Influence analysis of chevron alignment signs on drivers' speed choices at horizontal curves on highways

Using a driving simulator,the effects of Chinese chevrons on drivers’actual and perceived safe speeds at horizontal curves on two-lane rural highways are tested. Twelve horizontal curves with different roadway geometries are designed and used as the simulated scenarios.The results show that, regardless of the curve radius, chevrons at horizontal curves provide advance warning and speed control for vehicles on the nearside of chevrons.Besides,chevrons can be used as an addition to speed limit signs in preventing excessive speed at horizontal curves and, therefore, can contribute to a reduction in run-off-road crashes.Moreover, Chinese chevrons can also serve to provide an improved sense of safety while driving around sharp curves.These study results lay a foundation for setting Chinese chevrons more reasonably.

PERFORMANCE SIMULATION OF VEHICLES EQUIPPED WITH TRACTION DRIVE CVTS

A computer model for the performance simulation of vehicles equipped with traction drive continuously variable transmission （CVT） is presented. The model integrates the traction drive CVT subsystem into an existing overall vehicle system. The characteristics of engine output torque are formulated using neural networks, and torque converter is modeled using lookup tables. Component inputs and outputs are coupled in the dynamic equations and interfaces in the powertrain system. The model simulation can provide evaluation of vehicle performance in drivability, fuel economy and emission levels for various drive ranges prior to the prototyping of the vehicle. As a design tool, the model assists engineers in understanding the effect ofpowertrain components on vehicle performance and making decisions in the selection of key design parameters. The model is implemented in the MATLAB/Simulink environment. The performance simulation of a test vehicle is included as a numerical example to illustrate the effectiveness of the model.

Development of driver-vehicle-road closed-loop semi-physical simulation system

As hybrid vehicles introduced the motor, the vehicle structure has a significant change in the power matching. A driver-vehicle-road closed-loop semi-physical simulation system, which makes real driving parts together with the simulation car, will bring convenience to the new car design. We used the computer software to simulate the road with a slope, curve and some other features based on the actual road condition, and analyzed the whole road scene in addition to geometry and physical characteristics. Analyzing and constructing the vehicle dynamics basic template, appropriate changes to the template can obtain the desired vehicle dynamics model with an external device to control the model vehicle. It combined the physical operation system with visual display, which gave us real driving feelings and increased the vehicle design predictive accuracy.

Investigation of Braking Timing of Drivers for Design of Pedestrian Collision Avoidance System

The braking behavior of drivers when a pedestrian comes out from the sidewalk to the road was analyzed using a driving simulator. Based on drivers＇ braking behavior, the braking control timing of the system for avoiding the collision with pedestrians was proposed. In this study, the subject drivers started braking at almost the same time in terms of TTC （Time to Collision）, regardless of the velocity of a subject vehicle and crossing velocity of pedestrians. This experimental result showed that brake timing of the system which can minimize the interference for braking between drivers and the system is 1.3 s of TTC. Next, the drivers＇ braking behavior was investigated when the system controlled braking to avoid collision at this timing. As a result, drivers did not show any change of braking behavior with no excessive interference between braking control by the system and braking operation by drivers for avoiding collisions with pedestrians which is equivalent to the excessive dependence on the system.

AB095. Development of an assessment system of driver visual behaviours on a car simulator

