The Impact of Adaptive Cruise Control on the Drivers’ Workload and Attention

Workload and distraction are problems that affect road driving and can cause very serious accidents. Drive assistance systems are very important to help drivers relieve fatigue of driving by increasing road safety and reducing the number of accidents. The Adaptive Cruise Control (ACC) is a useful dr...

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Main Authors: Claudio Lantieri, Ennia Mariapaola Acerra, Margherita Pazzini, Andrea Simone, Gianluca Di Flumeri, Gianluca Borghini, Fabio Babiloni, Pietro Arico, Paola Lanzi, Valeria Vignali
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: IEEE 2024-01-01
Series:IEEE Access
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Online Access:https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/10720003/
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author Claudio Lantieri
Ennia Mariapaola Acerra
Margherita Pazzini
Andrea Simone
Gianluca Di Flumeri
Gianluca Borghini
Fabio Babiloni
Pietro Arico
Paola Lanzi
Valeria Vignali
author_facet Claudio Lantieri
Ennia Mariapaola Acerra
Margherita Pazzini
Andrea Simone
Gianluca Di Flumeri
Gianluca Borghini
Fabio Babiloni
Pietro Arico
Paola Lanzi
Valeria Vignali
author_sort Claudio Lantieri
collection DOAJ
description Workload and distraction are problems that affect road driving and can cause very serious accidents. Drive assistance systems are very important to help drivers relieve fatigue of driving by increasing road safety and reducing the number of accidents. The Adaptive Cruise Control (ACC) is a useful driver assistance system to set and maintain a safe distance from the front vehicle, modulating speed and limiting sudden braking. However, the effects of the ACC on overall driver behaviour have not yet been thoroughly investigated. In this study, the authors assessed the influence of ACC on mental workload and attention of drivers in a real driving environment. The results of several evaluations were considered: subjective assessment of workload (NASA-TLX), physiological measurements of workload (brain activity through electroencephalographic technique and the analysis of visual behaviour through an eye monitoring device) and performance-based measurements (via Vbox Pro Video mounted on the vehicle). 52 drivers were involved in the study, 26 ACC experts and 26 non-experts, who drove along the ring road of Bologna (Tangenziale di Bologna) (Italy), both using ACC and manually, without the help of any device. During the test a secondary task was introduced: the sudden arrival of a braking car. Results showed that the use of ACC increased distraction when driving.
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spelling doaj-art-e068a235af724e3798f43d8905cff6492025-08-20T02:12:30ZengIEEEIEEE Access2169-35362024-01-011215882415883610.1109/ACCESS.2024.348165410720003The Impact of Adaptive Cruise Control on the Drivers’ Workload and AttentionClaudio Lantieri0https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2852-567XEnnia Mariapaola Acerra1Margherita Pazzini2https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1464-8479Andrea Simone3https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4721-9873Gianluca Di Flumeri4https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4426-051XGianluca Borghini5https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8560-5671Fabio Babiloni6https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4962-176XPietro Arico7https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3831-6620Paola Lanzi8https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1936-6462Valeria Vignali9https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2143-9488Department of Civil, Chemical, Environmental and Materials Engineering (DICAM), School of Engineering and Architecture, University of Bologna, Bologna, ItalyDepartment of Civil, Chemical, Environmental and Materials Engineering (DICAM), School of Engineering and Architecture, University of Bologna, Bologna, ItalyDepartment of Civil, Chemical, Environmental and Materials Engineering (DICAM), School of Engineering and Architecture, University of Bologna, Bologna, ItalyDepartment of Civil, Chemical, Environmental and Materials Engineering (DICAM), School of Engineering and Architecture, University of Bologna, Bologna, ItalyBrainSigns Srl, Rome, ItalyBrainSigns Srl, Rome, ItalyBrainSigns Srl, Rome, ItalyBrainSigns Srl, Rome, ItalyDeep Blue Srl, Rome, ItalyDepartment of Civil, Chemical, Environmental and Materials Engineering (DICAM), School of Engineering and Architecture, University of Bologna, Bologna, ItalyWorkload and distraction are problems that affect road driving and can cause very serious accidents. Drive assistance systems are very important to help drivers relieve fatigue of driving by increasing road safety and reducing the number of accidents. The Adaptive Cruise Control (ACC) is a useful driver assistance system to set and maintain a safe distance from the front vehicle, modulating speed and limiting sudden braking. However, the effects of the ACC on overall driver behaviour have not yet been thoroughly investigated. In this study, the authors assessed the influence of ACC on mental workload and attention of drivers in a real driving environment. The results of several evaluations were considered: subjective assessment of workload (NASA-TLX), physiological measurements of workload (brain activity through electroencephalographic technique and the analysis of visual behaviour through an eye monitoring device) and performance-based measurements (via Vbox Pro Video mounted on the vehicle). 52 drivers were involved in the study, 26 ACC experts and 26 non-experts, who drove along the ring road of Bologna (Tangenziale di Bologna) (Italy), both using ACC and manually, without the help of any device. During the test a secondary task was introduced: the sudden arrival of a braking car. Results showed that the use of ACC increased distraction when driving.https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/10720003/Adaptive cruise controlmental workloaddriving attentionelectroencephalographyeye trackinghuman factors
spellingShingle Claudio Lantieri
Ennia Mariapaola Acerra
Margherita Pazzini
Andrea Simone
Gianluca Di Flumeri
Gianluca Borghini
Fabio Babiloni
Pietro Arico
Paola Lanzi
Valeria Vignali
The Impact of Adaptive Cruise Control on the Drivers’ Workload and Attention
IEEE Access
Adaptive cruise control
mental workload
driving attention
electroencephalography
eye tracking
human factors
title The Impact of Adaptive Cruise Control on the Drivers’ Workload and Attention
title_full The Impact of Adaptive Cruise Control on the Drivers’ Workload and Attention
title_fullStr The Impact of Adaptive Cruise Control on the Drivers’ Workload and Attention
title_full_unstemmed The Impact of Adaptive Cruise Control on the Drivers’ Workload and Attention
title_short The Impact of Adaptive Cruise Control on the Drivers’ Workload and Attention
title_sort impact of adaptive cruise control on the drivers x2019 workload and attention
topic Adaptive cruise control
mental workload
driving attention
electroencephalography
eye tracking
human factors
url https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/10720003/
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