Mobile phone apps and operating systems are increasingly adopting driving mode functions that attempt to reduce driver visual and cognitive demand by limiting functionality, using larger buttons and icons, and adding voice-based interactions. The present study assessed the visual and cognitive demands and the subjective level of distraction from two driving mode implementations (voice or manual) on an Android™ mobile phone using Google Assistant™, compared to a typical mobile phone operating system experience. While driving on a test track, participants performed several trials of five tasks on each of three interfaces: A mobile operating system interface, a manual driving mode interface, and a voice driving mode interface. Visual demand was measured with eye-gaze recordings, cognitive load was measured with the detection response task, and a Likert scale was used to rate the perceived level of distraction. The voice driving mode resulted in the lowest visual attention demand and lowest subjective ratings of distraction. The manual driving mode condition also reduced visual demand and subjective ratings of distraction relative to the mobile operating system condition. The cognitive load results were inconsistent across the task and interaction mode conditions. Overall, the results of this study provide positive evidence in support of voice-based driving mode implementations for reducing visual demand and subjective levels of distraction from mobile devices while driving. Moreover, the results suggest that manual driving mode implementations also have the potential to reduce visual demand and subjective levels of distraction, relative to the mobile operating system condition.

Virtual reality is an immersive technology with potential uses that extend beyond entertainment and gaming. For example, VR could be leveraged for future use in courtrooms. There, VR could be utilized to transport a jury to the scene at issue in a legal matter (e.g., collision location, trip-and-fall site, occupational settings, etc.). For VR to be admitted in a courtroom as an unbiased demonstrative, it is likely that an expert would need to show that VR images represent a veridical depiction of the actual environment. The current studies examined how visual perception of slope for real-world terrain presented in VR compares to the perception of slope for the same terrain when experienced in-person, and via traditional photographs of the terrain (such as are currently used as courtroom demonstratives). Overall, participants’ perception of slope did not significantly differ across the three mediums, indicating that VR provides a faithful representation of slope magnitude, compared to judgments made at the physical site.

Consumers are faced with an increasingly complex decision process as novel safety technologies become commonplace in new vehicles. Consumers’ knowledge of these systems is potentially limited given the recent introduction and constant evolution of ADAS. We examined consumers’ understanding and perceptions of ADAS and vehicle automation in a national survey. Our analysis focused on consumers’ understanding of how certain driving tasks that can be automated (e.g., steering, braking, navigation, etc.) maps onto proposed levels of vehicle automation. Additionally, we report what sources of information and methods of education consumers prefer to utilize when learning about new safety systems. These data can inform new driver training, public policy and transportation goals of how best to educate the motoring public about new vehicle technologies and the capabilities of next-generation automated vehicles as well as facilitate public acceptance of higher levels of vehicle automation.

The visual image provides important cues for an observer’s sense of location and orientation within the world. Occasionally, though, these cues can be misleading, resulting in illusions. In the Roelofs and induced Roelofs effects, for example, a large illuminated frame, offset from the observer’s midline in otherwise complete darkness, tends to bias the observer’s judgment of straight ahead, causing the position of the frame, and anything contained within it, to be misperceived. Studies of these illusions have provided much insight into the processes that establish an observer’s egocentric reference frame, and the manner in which object locations are encoded relative to this frame for perception and action.

A broad survey of the aging and attention literature illustrates cognitive aging is complex and multifactorial. This chapter examines the interaction of aging and selective attention. It emphasizes the visual modality, focusing on several experimental methodologies used to quantify selective attention in the laboratory. The chapter also examines how observed patterns of behavior informed early models of attentional functioning in aging adults. It explores the overarching theme that changes in processing speed and explains behavioral performance patterns in advancing age. The chapter discusses classic models of aging, and how these models provided the foundation for contemporary theories of aging and attention. Modern conceptualizations of aging and attention have expanded considerably beyond a processing speed account into models of distributed functional connectivity in the brain. The chapter also discusses recent interventional approaches designed to slow the course of cognitive aging through various “neuroenhancement” techniques.

