This study investigates the impact of peripheral visual information in alleviating motion sickness when engaging in non-driving tasks in fully automated driving. A peripheral visual feedforward system (PVFS) was designed providing information about the upcoming actions of the automated car in the periphery of the occupant’s attention. It was hypothesized that after getting the information from the PVFS, the users’ situation awareness is improved while motion sickness is prevented from developing. The PVFS was also assumed not to increase mental workload nor interrupt the performance of the non-driving tasks. The study was accomplished on an actual road using a Wizard of Oz technique deploying an instrumented car that behaved like a real fully automated car. The test rides using the current setup and methodology indicated high consistency in simulating the automated driving. Results showed that with PVFS, situation awareness was enhanced and motion sickness was lessened while mental workload was unchanged. Participants also indicated high hedonistic user experience with the PVFS. While providing peripheral information showed positive results, further study such as delivering richer information and active head movement are possibly needed.

Shared autonomous vehicles provide a solution for the future of sustainable and accessible transportation in urban areas, both in terms of social and environmental sustainability. However, these types of vehicles face different challenges in comparison to privately owned ones. For example, it is of greater importance that a shared autonomous vehicle can cater to a large number of users with different prerequisites such as age, limited movement and strength, or visual impairment.  In this project, methods, and interactions for creating a human-centered design solution for backup door opening of automatic doors in the shared autonomous vehicle CM1e have been investigated. The aim of the project is to support the development of safer autonomous vehicles by implementing a solution that is user-friendly and inclusive for a large number of users having different prerequisites. The project has been conducted in Gothenburg at the company China Euro Vehicle Technology (CEVT). At the end of the project, it is expected to deliver a viable mapping of use cases where the user needs to use a backup door opening solution or has to exit in a non-optimal way, pain points of the current solution for the mapped-out use cases, a well-informed and holistic approach to decide which use cases are most relevant to solve considering different criteria, and finally a feasible solution at a conceptual level, solving the most urgent use cases and pain points. This project has had a holistic approach and has focused on both the context and scenarios of usage and how this impacts the users and usability. The investigated area is rather complex having many functions and several mediums. This has also contributed to the project to consider delivering a solution that caters to a task (in this case, exiting a vehicle) rather than one individual interaction. To achieve this use cases have been generated along with user journeys with personas having different prerequisites. This to achieve an objective description of the current functions as well as a subjective description of its limitations depending on the prerequisites of the users. To generate a large number of ideas and select the most relevant ideas, the ideation phase has focused on co-creation with relevant stakeholders and also the enrichment of ideas. By using two different user tests, the proposed solution has been validated in order to create a valuable and credible result. The delivered result offers a solution for use cases where the user/rider needs to exit the vehicle, but the preconditions do not allow the user to do so e.g., to ensure the functionality of the doors. This was uncovered to sometimes keep the user in the vehicle during undesirable situations where the user wishes to exit. The proposed solution utilizes the function of a dead man switch to override the set preconditions and provide the user with control over the door opening process, enabling possible exit without the doors having to open a 100%. Included in the solution is also communication using interfaces and activation of the dead man switch functionality to create a user-centered, accessible, and safe backup door opening solution. The proposed solution is presented using CAD models and renderings in the shape of storyboards. / Delade autonoma fordon erbjuder en framtida lösning för hållbara och tillgängliga transportsystem i urbana miljöer, med avseende på både social- och ekologisk hållbarhet. Dessa fordon möter dock andra typer av utmaningar än privat ägda fordon, exempelvis behöver de tillgodose behoven hos ett större antal användare med olika förutsättningar så som ålder, begränsad rörlighet och styrka samt begränsad synförmåga.   I detta projekt har metoder och interaktioner för att skapa användarvänliga lösningar för reservöppning av automatiska bildörrar i det delade autonoma fordonet CM1e undersökts. Syftet med projektet är att stödja utvecklingen av säkra autonoma fordon genom att implementera användarvänliga och inkluderande lösningar för ett stort antal användare med olika förutsättningar. Projektet har bedrivits i Göteborg hos företaget China Euro Vehicle Technology (CEVT). I slutet av projektet är det förväntat att leverera en kartläggning av situationer när en reservöppning av dörrar kan vara relevant, vilka begräsningar som finns i nuvarande lösningar samt ett förslag på en lösning för reservöppning av dörrar. De levererade lösningsförslaget ska tillgodose de kartlagda situationerna där en reservöppning av dörrar behövs som inte täcks av de nuvarande lösningarna.   