Background:(I)To describe the development and components of the automobile simulator driving behavior evaluation system developed by CRIR-Institut Nazareth et Louis-Braille;(II)to present the preliminary results of the content evaluation of the driving behavior evaluation grid.Methods:The evaluation system consists of five components:(I)the VS500M Car Simulator(Virage Simulation);(II)four VS500M driving scenarios,modified to minimize the occurrence of simulator sickness and expose subjects to commonly encountered driving situations on highways and city boulevards;(III)the Tobii Pro Glasses 2 eye tracking device;(IV)a car simulator driving behavior observation grid(DBOG);(V)a software application used during the behaviour evaluation phase,where synchronized video tracking,certain data from the simulator(e.g.,speed)and the DBOG grid are presented.Initially,the expected safe driving behaviors were identified,including 235 of a visual nature,supported by literature data and consultation of the project steering committee and an expert in driving assessment.Driving behaviors were assessed in 22 subjects without visual impairment(mean age 55±20 years).Subsequently,the items were revised to determine their relevance based on their importance in terms of road safety or on the frequency with which behaviors were observed among participants.For analysis purpose,the items of the DBOG were grouped according to their content,by type of expected driving behavior(e.g.,following a stop,look to the left and right before crossing the intersection)or element to be detected(e.g.,pedestrians).Results:Some visual behaviors are difficult to observe with the eye tracker device because they are more dependent on peripheral than central vision.Others are rarely observed,possibly because they are little or not realized in daily life or the representation of reality on the simulator does not stimulate their adoption.On the other hand,the visual detection behaviors expected in a situation where safety can be compromised are mostly carried out(e.g.,detection of oncoming vehicles,side mirror verification when changing lanes).Conclusions:This first phase of the study has made possible to better target the items to be kept in the car simulator driving behavior observation grid,and those that will have to be removed as they are too difficult to observe or too rarely adopted by the participants.Content validity and inter-rater reliability will be assessed from the simplified grid.

A Vehicle Behavioral Analysis of the Signal Pre-warning Information Provided to the Driver

In this study, we analyze whether there is a change in driver actions because of voice navigation information provided by utilizing ITS （intelligent transport systems）. Specifically, when a vehicle approaches a signalized intersection, the driver is provided with the voice navigation information that the signal light will shortly change red. We focus on what is effective when the voice navigation information is provided. Even if the timing of the provision of voice information is delayed, we have evaluated whether the vehicle is able to stop safely. From the results of the analysis, by providing voice navigation information, we know that a vehicle will stop safely at a signalized intersection. Even if the information provided by voice navigation has been delayed, it could be shown to be safe compared with the case where no information was provided.

Drivers’ Reaction of Warning Messages in Work Zone Termination Areas with Left Turn

Work-zone crashes have always drawn public attention. A number of fatalities are recorded every year nationwide within work zone areas. Most existing countermeasures have been dedicated more to the advance warning areas, transition areas, and activity areas of work zone, than the termination areas, where drivers might play less attention to safety threats. In this study, the vehicle-to-vehicle communication based left turn warning system was applied at a work zone termination area, which is immediately followed by a T-intersection. The work-zone is located on the minor road side, while left turn vehicles will be appearing from the major street through the said T-intersection. A smart phone application was designed using Android coding system to provide several types of warning messages to drivers. Corresponding scenarios were designed in a driving simulator, and 20 subjects were recruited to participate in the simulation test followed by a questionnaire survey. The subjects received a warning message when driving to the termination area of a work zone on the coming left turn vehicles. Twenty test drivers’ driving speed, acceleration rates, and break reaction distance to the warning messages were studied in four different scenarios. Results show that the smartphone application has a great impact on driving behaviors, especially the female voice and the beep tone warning, which are recommended for possible field tests. Besides, the developed smartphone applications can be further updated for practical applications of similar needs.

Neural Network-Based State of Charge Estimation Method for Lithium-ion Batteries Based on Temperature

Lithium-ion batteries are commonly used in electric vehicles,mobile phones,and laptops.These batteries demonstrate several advantages,such as environmental friendliness,high energy density,and long life.However,battery overcharging and overdischarging may occur if the batteries are not monitored continuously.Overcharging causesfire and explosion casualties,and overdischar-ging causes a reduction in the battery capacity and life.In addition,the internal resistance of such batteries varies depending on their external temperature,elec-trolyte,cathode material,and other factors;the capacity of the batteries decreases with temperature.In this study,we develop a method for estimating the state of charge(SOC)using a neural network model that is best suited to the external tem-perature of such batteries based on their characteristics.During our simulation,we acquired data at temperatures of 25°C,30°C,35°C,and 40°C.Based on the tem-perature parameters,the voltage,current,and time parameters were obtained,and six cycles of the parameters based on the temperature were used for the experi-ment.Experimental data to verify the proposed method were obtained through a discharge experiment conducted using a vehicle driving simulator.The experi-mental data were provided as inputs to three types of neural network models:mul-tilayer neural network(MNN),long short-term memory(LSTM),and gated recurrent unit(GRU).The neural network models were trained and optimized for the specific temperatures measured during the experiment,and the SOC was estimated by selecting the most suitable model for each temperature.The experimental results revealed that the mean absolute errors of the MNN,LSTM,and GRU using the proposed method were 2.17%,2.19%,and 2.15%,respec-tively,which are better than those of the conventional method(4.47%,4.60%,and 4.40%).Finally,SOC estimation based on GRU using the proposed method was found to be 2.15%,which was the most accurate.

