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Haptic feedback of front car motion can improve driving control

Xiaoxiao Cheng, Xianzhe Geng, Yanpei Huang, Etienne Burdet

TL;DR

This work investigates whether haptic feedback conveying front-car motion to a following driver can improve car-following performance. A two-car simulated setup uses a MPC-driven front car and a human-driven rear car that receives feedback through a haptic interface, implemented as a virtual spring with controllable stiffness. In a 15-subject study across three speeds and three feedback gains, haptic cues reduce steering jerk and off-road events and lower perceived workload, with soft feedback generally preferred. The findings support the feasibility of haptic-sharing to enhance safety and efficiency in automated driving and point toward adaptive gain strategies and real-world validation as fruitful future directions.

Abstract

This study investigates the role of haptic feedback in a car-following scenario, where information about the motion of the front vehicle is provided through a virtual elastic connection with it. Using a robotic interface in a simulated driving environment, we examined the impact of varying levels of such haptic feedback on the driver's ability to follow the road while avoiding obstacles. The results of an experiment with 15 subjects indicate that haptic feedback from the front car's motion can significantly improve driving control (i.e., reduce motion jerk and deviation from the road) and reduce mental load (evaluated via questionnaire). This suggests that haptic communication, as observed between physically interacting humans, can be leveraged to improve safety and efficiency in automated driving systems, warranting further testing in real driving scenarios.

Haptic feedback of front car motion can improve driving control

TL;DR

This work investigates whether haptic feedback conveying front-car motion to a following driver can improve car-following performance. A two-car simulated setup uses a MPC-driven front car and a human-driven rear car that receives feedback through a haptic interface, implemented as a virtual spring with controllable stiffness. In a 15-subject study across three speeds and three feedback gains, haptic cues reduce steering jerk and off-road events and lower perceived workload, with soft feedback generally preferred. The findings support the feasibility of haptic-sharing to enhance safety and efficiency in automated driving and point toward adaptive gain strategies and real-world validation as fruitful future directions.

Abstract

This study investigates the role of haptic feedback in a car-following scenario, where information about the motion of the front vehicle is provided through a virtual elastic connection with it. Using a robotic interface in a simulated driving environment, we examined the impact of varying levels of such haptic feedback on the driver's ability to follow the road while avoiding obstacles. The results of an experiment with 15 subjects indicate that haptic feedback from the front car's motion can significantly improve driving control (i.e., reduce motion jerk and deviation from the road) and reduce mental load (evaluated via questionnaire). This suggests that haptic communication, as observed between physically interacting humans, can be leveraged to improve safety and efficiency in automated driving systems, warranting further testing in real driving scenarios.
Paper Structure (17 sections, 10 equations, 4 figures)

This paper contains 17 sections, 10 equations, 4 figures.

Table of Contents

  1. Introduction
  2. Haptic-shared Driving System
  3. Overview of the System
  4. Model Predictive Front Car Control
  5. Haptic-shared Control of Rear Car
  6. Experiment
  7. Experimental Setup and Procedure
  8. Evaluation Measures
  9. Statistical Analysis
  10. Results
  11. Driving Performance
  12. Motion jerk
  13. Obstacle margin
  14. Times off the road
  15. Duration off the road
  16. ...and 2 more sections

Figures (4)

  • Figure 1: Architecture of the developed virtual driving system.
  • Figure 2: Illustration of experiment protocol. a) Experiment conditions. b) Setup with H-Man haptic interface. c) Visual feedback from the driving simulator. d) Experiment sequence.
  • Figure 3: Experiment results on a) jerk of steering angle, b) obstacle margin, c) times off the road, and d) duration off the road.
  • Figure 4: Appreciation on the different conditions. a) NASA Task Load Index result. b) Preference for strong and soft haptic feedback.