Tillvägagångsättet av projektet har lagt tyngd på att ha ett helikopterperspektiv med fokus på både situation och kontext samt hur detta påverkar användaren och användbarheten. Det undersökta området är komplext och har många funktioner samt olika medium, vilket också har bidragit till att projektet har förväntats att leverera en lösning som tillgodoser en handling (i detta fall att ta sig ut ur ett fordon) snarare än en enskild interaktion. För att uppnå detta har användningsfall genererats samt kompletterande användarresor med användare med olika förutsättningar. Detta för att uppnå både en objektiv beskrivning av nuvarande funktioner och en subjektiv beskrivning av dess begräsningar beroende på användarnas förutsättningar. För att generera idéer till en framtida idé har ett stort fokus lagts på samskapande med intressenter och berikning av idéer. För att sedan validera den förslagna lösningen har två olika användartest utförts.   Det levererade resultatet erbjuder en lösning på användningsfall där de automatiska bildörrarna har förmågan att öppnas men ej tillåter användaren att göra det på grund av olika skäl, exempelvis att bevara funktionaliteten i dörrarna. Detta kan leda till att användaren kan bli instängd i bilen under situationer när hen önskar ta sig ut. Den förslagna lösningen utnyttjar funktionen av dödmansbrytare för att överskrida de satta förutsättningarna (preconditions) för att tillåta öppning och ge användaren kontroll över öppningsprocessen av bildörren, samt erbjuda en möjlighet att ta sig ut ur fordonet utan att dörrarna behövs öppnas 100%. I lösningen inkluderas även kommunikation via skärmar (visuellt och audiellt) och aktivering av dödmansbrytar-funktionaliteten för att skapa en användarvänlig, tillgänglig och säker reservöppning. Detta presenteras genom CAD-modeller och renderingar i form av storyboards.

Bygg- och fastighetsbranschen präglas av långsam digitaliserings takt där bristande dokumentation förekommer och i vissa fall försvårar beslutsfattningsmoment. Digitala tvillingar är kända för att effektivisera fastighetsförvaltning och bidra till bättre beslutsfattning. Trots det är det många som inte har hört talas om digitala tvillingar. Mot bakgrund av att det är ett outforskat område undersöker denna studie beslutsfattningsmomentet med digital tvilling inom bygg- och fastighetsbranschen. Studiens resultat baseras på intervjuer med ett stort byggföretag och en digital-tvilling-leverantör. Det framgår att en digital tvilling kan bestå av en eller flera av delarna: 3D- scanning, sensorer samt tilläggsfunktioner såsom analyser, styrning och olika applikationer, varav definitionen av en digital tvilling varierar. Resultatet visar att 3D scanning är särskilt lämpligt när det kommer till ombyggnationer och relationshandlingar (det verkliga utförandet av byggnaden), varav sensorer är användbara inom beslutsfattning utifrån prediktivt underhåll, mätning av nyttjande och energiuppföljning. Vidare framkommer det att tillägg av analyser kan föreslå lämpliga beslut och att styrning kan möjliggöra digital fastighetsskötsel, medan AI moduler kan ersätta den mänskliga beslutsfattningen. Utifrån det empiriska materialet som framkom tillämpades situationsmedvetenhet som teoretiskt ramverk för att förklara hur digitala tvillingar kan bidra med dokumentation som leder till bättre uppfattning och förståelse för omgivningen, vilket möjliggör mer välgrundade beslut. Slutligen konstaterar studien att utformningen av digitala tvillingar och dess funktioner avgör hur de kan användas vid beslutsfattning, något som gör kravställningen av dessa till en avgörande aspekt. / The construction and real estate industry is characterized by a slow rate of digitization and lack of documentation, which in some cases makes decision-making difficult. Digital twins are known to contribute to more efficient property management and better decision-making. Despite this, many people have not heard of digital twins. Since it is an unexplored area, this study examines the decision-making with digital twins in the construction and real estate industry. The study's results are based on interviews with a large construction company and a digital twin supplier. It appears that a digital twin can consist of one or more of the parts: 3D scanning, sensors and additional functions such as analyses, control and various applications, where the definition of a digital twin varies. The result shows that 3D scanning is particularly suitable when it comes to reconstruction and as-built documents. Sensors appear to be useful in decision-making according to predictive maintenance, measurement of utilization and energy follow-up. Furthermore, it appears that digital twin analyses can suggest appropriate decisions and that control can enable digital property management, while AI modules can replace human decision-making. Based on the empirical material, situational awareness was applied as a theoretical framework to explain how digital twins can contribute with documentation that leads to a better perception and understanding of the environment, enabling more informed decisions. The study thus states that the design of digital twins determine how they can be used in decision-making, something that makes the requirements of these a vital aspect.

