Design of a Haptic/Auditory Warning Interface to Improve User Communication with Autonomous Vehicles

Most of current self-driving cars operate at a level three of automation, which requires the driver to take control of the vehicle in case of emergency. Nowadays the warning systems of most of them consist of visual and auditory media. In this study, a new haptic and auditory interface is designed to warn the driver about the external environment, the vehicle, and even himself/herself. A virtual reality driving simulator is used to test the interface. In the simulation, the user is sat in a self-driving car following another car. At a certain point, the front car goes out of the road, and the interface is used to warn the driver in order to take-over control. The haptic interface is made of eight vibrating motors placed in two pillows (seat pan and back support) controlled by an Arduino Uno board. A regular speaker is also used to provide the user with an auditory feedback.