A study was undertaken to test and evaluate the human factors design aspects of an automobile moving-map navigation system. The primary objective of the study was to assess the driver attentional demand required by the navigation system during vehicle operation. A secondary objective of the study was to assess design specifics and determine whether or not the design was optimal in terms of efficiency of use in an automotive environment. Thirty-two driver-subjects drove a specially instrumented 1985 Cadillac Sedan de Ville on public roadways for this research. A cross-section of driver-subjects (both genders, ages 18 to 73, and driving experience from 2,000 to 40,000 miles per year) participated, and a cross·section of roadway types (residential, two-lane state route, and limited·access four-lane) and traffic conditions (light and moderate) were used as part of this research. The driver-subjects were asked to perform a variety of tasks while operating the research vehicle. These tasks included navigation tasks normally performed while using the navigation system, as well as a wide variety of conventional automotive tasks (e.g., tuning the radio or reading the speedometer) normally performed during vehicle operation. The purpose of asking the driver-subjects to perform a variety of conventional automotive tasks was so that direct comparisons in attentional demand could be made between tasks performed daily in an automotive environment and the navigation tasks. Twenty-one performance and behavioral measures were collected and analyzed for this research. These measures included eye—scanning and dwell-time measures, task-completion-time measures, and a variety of measures indicating driver performance and behavior. The data analyses for these measures focused on two major goals. First, the analyses determined which tasks (both navigator and conventional) required the highest attentional demand. Second, the analyses were used to determine groups of tasks which, for all practical purposes, required equivalent attentional demand. The results of the analyses indicated that the navigation system is a relatively effective device, useful for its intended purpose. The results also indicated that a number of design improvements are required, however, to optimize the safety and efficiency of the device. An iterative process of design improvement and further research into the effects of improved design on required attentional demand is therefore recommended. / Ph. D.

In this thesis, I argue that a neo-Marxist critical theory perspective on self-driving cars shifts critical conversations from risks and benefits to concerns about the commodification of free time necessary for our human experience of autonomy. First, I outline that neo-Marxist perspective by charting the different types of power exercised by a capitalist in order to increase their surplus. I then analyze Karl Marx's conception of time in economic exchange to show that, under capitalism, power is exercised over labor through the commodification of workers' free time. I then introduced Michel Foucault's concept of biopower to transition to the commodification not only of labor but also of bodies. Then, I introduce contemporary German philosopher Byung-Chul Han's concept of psychopolitics as a neo-Marxist critique of the exercise of power over the psyche of individuals in order to increase their surplus. These philosophers' models shift commodification from labor to bodies to information. In the final section, I apply Han's contemporary critique of power dynamics to the case of self-driving cars (SDCs) to show that the technologies they represent may serve to perpetuate the negative implications of a constantly optimizing society: a continuation of commodification of the very conditions of labor. This analysis illuminates an overlooked possible negative implication of this emerging technology, as contemporary literature focuses heavily on the developer of the self-driving cars rather than the user and glosses over possible concerns of alienation of the workers' time itself. I argue that increases in "free time" proposed by the implementation of self-driving cars will inevitably be used for "auto"-exploitation, or, self-exploitation. This thesis will contribute to developing work on the effects self-driving cars have on their users, rather than emphasizing effects on society or our environments.