This dissertation investigated the effects of spatialized auditory cues on the development of situation awareness for teams. Based on extant research, it was hypothesized that 3-D spatialized auditory cues can be utilized by teams to develop knowledge about team member location in addition to supporting the usage of team behaviors for developing and maintaining situation awareness. Accordingly, the study examined how situation awareness would be differentially influenced by varying the type of auditory cues incorporated into virtual environment (VE) team training scenarios within the context of a MOUT team task. In general, the results of this study provided partial support for the beneficial effects of 3-D audio cues in facilitating the development of situation awareness and reducing workload. Implications are discussed in the context of design guidance for VE training systems.

The automotive industry has seen an uprise in autonomous vehicles that will change the operators’ work environment. Volvo Autonomous Solutions aims to create a seamless user experience with environmentally and socially sustainable solutions. The vehicles should operate fully autonomously, but scenarios will emerge where remote operation is required. The master thesis aims to identify the requirements for the interaction between human and autonomous vehicles, and develop an interaction solution for remote operation. The study focused on safety, perception, situation awareness, and user experience. The subject was analyzed using user studies, literature reviews, and benchmarking. Twenty people participated in interviews, and a key user was identified, together with four human intervention scenarios. The data resulted in a list of general insights, which developed into requirements for designing remote operation interactions. An exploration of solutions for human-machine interaction was iterated and evaluated by 31 participants. The final recommendation included a requirements list for the design of the interaction with remote operation and a proposed interaction concept, illustrating a design proposal to meet these requirements. The study identified the following aspects to consider when developing an interaction solution for remote control of autonomous vehicles: Navigation, Steering, and Acceleration, Safety, and Perception and Situation Awareness. The final concept for remote operation interaction consisted of a rotational motion, a lever motion, and a digital touch display. / Fordonsindustrin har sett ett enormt lyft inom autonoma fordon, vilket kommer påverka operatörernas arbetsmiljö och sätt att arbeta. Volvo Autonomous Solutions har som mål att skapa en problemfri användarupplevelse och hållbara lösningar. Målet är att fordonen ska fungera autonomt, men det kommer alltid uppstå scenarier där fjärrstyrning kommer krävas. Syftet med examensarbetet är att identifiera kraven för interaktionen mellan människa och autonomt fordon, samt att utveckla en interaktionslösning för fjärrstyrning. Studierna fokuserade på aspekter inom säkerhet, perception, situationsmedvetenhet och användarupplevelse. Ett flertal användarstudier, genomgång av befintlig litteratur, benchmarking, samt identifiering och undersökning av olika scenarier genomfördes. 20 personer intervjuades och en nyckelanvändare samt fyra scenarier för mänskligt ingripande identifierades. Resultaten gav allmänna insikter, vilka utvecklades till en kravlista för design av en interaktionslösning för fjärrstyrning. Vidare utforskades lösningar för människa-maskin interaktion där fyra koncept itererades och utvärderades av 31 deltagare. Slutligen presenterades en rekommendation och kravspecifikation för utformningen av interaktionen, samt ett interaktionskoncept för design av fjärrstyrningsinteraktion enligt uppställda krav. Studien identifierade följande aspekter att ta hänsyn till vid utveckling av en interaktionslösning för fjärrstyrning av autonoma fordon: Navigation, Styrning och Acceleration, Säkerhet och Perception och Situationsmedvetenhet. Det slutliga konceptet till fjärrstyrningsinteraktion bestod av en rotationsrörelse, en spak-rörelse och en digital display.

