Necessity of Automated Vehicle Control Customization: Experimental Results during Lane Changing

This study investigated the necessity of automated vehicle control customization for individual drivers via a lane-changing experiment involving 35 subjects and an automated minivan. The experiment consisted of two automated driving conditions: one in which the subject was unable to override vehicle controls, the other with the option to override when the subject felt it was necessary. The automated vehicle drove at a speed of 40 km/h along three kinds of planned paths for lane changing, generated by Bezier curves; the distance required for lane changing was varied to obtain the preferred path of each subject. Various data obtained during driving, including vehicle trajectories and steering angles produced by subjects were logged. After automated driving, a questionnaire was administered to each subject. The experimental data showed that there was a statistically significant difference between comfort when the vehicle drove along the subject’s preferred path, and when it drove along other paths. The results of the questionnaire indicated that 46% of the subjects preferred the planned path that most closely resembled their own. In addition, quantitative analysis of driving data found that approximately 69% of the subjects preferred an automated driving control that resembled their own. However, it was also observed that certain subjects were open to multiple types of automated vehicle control. The experimental results indicate that drivers will not necessarily accept a single type of automated vehicle control, therefore customization will be necessary to improve acceptance of automated driving.