Microgestures to Perform a Situation Awareness Assistive Task in an Autonomous Vehicle: Workload, Ocular Behavior, Acceptance and Takeover Performance

Overview & Synopsis

The management of onboard systems in autonomous vehicles relies on various interaction techniques, such as voice recognition and touch interfaces. The present study aims to investigate the use of microgestures, a promising alternative interaction technique that has so far been little explored in this context. Microgestures are rapid and subtle finger movements with advantageous properties, such as being eye-free and requiring minimal physical effort. In this study, we aim to compare the use of a microgesture-based interaction technique with a touch-based interaction technique in the context of onboard system management in an autonomous vehicle. These techniques are used in a parallel task aiming at assisting situation awareness, which consists in answering questions related to the driving environment. Sixty participants are assigned to one of three conditions: a control condition without the parallel task, and two conditions with the parallel task using either a touch interface or microgestures. The study aims to evaluate the effects of the use of these techniques on situation awareness (SART questionnaire), eye behavior, subjective workload (NASA-TLX), vehicle takeover performance, and perceived acceptance (TAM questionnaire). The results will help assess the effectiveness and acceptance of microgestures for parallel task management in autonomous driving and their impact on the driving supervision.