What We Can Learn from Pilots for Handovers and (De)Skilling in Semi-Autonomous Driving: An Interview Study

Abstract

In aviation, pilots interact with autopilots almost on a daily basis. With semi-autonomous vehicles, this is not yet the case. In our work, we aimed at finding out what we can learn from pilots' current experiences for the domain of autonomous driving and what implications can be derived. We conducted three in-depth interviews with pilots to investigate how pilots currently handle handover situations to and from the autopilot, which information is relevant for this transition to be successful, how pilots react in critical situations, how handovers are trained, and how flying and handover skills are maintained. We compare the gained insights with the domain of autonomous driving and reflect on implications for handovers and (de)skilling. Our findings suggest that the AUI community can learn from aviation in areas such as situation awareness, transparency of system status, the need for a primary drive display, calibrated (dis)trust, and driver training.