Comparing Subjective Similarity of Automated Driving Styles to Objective Distance-Based Similarity

OBJECTIVE

This study explores subjective and objective driving style similarity to identify how similarity can be used to develop driver-compatible vehicle automation.

BACKGROUND

Similarity in the ways that interaction partners perform tasks can be measured subjectively, through questionnaires, or objectively by characterizing each agent's actions. Although subjective measures have advantages in prediction, objective measures are more useful when operationalizing interventions based on these measures. Showing how objective and subjective similarity are related is therefore prudent for aligning future machine performance with human preferences.

METHODS

A driving simulator study was conducted with stop-and-go scenarios. Participants experienced conservative, moderate, and aggressive automated driving styles and rated the similarity between their own driving style and that of the automation. Objective similarity between the manual and automated driving speed profiles was calculated using three distance measures: dynamic time warping, Euclidean distance, and time alignment measure. Linear mixed effects models were used to examine how different components of the stopping profile and the three objective similarity measures predicted subjective similarity.

RESULTS

Objective similarity using Euclidean distance best predicted subjective similarity. However, this was only observed for participants' approach to the intersection and not their departure.

CONCLUSION

Developing driving styles that drivers perceive to be similar to their own is an important step toward driver-compatible automation. In determining what constitutes similarity, it is important to (a) use measures that reflect the driver's perception of similarity, and (b) understand what elements of the driving style govern subjective similarity.

The use of adaptation to reduce simulator sickness in driving assessment and research

The technical advancement of driving simulators has decreased their cost and increased both their accuracy and fidelity. This makes them a useful tool for examining driving behavior in risky or unique situations. With the approaching increase of older licensed drivers due to aging of the baby boomers, driving simulators will be important for conducting driving research and evaluations for older adults. With these simulator technologies, some people may experience significant effects of a unique form of motion sickness, known as simulator sickness. These effects may be more pronounced in older adults. The present study examined the feasibility of an intervention to attenuate symptoms of simulator sickness in drivers participating in a study of a driving evaluation protocol. Prior to beginning the experiment, the experimental groups did not differ in subjective simulator sickness scores as indicated by Revised Simulator Sickness Questionnaire scores (all p>0.5). Participants who experienced a two-day delay between an initial acclimation to the driving simulator and the driving session experienced fewer simulator sickness symptoms as indicated by RSSQ total severity scores than participants who did not receive a two-day delay (F(1,88)=4.54, p=.036, partial η(2)=.049). These findings have implications for improving client well-being and potentially increasing acceptance of driving simulation for driving evaluations and for driving safety research.