Ethical decision-making in older drivers during critical driving situations: An online experiment

The present study examined the impact of aging on ethical decision-making in simulated critical driving scenarios.204 participants from North America,grouped into two age groups(18–30 years and 65 years and above),were asked to decide whether their simulated automated vehicle should stay in or change from the current lane in scenarios mimicking the Trolley Problem.Each participant viewed a video clip rendered by the driving simulator at Old Dominion University and pressed the space-bar if they decided to intervene in the control of the simulated automated vehicle in an online experiment.Bayesian hierarchical models were used to analyze participants’responses,response time,and acceptability of utilitarian ethical decision-making.The results showed significant pedestrian placement,age,and time-to-collision(TTC)effects on participants’ethical decisions.When pedestrians were in the right lane,participants were more likely to switch lanes,indicating a utilitarian approach prioritizing pedestrian safety.Younger participants were more likely to switch lanes in general compared to older participants.The results imply that older drivers can maintain their ability to respond to ethically fraught scenarios with their tendency to switch lanes more frequently than younger counterparts,even when the tasks interacting with an automated driving system.The current findings may inform the development of decision algorithms for intelligent and connected vehicles by considering potential ethical dilemmas faced by human drivers across different age groups.

Intelligent speed adaptation for visibility technology affects drivers’speed selection along curves with sight limitations

Sight obstructions along road curves can lead to a crash if the driver is not able to stop the vehicle in time.This is a particular issue along curves with limited available sight,where speed management is necessary to avoid unsafe situations(e.g.,driving off the road or invading the other traffic lane).To solve this issue,we proposed a novel intelligent speed adaptation(ISA)system for visibility,called V-ISA(intelligent speed adaptation for visibility).It estimates the real-time safe speed limits based on the prevailing sight conditions.V-ISA comes with three variants with specific feedback modalities(1)visual and(2)auditory information,and(3)direct intervention to assume control over the vehicle speed.Here,we investigated the efficiency of each of the three V-ISA variants on driving speed choice and lateral behavioural response along road curves with limited and unsafe available sight distances,using a driving simulator.We also considered curve road geometry(curve direction:rightward vs.leftward).Sixty active drivers were recruited for the study.While half of them(experimental group)tested the three V-ISA variants(and a V-ISA off condition),the other half always drove with the V-ISA off(validation group).We used a linear mixed-effect model to evaluate the influence of V-ISA on driver behaviour.All V-ISA variants were efficient at reducing speeds at entrance points,with no discernible negative impact on driver lateral behaviour.On rightward curves,the V-ISA intervening variant appeared to be the most effective at adapting to sight limitations.Results of the current study implies that V-ISA might assist drivers to adjust their operating speed as per prevailing sight conditions and,consequently,establishes safer driving conditions.

Multiple Purpose Simulation for Electric Vehicles

Aim Toshorten integral design period of electric vehicles Methods The electric vehicle simulation program(EVSP), a modular user-friendly program which is written in Borland C++ OWL for Windows was developed. Results EVSP allows simulating the dynamic and the economy performance of electric vehicles.EVSP provides many kinds of data input module,a large components library of electric vehicles and several kinds of speed cycle with these library,it is easily to develop a new concept of different drive trains or even to compare or improve the existing electric vehicles. The paper simulated the performance of YW6120DD Electric Bus, and analyzed the test results comparing with simulation results Conclusion The simulation results indicate that the EVSP may contribute to the developments of electric vehicles in general and the definition of the optimal match management in the drive train in particular.

