Researchers from EPFL and JTEKT Corporation have developed an automated driving system based on the concept of 'collaborative steering', which aims to increase transportation safety, efficiency, and comfort by encouraging active interaction between autonomous vehicles and their human drivers. Autonomous driving technologies have already been integrated into many mass-produced vehicles, providing human drivers with steering assistance in tasks like centering a vehicle in its lane. But the little data available on automated driving safety shows that placing too much control of a vehicle in the hands of automation can do more harm than good, as disengagement by human drivers can increase the risk of accidents. "Current vehicles on the market are either manual or automated, and there is no clear way of making their control a truly shared experience. This is dangerous, because it tends to lead to driver over-reliance on automation," explains Jürg Schiffmann, head of the Laboratory for Applied Mechanical Design in the School of Engineering. Now, researchers from the lab have collaborated with Japanese steering system supplier JTEKT Corporation to develop and successfully road-test a haptics-based automated driving system that integrates different modes of human-robot interaction. The researchers hope that their approach will increase not only the safety of automated driving, but also social acceptance of it.
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