Are you in the loop? Using gaze dispersion to understand driver visual attention during vehicle automation

This driving simulator study, conducted as part of the EC-funded AdaptIVe project, assessed drivers’ visual attention distribution during automation and on approach to a critical event and examined whether such attention changes following repeated exposure to an impending collision. Measures of drivers’ horizontal and vertical gaze dispersion during both conventional and automated (SAE Level 2) driving were compared on approach to such critical events. Using a between-participant design, 60 drivers (15 in each group) experienced automation with one of four screen manipulations: 1) no manipulation, 2) manipulation by light fog, 3) manipulation by heavy fog, and 4) manipulation by heavy fog with a secondary task, which were used to induce varying levels of engagement with the driving task. Results showed that, during automation, drivers’ horizontal gaze was generally more dispersed than that observed during manual driving. Drivers clearly looked around more when their view of the driving scene was completely blocked by an opaque screen in the heavy fog condition. By contrast, horizontal gaze dispersion was (unsurprisingly) more concentrated when drivers performed a visual secondary task, which was overlaid on the opaque screen. However, once the manipulations ceased and an uncertainty alert captured drivers’ attention towards an impending incident, a similar gaze pattern was found for all drivers, with no carry-over effects observed after the screen manipulations. Results showed that drivers’ understanding of the automated system increased as time progressed and that scenarios that encourage driver gaze towards the road centre are more likely to increase situation awareness during high levels of automation.