<p dir="ltr">Automated Driving Systems (ADS) have evolved significantly over the past decade. With conditionally automated driving systems still requiring constant driver supervision and human intervention upon system request, a driver’s readiness to take over from an ADS has significant safety implications. Research suggests that drivers using ADS are more likely to engage in non-driving-related tasks (NDRTs), and this engagement can deteriorate takeover performance. However, different NDRTs can involve engagement of physical, visual and/or cognitive resources, which all can affect the takeover process in different ways. The potential interaction effects among these factors may be the cause of mixed empirical findings regarding the influence of NDRT engagement on takeover readiness and performance. Additionally, with more advanced ADS, takeover scenarios are likely to be less urgent. Yet, the ways in which drivers behave in response to a takeover request to intervene during such less urgent scenarios while engaged in NDRTs is still not well understood.</p><p dir="ltr">The purpose of this dissertation is to provide a better understanding of drivers’ response behavior during a conditionally automated vehicle takeover process by analyzing drivers’ motor, visual, and cognitive readiness in response to a takeover request (TOR). The work was completed in two phases. The first phase focused on the effects of pre-takeover visual engagement on takeover readiness in urgent situations. Two experiments were conducted as part of this first phase. Particularly, Study 1 investigated drivers’ post-TOR visual attention allocation and cognitive readiness after continuous visual NDRT engagement before a TOR. Study 2 examined drivers’ pre-TOR visual attention allocation and takeover performance both during and after voluntary engagement with visual NDRTs. The second phase used a non-urgent takeover scenario to investigate drivers’ takeover behavior and visual attention allocation when prioritizing the engagement of visual-manual NDRTs that differed in terms of cognitive engagement levels.</p><p dir="ltr">Study 1 required continuous visual attention in NDRTs and manipulated only the location of visual attention before an auditory TOR. Dependent measures included duration, location, and directness eye-tracking measures after the TOR, as well as freeze-probe cognitive readiness scores. Overall, delayed visual attention re-allocation in the driving scene, less dispersed gaze patterns, and worse perception and comprehension of road hazards were associated with off-road visual NDRT engagement. In addition, no significant benefit of enforcing on-road visual attention before the TOR, compared to the baseline condition without NDRT requirements, were found. These findings highlight the need to investigate the effects of more naturalistic NDRT engagement on takeover attention reallocation and takeover performance.</p><p dir="ltr">Study 2 complemented Study 1 by allowing voluntary switching of visual attention between the NDRT and the driving scene prior to the TOR, with the driving task being a priority. In addition, Study 2 investigated drivers’ takeover quality and understanding of the takeover scene using the appropriateness of their takeover decisions. Dependent measures were pre- and post-takeover eye-tracking measures, aligning to those used in Study 1, in addition to motor response measures, longitudinal and lateral vehicle control measures, and decisions made in response to a road obstacle. Overall, the driver’s post-TOR behaviors were not significantly affected by NDRT conditions, but visual NDRT-induced differences in gaze distribution were associated with the appropriateness of takeover decisions.</p><p dir="ltr">Finally, Study 3 used knowledge from prior studies to isolate the effects of different levels of cognitive engagement in real-world visual-manual NDRTs. The purpose was to investigate the effects of cognitive engagement on drivers’ visual attention allocation before and during the takeover, as well as on takeover performance in non-urgent takeover scenarios, where NDRT engagement was a priority. Dependent measures included eye-tracking measures, takeover response time, and vehicle control measures, used in prior studies. In summary, engagement in NDRTs with higher levels of cognitive engagement resulted in significant differences in pre-TOR visual attention allocation and less stable takeover maneuvers.</p><p dir="ltr">The findings from this work contribute to a better understanding of the effects of different components of NDRT engagement on takeover performance in conditionally automated driving systems. Ultimately, this work can contribute to improving the design of next-generation human-machine interfaces in surface transportation, including driver monitoring systems and in-vehicle displays, that promote safer human-automation integration in future ADS.</p>

Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs), commonly called drones, have been applied in manifold fields recently. With the development of UAV autonomy, the next generation of drone applications is moving towards team-based, multi-drone operations. This also promotes the transition of the operator role to the supervisory control of multiple UAVs. Situation awareness (SA) is a significant concept in this aspect to evaluate human performance in complex systems. This thesis work proposes a human-system interface for monitoring multiple autonomous UAVs simultaneously by a single operator, and investigates how to decrease the impact of task switching among different UAVs on the operator’s SA. Tasks in the context of fleet mission control are defined to be of different levels of urgency. Several design strategies have been concluded to address the research question. In conclusion, the usage of similar interface layouts between different tasks is effective to generally decrease the impact of task switching. The alert system with appropriate design is a specific factor in mitigating the impact of task switching towards higher urgency tasks/interfaces. Moreover, the reasonable division of areas of the interface and proper presentation of information by their importance are significant, especially for task switching towards lower urgency tasks/interfaces. / Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAV), vanligtvis kallade drönare, har använts i många områden nyligen. Med utvecklingen av UAV-autonomi, går nästa generation av drönarapplikationer mot teambaserad, multi-drönarverksamhet. Detta främjar också övergången av operatörsrollen till övervakande kontroll av flera UAV. Situationsmedvetenhet (SA) är ett betydelsefullt koncept i denna aspekt för att utvärdera mänsklig prestation i komplexa system. Detta examensarbete föreslår ett gränssnitt mellan människa och system för att övervaka flera autonoma UAV:er samtidigt av en enda operatör, och undersöker hur man kan minska effekten av uppgiftsbyte mellan olika UAV:er på operatörens SA. Uppgifter i samband med kontroll av flottans uppdrag definieras till att vara av olika brådskande nivå. Flera designstrategier har tagits fram för att ta itu med forskningsfrågan. Sammanfattningsvis är användningen av liknande gränssnittslayouter mellan olika uppgifter effektivt för att generellt minska effekten av uppgiftsbyte. Varningssystemet med lämplig design är en specifik faktor för att mildra effekterna av uppgiftsbyte mot mer brådskande uppgifter/gränssnitt. Dessutom är den rimliga uppdelningen av områden i gränssnittet och korrekt presentation av information efter deras betydelse betydande, särskilt för uppgiftsbyte mot mindre brådskande uppgifter/gränssnitt.

Practical drift is defined as the unintentional adaptation of routine behaviors from written procedure. The occurrence of practical drift can result in catastrophic disaster in high-reliability organizations (e.g. the military, emergency medicine, space exploration). Given the lack of empirical research on practical drift, this research sought to develop a better understanding by investigating ways to assess and stop the process in high-reliability organizations. An introductory literature review was conducted to investigate the variables that play a role in the occurrence of practical drift in teams. Research was guided by the input-throughput-output model of team adaptation posed by Burke, Stagl, Salas, Pierce, and Kendall (2006). It demonstrates relationships supported by the results of the literature review and the Burke and colleagues (2006) model denoting potential indicators of practical drift in teams. Research centralized on the core processes and emergent states of the adaptive cycle; namely, shared mental models, team situation awareness, and coordination. The resulting model shows the relationship of procedure—practice coupling demands misfit and maladaptive violations of procedure being mediated by shared mental models, team situation awareness, and coordination. Shared mental models also lead to team situation awareness, and both depict a mutual, positive relationship with coordination. The cycle restarts when an error caused by maladaptive violations of procedure creates a greater misfit between procedural demands and practical demands. This movement toward a theory of practical drift in teams provides a conceptual framework and testable propositions for future research to build from, giving practical avenues to predict and prevent accidents resulting from drift in high-reliability organizations. Suggestions for future research are also discussed, including possible directions to explore. By examining the relationships reflected in the new model, steps can be taken to counteract organizational failures in the process of practical drift in teams.

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During combat missions, Swedish commanders are required to maintain situation awareness in order to utilize dynamic decision-making effectively, as instructed in doctrine. Without a common understanding of what situation awareness phenomenon is, the Swedish Army risks perpetually making poor decisions based on underdeveloped situation awareness.    Centered on Endsley’s (2016) theory of situation awareness, this study operationalized the theory into an interview guide and conducted interviews with twelve senior Swedish military commanders at the land tactical level to understand how leading Swedish military commanders reason, evaluate, and manage the phenomenon of situation awareness in decision-making.   This study indicates that while the profession unconsciously uses Endsley’s theory of situational awareness, the profession lacks a clear definition of the phenomenon. Additionally, the profession concludes that the theory should further develop potential pitfalls of interpersonal relationships and their impact on SA.