The number of automated features in surface vehicles are increasing as new vehicles are released each year. Some of these features allow drivers to temporarily take their attention off-road and en-gage in other tasks. However, there are times when it is important for drivers to immediately take control of the vehicle, if required. To safely take control, drivers must understand what is required of them and have situation awareness (SA) to understand important changes or factors within the environment around them. We can present drivers with needed takeover information using a head-up display (HUD), keeping the driver's eyes on the road. However, drivers operating conditionally automated vehicles on various roadways, such as highways and urban arterial roads, require differ-ent information to be conveyed to them as they drive due to inherent differences in roadway and obstacle features within the driving scene, such as the addition of vulnerable road users on urban arterial roads. This work aimed to (1) investigate impacts of novel HUDs on driver situation awareness during takeover on a highway, (2) identify system design criteria to fulfill driver's needs during takeover on an urban arterial road, and, (3) examine the effects of HUDs on driver situation awareness during takeover on an urban arterial road. We investigated these goals by collecting em-pirical data for takeover performance metrics, self-reported situation awareness, participant prefer-ences, and expert's opinions. From our studies we conclude that HUDs can increase aspects of takeover performance on high-ways, with participants demonstrating lower response times and higher time to collision metrics. We did not find significant impacts of HUDs on driver situation awareness on highways. Results from our semistructed interviews indicated that experts felt systems should communicate the need for driver attention to relevant information, communicate obstacle information, and provide information using a variety of driver senses. HUDs can also increase driver situation awareness during takeover on an urban arterial road and support improved takeover performance. This work allowed us to identify potential use cases and design criteria for new designs of novel HUDs to deliver important information during takeover. / Doctor of Philosophy / More features that take some of the tasks of vehicle operation off drivers are being released with every new model year of vehicle. Currently, these features still require drivers to maintain attention to the road and, in some cases, immediately take control of the vehicle, called takeover. However, research has not identified how best to communicate the need for takeover on all types of roads. Research has utilized a head-up display (HUD) to present vehicle information, communicate navigation, and highlight objects around the world to drivers while keeping driver's eyes on road. Keeping driver's eyes on road allows drivers to maintain situation awareness (SA) where they would perceive, understand, and react to changes in the driving scene. Currently, we can convey information to drivers both using traditional head-down displays (HDDs) in the instrument cluster and some vehicles are equipped with HUDs that can deliver in-formation within driver's field of view. This work aimed to first understand how takeover request delivered via HUD affect takeover performance and drivers' situation awareness on highways compared to HDDs. Next, we investigated expert's opinions on driver needs from the automated system during takeover on urban arterial roads to develop design criteria for new types of takeover requests. Finally, we took the design criteria to develop, test, and compare driver's takeover performance and situation awareness in new takeover requests delivered by HDDs and HUDs. HUDs may be useful in presenting information to drivers during takeover. Results support that on highways, HUDs are beneficial for increasing safer driver responses, where they responded quick-er and kept a greater distance to an object in the road in front of them. From design criteria identified by experts, we designed alerts that directed driver's attention to bicyclists, pedestrians, and vehicles crossing the path of their vehicle. After testing the alerts, results indicated that drivers had higher levels of situation awareness and performance metrics during takeover on urban arterial roads. Though HUDs show promise in increasing driver's takeover performance and situation awareness, we must take careful consideration into design of future HUDs to give appropriate and relevant information to drivers.

Much about visual spatial attention has been learned from studying how observers respond to two-dimensional stimuli. Less is known about how attention varies along the depth axis. Most of the work on the effect of depth on spatial attention manipulated binocular disparity defined depth, and it is less clear how monocular depth cues affect spatial attention. This thesis investigates the effect of target distance on peripheral detection in a virtual three-dimensional environment that simulated distance using pictorial and motion cues. Participants followed a lead car at a constant distance actively or passively, while travelling along a straight trajectory. The horizontal distribution of attention was measured using a peripheral target detection task. Both car-following and peripheral detection were tested alone under focussed attention, and simultaneously under divided attention. Chapter 2 evaluated the effect of target distance and eccentricity on peripheral detection. Experiment 1 found an overall near advantage that increased at larger eccentricities. Experiment 2 examined the effect of anticipation on target detection and found that equating anticipation across distances drastically reduced the effect of distance in reaction time, but did not affect accuracy. Experiments 3 and 4 examined the relative contributions of pictorial cues on the effect of target distance and found that the background texture that surrounded the targets could explain the main effect of distance but could not fully account for the interaction between distance and eccentricity. Chapter 3 extended the findings of Chapter 2 and found that the effect of distance on peripheral detection in our conditions was non-monotonic and did not depend on fixation distance. Across chapters, dividing attention between the central car-following and peripheral target detection tasks consistently resulted in costs for car-following, but not for peripheral detection. This work has implications for understanding spatial attention and design of advanced driver assistance systems. / Dissertation / Doctor of Science (PhD) / Our visual world is complex and dynamic, and spatial attention enables us to focus on certain relevant locations of our world. However, much of what we know about spatial attention has been studied in the context of a two-dimensional plane, and less is known about how it varies in the third dimension: depth. This thesis aims to better understand how spatial attention is affected by depth in a virtual three-dimensional environment, particularly in a driving context. Generally, driving was simulated using a car-following task, spatial attention was measured in a task that required detecting targets appearing at different depths indicated by cues perceivable with one eye. The results of this work add to the literature that suggests that spatial attention is affected by depth and contributes to our understanding of how attention may be allocated in space. Additionally, this thesis may have implications for the design of in-car warning systems.

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