Haptic seat for automated driving

Drivers' situation awareness is known to be remarkably low in the automated driving mode, which can result in a delayed and inefficient response when requested to resume control of the vehicle. The present study examined the usefulness of a haptic seat that projects spatial information on approaching vehicles to facilitate drivers' preparedness to take control of the vehicle. The results of a simulator study on 26 participants using behavioral and eye tracking techniques showed that when required to regain control, having haptic seat led to faster reactions in scenarios requiring lane changing. The haptic seat also reduced the probability that the participants would slow down below acceptable speeds on a freeway. Eye tracking showed that drivers had a more systematic scan of the environment in the first two seconds following the transition of control with a haptic seat. Overall, these findings suggest that the haptic seat can play a significant role in keeping drivers aware of surrounding traffic during automated driving, and consequently facilitate the control transitions between the vehicle and the driver.