To enable the mobility of elderly drivers through automated driving, the HADRIAN consortium is developing a Guardian Angel system which protects them in their daily driving while allowing them to stay active and engaged. To this end, Tecnalia has developed the necessary control system based on the concept of Shared-Control in which driver and automation cooperate as a well-coupled team.
In a first study, with 23 participants, a scenario with an evasion maneuver was designed to find the best value of torque assistance for attentive and distracted drivers. For attentive drivers a torque correction around 6 Nm was found to preserve safety while being highly accepted by the drivers in terms of comfort. On the other hand, when distracted, drivers required and accepted a stronger correction of up to 12 Nm. These optimal torque values will be implemented in the upcoming evaluation studies and implemented in a real test vehicle.
In a second study that consisted of two iterations with a total of 29 participants, various haptic icons were investigated for different automated driving situations, including the availability of automated driving, the take-over request, and termination of automated driving. The results from both studies will be implemented in a vehicle in an upcoming field demonstration on a test track that will be conducted in fall of 2022.