Study on the Driving Style Adaptive Vehicle Longitudinal Control Strategy

This paper presents a fusion control strategy of adaptive cruise control(ACC) and collision avoidance(CA),which takes into account a driver’s behavioral style. First, a questionnaire survey was performed to identify driver type, and the corresponding driving behavioral data were collected via driving simulator experiments, which served as the template data for the online identification of driver type. Then, the driveradaptive ACC/CA fusion control strategy was designed, and its effect was verified by virtual experiments. The results indicate that the proposed control strategy could achieve the fusion control of ACC and CA successfully and improve driver adaptability and comfort.

COLLISION AVOIDANCE DECISION-MAKING MODEL OF MULTI-AGENTS IN VIRTUAL DRIVING ENVIRONMENT WITH ANALYTIC HIERARCHY PROCESS

Collision avoidance decision-making models of multiple agents in virtual driving environment are studied. Based on the behavioral characteristics and hierarchical structure of the collision avoidance decision-making in real life driving, delphi approach and mathematical statistics method are introduced to construct pair-wise comparison judgment matrix of collision avoidance decision choices to each collision situation. Analytic hierarchy process （AHP） is adopted to establish the agents＇ collision avoidance decision-making model. To simulate drivers＇ characteristics, driver factors are added to categorize driving modes into impatient mode, normal mode, and the cautious mode. The results show that this model can simulate human＇s thinking process, and the agents in the virtual environment can deal with collision situations and make decisions to avoid collisions without intervention. The model can also reflect diversity and uncertainly of real life driving behaviors, and solves the multi-objective, multi-choice ranking priority problem in multi-vehicle collision scenarios. This collision avoidance model of multi-agents model is feasible and effective, and can provide richer and closer-to-life virtual scene for driving simulator, reflecting real-life traffic environment more truly, this model can also promote the practicality of driving simulator.

Dynamics Modeling of Heavy Special Driving Simulator

Based on the dynamical characteristic parameters of the real vehicle, the modehng approach ancl procedure of dynamics of vehicles are expatiated. The layout of vehicle dynamics is proposed, and the sub-models of the diesel engine, drivetrain system and vehicle multi-body dynamics are introduced. Finally, the running characteristic data of the virtual and real vehicles are compared, which shows that the dynamics model is similar closely to the real vehicle system.

Impact of binocular visual field loss on driving performance in glaucoma patients

AIM:To evaluate the driving performance in young and middle-aged Chinese glaucoma patients with mild to severe visual field loss compared to those without glaucoma by using a driving simulation test.METHODS:Twenty-nine participants were included in this study:nine patients with glaucoma but pass the binocular Esterman visual field test,ten patients with glaucoma and fail the binocular Esterman visual field test,and ten age-matched healthy controls.A driving simulation test was designed as a frequency-based analysis of a lanekeeping task.The total performance error,the controlresponse amplitude and delay were calculated.RESULTS:Esterman visual field test fail group showed the longest delay of control-response among three groups(P=0.02).And the delay in lane-keeping task was significantly associated with inferior field of better-eye(r=0.51,P=0.004)and integrated visual field(r=0.55,P=0.002).CONCLUSION:Young and middle-aged glaucoma patients with binocular visual field loss suffered from a longer delay of response in driving simulation test,while inferior visual field having more impact than superior visual field.

Spectral Analysis of Blood Pressure Variability as a Quantitative Indicator of Driving Fatigue

The quantitative detector of driver fatigue presents appropriate warnings and helps to prevent traffic accidents.The aim of this study was to quantifiably evaluate driver mental fatigue using the power spectral analysis of the blood pressure variability (BPV) and subjective evaluation. In this experiment twenty healthy male subjects were required to perform a driving simulator task for 3-hours. The physiological variables for evaluating driver mental fatigue were spectral values of blood pressure variability (BPV)including very low frequency (VLF), low frequency (LF),high frequency (HF). As a result, LF, HF and LF/HF showed high correlations with driver mental fatigue but not found in VLF. The findings represent a possible utility of BPV spectral analysis in quantitatively evaluating driver mental fatigue.

