Thinking Wave
The Thinking Wave is an ongoing development of visualisation concepts showing the real-time effort and confidence of semi-autonomous vehicle (AV) systems. Offering drivers access to this information can inform their decision making, and enable them to handle the situation accordingly and takeover when necessary. Working collaboratively with mobility research teams at the University of Tokyo, we continue to iterate on the Thinking Wave through running user tests by integrating the prototype into a driving simulator. The development of the thinking wave aims to calibrate trust by increasing the driver’s knowledge and understanding of vehicle handling capacity. By enabling transparent communication of the AV system’s capacity, we hope to empower AV-skeptic drivers and keep over-trusting drivers on alert in the case of an emergency takeover situation, in order to create a safer autonomous driving experience.
The tidal wave indicates in real-time how difficult for the situation is for the system to handle, reflecting [lack of] confidence and suggesting the driver to adjust their control. It resembles similarly to how an electrocardiogram displays intense activity when people are stressed.
Visualisation of collaboration dynamics between driver and vehicle. The position and size of the circle representing the driver and the square representing the car indicates who is authorised to drive and the status of the system
Whilst, the concept is still only embodied as a prototype, the thinking wave demonstrates potential in helping drivers not only calibrate their expectations but also establish trust in AVs. We see it as a tool that will evolve alongside both the system technology and driver to build a safer and more effective AV future. If the thinking wave can learn the driver’s handling tendencies, it could help the vehicle system adapt and control according to preference. Furthermore, with software updates and enhancements in autonomous systems, the wave’s confidence visualisation can be altered to help drivers recalibrate their trust. This concept has the potential to educate drivers while enabling innovation and adoption of new technology.
The Thinking Wave was presented at the 2021 IEEE Intelligent Vehicles Symposium (IV21).
Read the research paper here:
”Exploration of increasing drivers trust in a semi-autonomous vehicle through real-time visualizations of collaborative driving dynamic”
https://arxiv.org/abs/2107.01763