Driver’s gaze behaviour before, during and after take-over manoeuvres: Influence of agentivity associated with different automation solutions

In the context of progressive automation of the driving activity, an alternation of automated driving phases and manual driving phases is becoming a reality. The problem of regaining manual control of the vehicle after a period of automated control (i.e., take-over) is critical, particularly concerning visual exploration during the transition phase. A driving simulator experiment was designed to investigate the impact of the level of agentivity manipulated by different levels of motor engagement on gaze parameters during the different temporal stages of a non-critical take-over situation (i.e., overtaking collision zone). The level of motor engagement decreased according to the increase in the level of automation; eye tracking data were collected, and gaze distribution over functional areas of interest was analysed across several periods of interest. Results revealed an influence of the degree of motor engagement on the gaze parameters linked to the integration and processing of visual information for a nominal driving period (i.e., automation activated) as well as during the take-over preparation period. During the period of effective resumption of manual control, most of the ocular parameters went back to their initial values, except for the higher motor disengagement modes (i.e., lowest levels of agentivity). These automation levels seem to show a residual influence of take-overs on manual driving, particularly in the ocular exploration of areas carrying the information useful for the fine regulation of the vehicle trajectory.