Successful goal-directed visual behavior depends on efficient disengagement of attention. Attention must be withdrawn from its current focus before being redeployed to a new object or internal process. Previous research has demonstrated that occupying cognitive processes with a secondary cellular phone conversation impairs attentional functioning and driving behavior. For example, attentional processing is significantly impacted by concurrent cell phone use, resulting in decreased explicit memory for on-road information. Here, we examined the impact of a critical component of cell-phone use-active listening-on the effectiveness of attentional disengagement. In the gap task-a saccadic manipulation of attentional disengagement-we measured saccade latencies while participants performed a secondary active listening task. Saccadic latencies significantly increased under an active listening load only when attention needed to be disengaged, indicating that active listening delays a disengagement operation. Simple dual-task interference did not account for the observed results. Rather, active cognitive engagement is required for measurable disengagement slowing to be observed. These results have implications for investigations of attention, gaze behavior, and distracted driving. Secondary tasks such as active listening or cell-phone conversations can have wide-ranging impacts on cognitive functioning, potentially impairing relatively elementary operations of attentional function, including disengagement.

The effectiveness of an idealized lane departure warning (LDW) was evaluated in an interactive fixed base driving simulator. Thirty-eight older (mean age = 77 years) and 40 younger drivers (mean age = 35 years) took four different drives/routes similar in road culture composition and hazards encountered with and without LDW. The four drives were administered over visits separated approximately by two weeks to examine changes in long-term effectiveness of LDW. Performance metrics were number of LDW activations and average correction time to each LDW. LDW reduced correction time to re-center the vehicle by 1.34s on average (95% CI = 1.12-1.57 s) but did not reduce the number of times the drivers drifted enough in their lanes to activate the system (LDW activations). The magnitude of reductions in average correction RT was similar for older and younger drivers and did not change With repeated exposures across visits. The contribution of individual differences in basic visual and motor function, as well as cognitive function to safety gains from LDW was also examined. Cognitive speed of processing predicted lane keeping performance for older and younger drivers. Differences in memory, visuospatial construction, and executive function tended to predict performance differences among older but not younger drivers. Cognitive functioning did not predict changes in the magnitude of safety benefits from LDW over time. Implications are discussed with respect to real-world safety systems. (C) 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Background/Aim: : Walking requires the integration of the sensory and motor systems. Cognitive distractions have been shown to interfere with negotiation of complex walking environments, especially in populations at greater risk for falls (e.g. the elderly). With the pervasiveness of mobile messaging and the recent introduction of augmented reality mobile gaming, it is increasingly important to understand how distraction associated with the simultaneous use of a mobile device impacts navigation of the complex walking environments experienced in daily life. In this study, we investigated how gait kinematics were altered when participants performed a texting task during step negotiation.Methods: : Twenty participants (13 female, 7 males) performed a series of walking trials involving a step-deck obstacle, consisting of at least 3 texting trials and 3 non-texting trials.Results: : When texting, participants ascended more slowly and demonstrated reduced dual-step foot toe clearance. Participants similarly descended more slowly when texting and demonstrated reduced single-step foot heel clearance as well as reduced dual-step foot fore-aft heel clearance.Conclusion: : These data support the conclusion that texting during stair negotiation results in changes to gait kinematics that may increase the potential for gait disruptions, falls, and injury. Further research should examine the effect texting has on performing other common complex locomotor tasks, actual fall risk, and the patterns of resulting injury rate and severity when negotiating complex environments.

The component technologies of Advanced Driver Assistive Systems (ADAS) are becoming increasingly automated, with systems capable of operating in concert in multiple driving environments. However, how these systems affect a driver's ability to safely, efficiently, and comfortably operate a vehicle remains unclear. We investigated the effects of ADAS [specifically Lane Departure Warning (LDW)] on driving performance while participants performed a secondary task (mental math) designed to simulate cognitive effort while driving. The experiment was conducted on a closed-course test track in an instrumented vehicle. Results suggest that cognitive engagement influenced driver control of the vehicle. Effects of cognitive engagement in a secondary task were not mitigated by the presence of LDW. We discuss our results in the framework of a continued need for active input and control from the human operator in vehicles with assistive technologies.

