Proposed Driver Workload Metrics and Methods Project

Ford Motor Company and General Motors Corporation created the Crash Avoidance Metrics Partnership (CAMP) in 1995 to conduct joint pre-competitive projects to accelerate the deployment of future crash avoidance measures. The proposed program utilizes the flexibility of this existing mechanism to bring together Ford Motor Company, General Motors Corporation, Nissan Technical Center North America, Inc. and Toyota Technical Center Inc. USA to propose a Driver Workload Metrics project. This effort will attempt to develop practical, repeatable driver workload metrics and procedures for both visual and cognitive demand that can realistically assess which types of driver interface tasks are appropriate to perform while a vehicle is in motion. In the future, vehicle OEMs will be able to use these workload evaluation procedures to assess what in-vehicle tasks might be accessible to a driver while the vehicle is in motion. The research approach will explore both “ground truth” workload measures taken under test track or on-road driving conditions as well models, simulations or procedures that have been recently developed or proposed. This research will provide a firm foundation for future assessment of feature availability for driver information systems while the vehicle is in motion.