Putting the Joy in Driving: Investigating the Use of a Joystick as an Alternative to Traditional Controls within Future Autonomous Vehicles

Unencumbered by the need to provide permanent manual control, future autonomous vehicles may be absent of traditional driving elements, such as a steering wheel and foot-pedals. While this provides additional space/comfort for drivers, an alternative device/s, that enables quick and effective manual control recovery, may still be required. Twenty participants, comprising an equal number of 'Drivers' and 'Non-Drivers', undertook two drives utilising a medium-fidelity simulator in which the original steering wheel and pedal-set were removed/deactivated. Participants controlled the vehicle using a centrally-mounted joystick in 2 scenarios: following an unexpected take-over request and during an extended period of manual driving. Results show that both groups rated the technology positively and were generally capable of manoeuvring the vehicle. Nevertheless, the groups differed in the way that performance was effected. For example, significant differences were evident in visual behaviour, resulting in 50% (n=5) of Non-Drivers colliding with another vehicle following transfer of control.