HMI-testing for (non-) automated vehicles in urban connected mixed traffic: cooperative lane change

Abstract

Lane changing actions in urban traffic can be highly risky. Drivers need to choose gaps in traffic flow adequately and synchronize their driving behavior with directly surrounding vehicles. Especially in urgent cases such as an approaching emergency vehicle, successful and safe lane changes are of high value. Automating vehicles as well as the use of innovative communication technologies could reduce this potential hazard, as advanced vehicles will be able to cooperate and negotiate maneuvers efficiently. Making these processes transparent and comprehensible to the driver is not only inevitable for the acceptance of these innovations, but in consequence also for establishing a safer and more efficient traffic. For this purpose, two different human machine interface (HMI) concepts for users of highly automated connected vehicles as well as for non-automated connected vehicles have been developed and evaluated w.r.t. usability aspects, acceptability and subjective workload.