CMEES-Trans-245: Ready to take back control – assessing the optimal way to monitor driver states using a variety of cognitive and psycho-physiological methods.

Location: Boldrewood Campus, University of Southampton

Background: Driving is a complex task that requires an optimum level of alertness/arousal to guarantee the security of the driver and other road users. The primary causes of crashes include some form of driver inattention, a driver falling asleep or being fatigued, or a driver being otherwise disengaged from the driving task. Automation is a major part of modern car driving and the level of automation is set to increase as manufactures strive for greater comfort, ease of use and lower workloads. However the benefits of automation must also be offset against potential decrements to driver performance and overall vehicle safety. The monitoring of a drivers state using psycho-physiological measures has the potential to provide information concerning the operator’s current level of alertness, fatigue, attention, driving task engagement, and mental workload.

PhD Description: The current research programme will have four primary objectives; (1) evaluation of a range of psycho-physiological (e.g. EEG, EOG & ECG) methods for eliciting different driver states (e.g. sleep vs. wakefulness); (2) investigating the relationship between different driver states and driving performance in different conditions (e.g. motorway vs. inner city driving); (3) examination of the relationship between driver state and driving performance as different levels and type of in-vehicle automation are introduced (e.g. different interfaces); (4) preliminary examination of the usability of psycho-physiological measures in-vehicle (i.e. wireless/unrestrictive) to cue levels of automation for optimization of driver safety, performance, comfort and workload.

Facilities: The University of Southampton has a state of the art driving simulator that will be modified to include a comprehensive psycho-physiological recording suite. The candidate will also have opportunities to complete internships at Jaguar-Land Rover to conduct road trials using their test-track.
http://www.southampton.ac.uk/engineering/research/facilities/driving_simulator.page

Candidate: The successful candidate will have a good undergraduate degree in Cognitive Neuroscience, Cognitive Science, Psychology, Human Factors or related field and have experience in conducting experiments with humans, preferably with some exposure to psycho-physiological methods. Through this project you will have access to world-class experimental driving simulator facilities. You will have the opportunity to work with a highly motivated team of engineers with very diverse expertise and skills, providing a strong environment for personal and career development.

Professor Neville Stanton, Transportation Research Group, Email: [Email Address Removed] Tel: +44 (0) 2380 59 9065
Dr. Aaron Roberts, Transportation Research Group, Email: [Email Address Removed] Tel: +44 (0) 2380 59 6795