EXPLORATORY SIMULATOR STUDY ON THE USE OF ACTIVE CONTROL DEVICES IN CAR DRIVING

The present study deals with the question whether at the handling level of driving active control devices (i.e. active steering wheel, active gas pedal) may serve as a part of an integrated, intelligent co-driver system that may help the driver to behave safely and efficiently in tomorrow's traffic. The experiment, which was carried out in the TNO driving simulator was divided into three blocks: a lateral course task (lane change maneuver) supported by the active steering wheel, a longitudinal control task (speed control) supported by the active gas pedal, a combined control task (lane change maneuver and speed control) supported by both active controls. Different force feedback characteristics for the active control devices served as the main independent variable. The results indicate that the steering support may be fruitfully applied as a warning system preventing drivers to leave their lane. Furthermore, intelligent force feedback from the accelerator pedal appeared to be useful in speed-error reduction. The present simulator findings need further verification in field studies.