareness