Start

06/02/2020

End

In progress

Status

In progress

Naturalness of autonomous vehicles

Start

06/02/2020

End

In progress

Status

In progress

Naturalness of autonomous vehicles

The rise of automation is proceeding rapidly and the autonomous vehicle, which constitutes a form of artificial life, will soon be a reality on the streets. The research will address a fundamental issue which must be addressed if the new autonomous vehicles are to be accepted and appreciated by the general public. The research will develop criteria for evaluating whether an interaction with an autonomous vehicle can be considered “natural or not” and will define design guidelines for introducing the criteria into the automotive design process. Recent research has identified the issue of “naturalness” as being one of the main roadblocks to the timely introduction of autonomous vehicles, thus research to address this fundamental issue would seem urgent.

Automotive research often indicates that cars serve three primary roles: functional, symbolic, and affective. However, the meaning-based and emotional dimensions of driver-car interaction are sometimes overlooked in favour of functional considerations. While cognitive and quantitative approaches dominate the literature on driver-car interaction, there is less evidence of including human emotions, needs, values, and context. Limited attention has been given to studying the aspects of naturalness of interaction in the automotive design research. Additionally, it may be argued that the car has been somewhat neglected in sociological and anthropological research.

Automobile dashboards are undergoing a transformation, transitioning into intelligent interfaces primarily composed of large screens. However, there are indications that certain secondary systems,such as driving-based communication controls, and tertiary systems, such as infotainment and comfort controls, exhibit unnatural characteristics. Despite this, the concept of natural interaction remains largely unexplored in the automotive industry. Research in automotive interfaces has primarily focused on quantitative aspects, overlooking the importance of naturalness in interaction. To propel the field forward, there is a need for a measurement scale derived from thorough qualitative investigations into the naturalness of interacting with secondary and tertiary controls includingclimate, navigation, music, phone calls controls.

The Naturalness of Interaction research aims to explore:


01. What is naturalness of interaction?

02. What are the mental constructs people associate to the concept of naturalness of interaction?

03. What are the naturalness of interaction constructs people associate with the current automobile?

04. How does naturalness of interaction apply to existing cars?

05. How can these emerging concepts be applied to future autonomous vehicles (AVs) experience?


Current Outputs

Research to date by the researcher Gustav Moorhouse has developed a framework through the triangulation methodology of extensive literature review, workshops and interviews. The results of the process suggests that naturalness can be improved by focussing on four areas:

  1. using direct manipulation with the medium, whether it is digital or physical;
  2. encouraging high contextual specificity, adapting to the present scenario of driver needs and road condition;
  3. reusing people’s existing skills, thereby lowering the required cognitive load;
  4. by achieving a low abstraction between the interaction and the medium.

01/02

02/02

Publications

Selected Publication

  1. Moorhouse G. and Ajovalasit, M. (2024). Natural User Experience in Tertiary Driver–Car Interactions. Master Thesis Politecnico di Milano. ISBN 978-3-033-10439-6
  2. Atherton, M., Hill, SA., Harrison, DJ. and Ajovalasit, M., (2020). Economic and technical feasibility of a robotic autonomous system for train fluid servicing. Proceedings of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers, Part F: Journal of Rail and Rapid Transit. https://doi.org/10.1177/0954409719830520
  3. Atherton, M., Hill, SA., Harrison, DJ. and Ajovalasit, M. (2017) 'Feasibility of Robotic Autonomous System for Train Fluid Servicing'. RRUKA Annual Conference.King's Place, London. 16 November. https://bura.brunel.ac.uk/handle/2438/15703
  4. Hill, SA., Atherton, M., Ajovalasit, M. and Harrison, D. (2017) 'Robust automated servicing of passenger train fluids'.The Stephenson Conference: Research for Railways. IMechE, 1 Bridcage Walk, London. 25 - 27 April https://bura.brunel.ac.uk/handle/2438/14008
  5. Ajovalasit, M., Tajadura A., Shabani, A. and Giacomin J., (2013), Human emotional response to steering wheel vibration in automobiles. Int. J. Vehicle Noise and Vibration, Special Issue, Vol.9, Nos. 1/2, pp 109-128. http://www.inderscienceonline.com/doi/abs/10.1504/IJVNV.2013.053820
  6. Berber-Solano, T.P., Ajovalasit, M. and Giacomin, J., (2013). Effect of steering wheel acceleration frequency distribution on detection of road type. Ingenieriìa Mecaìnica, Tecnologiìa y Desarrollo, Sociedad Mexicana de Ingeniería Mecánica (SOMIM), Vol. 4 No. 4, pp 145 – 151. http://www.scielo.org.mx/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S1665-73812013000100005
  7. Ajovalasit, M., Shabani, A., Tajadura, A. and J. Giacomin. (2012), Affective reactions to vibro-tactile events: A case study in automotive applications. Proceedings of the 8th International Conference on Design & Emotion (Out of Control), London, United Kingdom, 11th- 14th September. 2012.
  8. King B. and Ajovalasit, M. (2012), Mobile Device Tactile Interaction In Multi-Tasking Activities. Proceedings of the 8th International Conference on Design & Emotion (Out of Control), London, United Kingdom, 11th – 14th September. 2012.
  9. Basahel, A., M., Young, M.S. and Ajovalasit, M., (2012), Interaction Effects of Physical and Mental Tasks on Auditory Attentional Resources. Peer reviewed Book chapter in Advances Cognitive Engineering and Neuroergonomics” (chapter 9) pp 81-90. http://www.crcnetbase.com/doi/abs/10.1201/b12313-12
  10. Basahel, A., Young, M. and Ajovalasit, M. (2010), The Significance of Verbal and Spatial Attentional Resources on Mental Workload and Performance, 2nd International Conference on Advanced Cognitive Technologies and Applications COGNITIVE 2010, Lisbon, Portugal, November 21-26.
  11. Basahel, A., Young, M. and Ajovalasit, M. (2010), Effects of interaction between physical and mental workload on human performance. Annual Conference of the Institute of Ergonomics and Human Factors on Contemporary Ergonomics and Human Factors 2010;Keele; April 13th -15th.
  12. Basahel, A., Young, M. and Ajovalasit, M. (2010), Impacts of physical and mental workload interaction on human attentional resources performance, The 28th European Conference on Cognitive Ergonomics (ECCE), Delft, Netherlands, August 25-27.
  13. Ajovalasit, M., Berber, T., and Giacomin, J., (2010), Facilitating the driver detection of road surface type by selective manipulation of the steering wheel acceleration signal. Proceedings of the IMechE, Part D - Journal of Automobile Engineering, Vol. 224, pp. 1321-1333.
  14. Ajovalasit, M (2009), How can vibro-tactile sensations be presented to various body areas in order to enhance sensory information in everyday product? Key issues in sensory augmentation workshop, Institute of development studies, University of Sussex, Brighton, 26-27th March.
  15. Jeon, B., Ajovalasit, M. and Giacomin, J., (2009) Effects of gender differences on the subjective perceived intensity of steering wheel rotational vibration. International Journal of Industrial Ergonomics, Vol. 39, No.5, pp.736-743. http://doi.org/10.1016/j.ergon.2009.02.010
  16. Ajovalasit, M. and Giacomin, J, (2009), A Survey Study of Steering Wheel Vibration and Sound in Automobiles at Idle. Journal of Engineering Integrity Society, Vol. 26, March, pp. 6-14.
  17. Ajovalasit, M. and Giacomin, J., (2009), Non-linear dependency of the subjective perceived intensity of steering wheel rotational vibration. International Journal of Industrial Ergonomics, Vol. 39, pp 58-67.
  18. Ajovalasit, M. and Giacomin, J., (2007), Effect of automobile operating condition on the subjective equivalence of steering wheel vibration and sound. International Journal of Vehicle Noise and Vibration (IJVNV), Vol.3, No. 2, pp. 197-215.
  19. Ajovalasit, M. and Giacomin, J., (2007), Hand-arm equal sensation curves for steering wheel rotational vibration, will be presented at the 11th International Conference on Hand-Arm Vibration, Bologna, Italy, 3–7 June 2007.
  20. Gnanasekaran, S., Ajovalasit, M. and Giacomin, J., (2006), Driver estimation of steering wheel vibration intensity: laboratory-based tests. Engineering Integrity, Vol. 20, September, pp 25-31
  21. Ajovalasit, M. and Giacomin, J., (2005), Human subjective response to steering wheel vibration caused by diesel engine idle. Proceedings of the IMechE, Part D - Journal of Automobile Engineering, Vol 219, No. 4, pp 499-510.
  22. Giacomin, J. and Ajovalasit, M. (2004), Human perception of diesel engine idle vibration, ATA Ingegneria dell'Autoveicolo, Vol. 57, N.5/6, pp 52-56.
  23. Ajovalasit, M. and Giacomin, J., (2003), Analysis of variations in diesel engine idle vibration. Proceedings of the IMechE, Part D - Journal of Automobile Engineering, Vol. 217, No. 10, pp 921-933.


Research groups