Adaptive Control Concepts
Behind the wheel of a car, a driver is exposed to a large amount of information. That makes driving easier, but it can also be a distraction. Researchers at Bosch are working on channeling the mass of information and adapting it to the level of stress experienced by the driver. The answering machine, for example, automatically receives a telephone call when the car is in a sharp curve.
The windshield wipers are going at top speed, the low-beam headlights are on, and now the left turn signal is blinking too: You can hardly call that relaxed driving. In this situation, the ring of a cell phone or a voice instruction from the navigation system could downright overwhelm the driver – an example that illustrates how more information can also be simply too much at times.
That’s the reason researchers at Bosch are looking for solutions that can channel the variety of information and adapt it to individual driving situations. The 3D images on navigation displays are in vogue, but in precarious driving situations they’re too distracting. A simple arrow is enough in such cases. In a test lab for future navigation systems, engineers and psychologists are studying “adaptive control concepts” that adjust to fit the driving situation and give drivers precisely the information needed.
These activities are focusing on an HMI resource manager (HMI = Human Machine Interface), which is more or less a piece of software that can do its own thinking.
The resource manager selects the output media for the navigation system, such as loudspeakers or display, manages access conflicts, like when the cell phone or navigation system wants to access the loudspeaker, and in the process takes the driving situation into account in order to output the information in the most appropriate way.
In the driver cockpit at the test lab, the researchers can study various control models that allow them to infer the probable stress on a driver caused by vehicle parameters such as braking activity, speed, turn signals, headlights and other sensor data. Based on this “driver stress” (low, medium, high), the resource manager ensures that the navigation system conveys information in a way appropriate to the situation: Distraction of the driver is reduced to a minimum.
That’s the reason researchers at Bosch are looking for solutions that can channel the variety of information and adapt it to individual driving situations. The 3D images on navigation displays are in vogue, but in precarious driving situations they’re too distracting. A simple arrow is enough in such cases. In a test lab for future navigation systems, engineers and psychologists are studying “adaptive control concepts” that adjust to fit the driving situation and give drivers precisely the information needed.
These activities are focusing on an HMI resource manager (HMI = Human Machine Interface), which is more or less a piece of software that can do its own thinking.
The resource manager selects the output media for the navigation system, such as loudspeakers or display, manages access conflicts, like when the cell phone or navigation system wants to access the loudspeaker, and in the process takes the driving situation into account in order to output the information in the most appropriate way.
In the driver cockpit at the test lab, the researchers can study various control models that allow them to infer the probable stress on a driver caused by vehicle parameters such as braking activity, speed, turn signals, headlights and other sensor data. Based on this “driver stress” (low, medium, high), the resource manager ensures that the navigation system conveys information in a way appropriate to the situation: Distraction of the driver is reduced to a minimum.
Driving simulator in the test lab: A video projector displays pictures of a section of road in front of the “car.” Simulated GPS signals matching the scene are fed into the navigation system, supporting the driver on the virtual course.
