Driving Automation: Investigating and Improving Upon how Drivers Learn and Interact with Vehicle Automation
Department of Systems and Enterprises
Location: Babbio 541A (with virtual option)
Speaker: Shannon C. Roberts, Ph.D.
Associate Professor of the Mechanical and Industrial Engineering Department at UMass-Amherst and the Associate Director of the New England University Transportation Center.
ABSTRACT
Automation is being introduced into passenger and commercial vehicles at a rapid pace. How drivers learn about and interact with this technology is of paramount importance with respect to safety. In this presentation, I will summarize a host of research projects focused on understanding and improving upon drivers’ interaction with advanced technology in the vehicle. The first two projects examined how different human-machine interface designs affect driver performance and eye-glance behavior across various levels of driver automation. The third project examined how various training approaches affect driver takeover performance, trust, and situation awareness in a level 2 automated vehicle. I will close by discussing two ongoing projects with preliminary results: one examines how teen drivers should learn about driving automation systems and the other examines how the introduction of higher levels of automation (e.g., levels 3 and 4) into trucking will transform the freight and logistics industry.
BIOGRAPHY
Dr. Shannon C. Roberts is an Associate Professor in the Mechanical and Industrial Engineering Department and the Associate Director of the New England University Transportation Center. Prior to joining UMass, she was a technical staff member at MIT Lincoln Laboratory in the Cyber Analytics and Decisions Systems Group. Dr. Roberts received her PhD and MS in Industrial Engineering from the University of Wisconsin – Madison and she received her BS in Mechanical Engineering from MIT.
Dr. Roberts is a trained Human Factors engineer with experience studying and evaluating the interaction between humans and systems in transportation safety as well as other domains. Her research has required collaborations with other academic institutions, government agencies, as well as industry partners and has resulted in 47 peer-reviewed conferences and journal publications. Dr. Roberts is active in STEM outreach to K12 students as well as public outreach to the media and beyond to spread the importance of transportation safety in our everyday lives.
Zoom Link: https://stevens.zoom.us/j/95601124454
Zoom Meeting ID: 956 0112 4454
Passcode: SE