Prediction of Point in Time with High Crash Risk by Integration of Bayesian Estimation of Drowsiness, Tracking Error, and Subjective Drowsiness

The aim of this study was to predict drivers＇ drowsy states with high risk of encountering a crash and prevent drivers from continuing to drive under such drowsy states with high risk of crash. While the participants were required to carry out a simulated driving task, EEG （Electro encephalography） （EEG-MPF and EEG-α/β）, ECG （Electrocradiogram） （RRV3）, t racking error, an d subjective rating on drowsiness were measured. On the basis of such measurements, an attempt was made to predict the point in time with high crash risk using Bayesian estimation of posterior probability of drowsiness, tracking error, and subjective drowsiness. As a result of applying the proposed method to the data of each participant, it was verified that the proposed method could predict the point in time with high crash risk before the point in time of crash.

Suppressive Effect on Speed Reduction at Sag Sections by Utilizing Visual Illusions

Currently about 60% of traffic jams on express highways nationwide are said to occur at sag sections, as traffic congestion at tollgates decreased significantly with the introduction of electronic ETC （toll collection system）. Therefore, in order to further decrease traffic jams on express highways, there is an urgent need to consider measures to reduce traffic congestion at sag sections. A wide variety of hardware and software has been suggested to deal with traffic jams. In this study, a measure for suppressing traffic congestion at sag sections has been proposed, expected to be low in cost and readily installed, which utilizes optical illusions for drivers. An experiment which used a driving simulator resulted in a suggestion that setting gates at incremental intervals at uphill sag sections resulted in suppression of speed reduction in those sections.

Characterization of Driving Style and the Influence of Distraction Based on Non-intrusive Driving Parameters

It is difficult to model human behavior because of the variability in driving styles and driving skills. However, for some driver assistance systems, it is necessary to have knowledge of that behavior to discriminate potentially hazardous situations, such as distraction, fatigue or drowsiness. Many of the systems that look for driver distraction or drowsiness are based on intrusive means （analysis of the electroencephalogram--EEG） or highly sensitive to operating conditions and expensive equipment （eye movements analysis through artificial vision）. A solution that seeks to avoid the above drawbacks is the use of driving parameters This article presents the conclusions obtained after a set of driving simulator tests with professional drivers with two main objectives using driving variables such as speed profile, steering wheel angle, transversal position on the lane, safety distance, etc., that are available in a non-intrusive way： （1） To analyze the differences between the driving patterns of individual drivers; and （2） To analyze the effect of distraction and drowsiness on these parameters. Different scenarios have been designed, including sequences with distractions and situations that cause fatigue. The analysis of the results is carried out in time and frequency domains in order to identify situations of loss of attention and to study whether the evolution of the analyzed variables along the time could be considered independent of the driver.

The Application of Moving Base Systems in Driving Simulators with Special Regard to the Sensation of Yaw Movements

Driving simulators involve the capability of simulating critical and dangerous driving situations up to the limits of active safety. They are employed for investigating the interactions of the driver-vehicle system under reproducible and non-dangerous conditions. Because of their flexibility they are well established in scientific research. They are mainly used in current automotive fields of research like driver assistance and autonomous driving systems. The development of assistance systems makes the human being as the directly concerned component irreplaceable in the development process. Here the use of driving simulators has become an essential element, because they offer the possibility to integrate the human being as a real part into the simulation environment. It must be considered that the circuit of information has to be the same as under real driving conditions. Otherwise the results are not transferable. This paper deals with the possibilities of presenting all information to the driver, which are necessary to give him a realistic impression of driving. A main subject is the sensation of yaw-movements, which could be of interest when novel kinds of moving base systems are designed.