The extent to which drivers’ attitudes toward the use of autonomous vehicle systems can be influenced by various driver factors (e.g., driver age, experience with the systems, etc.) has yet to be firmly established. To investigate driver perceptions and acceptance of advanced vehicle systems, the current research examined initial and repeated exposure to systems while driving under various commonly encountered on-road situations (e.g., emergency braking). Somewhat surprisingly, driver perceptions of safety when driving vehicles with assistive technologies diminished following repeated exposure to the technologies. However, when drivers were afforded more extensive experience, they reported a heightened appreciation of the systems—especially drivers who might benefit most from this assistance (e.g., distracted or older drivers).

Mobile device use is becoming increasingly prevalent during everyday activities. The simultaneous use of such technology while performing various activities may increase risk of human error and accidents, such as falls. In addition to effects on cognitive and attentional resources, mobile device use may influence visual behavior, thus affecting the user’s ability to perceive obstacles in the environment and respond appropriately. The purpose of this study was to examine the influence of texting on gaze behavior during the approach and negotiation of a simulated curb. Wireless eye-tracking was used to record gaze during locomotion, with and without concurrent texting. Semantic Gaze Mapping (SMI, Inc.) was used to co-register participants’ gaze to different areas of interest (AOIs). Texting resulted in significant reductions in gaze dwell time on the curb and the number of times the curb was fixated. These findings suggest that mobile device use may have a negative effect on navigation during locomotion by reducing visual attention to task-relevant areas along the future path of travel.

Advanced Driver Assistance Systems (ADAS) have largely been developed with a "one-size-fits-all" approach. This approach neglects the large inter-individual variability in perceptual and cognitive abilities that affect aging ADAS users. We investigated the effectiveness of a forward collision warning (FCW) with fixed response parameters in young and older drivers with differing levels of cognitive functioning. Drivers responded to a pedestrian stepping into the driver's path on a simulated urban road. Behavioral metrics included response times (RT) for pedal controls and two indices of risk penetration (e.g., maximum deceleration and minimum time-to-collision (TTC)). Older drivers showed significantly slower responses at several time points compared to younger drivers. The FCW facilitated response times (RTs) for older and younger drivers. However, older drivers still showed smaller safety gains compared to younger drivers at accelerator pedal release and initial brake application when the FCW was active. No significant differences in risk metrics were observed within the condition studied. The results demonstrate older drivers likely differ from younger drivers using a FCW with a fixed parameter set. Finally, we briefly discuss how future research should examine predictive relationships between domains of cognitive functioning and ADAS responses to develop parameter sets to fit the individual.

46 participants (24 younger and 22 older) completed at least one out of four simulated drives designed to test the effectiveness of an Adaptive Lane Deviation Warning (LDW) system, and they drove through both a warnings-on and warnings-off version of each drive. Findings showed that LDW was effective in reducing reaction time for lane deviation corrections for both older (by 1.2 seconds) and younger drivers (by 1.6 seconds). The older and younger drivers did not differ in correction RTs when the warnings were turned off. But older drivers showed slower correction RTs than younger drivers in the warning-on drives. The data indicate that these benefits were specific to LDW rather than general improvement in driving performance. Cognitive processing speed emerged as a particularly robust predictor of benefits from the LDW compared to other domains of cognitive function.

Age-related declines in cognitive functioning can push older adults to adopt strategies that may or may not improve their driving safety. Previous research suggests one strategy involves performing complex driving tasks (e.g., right turn negotiation) in discrete steps (“serialization”) rather than fluidly. The current study used simulator scenarios developed to test possible age-related serialization of behavior during complex car following. In all scenarios, participants closely monitored a lead vehicle using sustained attention. During multi-tasking scenarios, drivers performed an additional localization task designed to increase the demands on attention. The results demonstrate that older adults showed general impairments in multi-tasking and vehicle control during car following. Importantly, age-associated changes in task execution were observed, demonstrating older adults also serialize car following behavior under certain conditions. As a result, older drivers withdrew attention from the lead vehicle for several seconds. This pattern of behavior identifies a remediable situation where age-associated impairments may increase crash risk.