Prof. Dr. techn. Priv.-Doz. Andreas Riener
Programme director UXD (B.Sc., M. Sc.), Research professor CARISSMA (automated driving), Head of Human-Computer Interaction Group
Human-Computer Interaction Laboratory (C020)
Laboratory for Human-Computer-Interaction (C020)
The hexapod test bench, actually a dynamic driving simulator at THI, is one of the unique and mobile highlights and is part of the CARISSMA research centre.
Goals and idea
Automated vehicles are on the verge to market introduction. But how will people interact with vehicles at different levels of automation in the future? What human factors will play a role in this? And will the population accept automated vehicles at all? Highly and fully automated vehicles can currently only be used on public roads under strict safety regulations, which makes user studies under real conditions a challenge. In addition, these trials are not reproducible and thus not directly comparable with each other.
At THI, it is possible to conduct user studies in a dynamic driving simulator (hexapod test bench) or in virtual reality. In doing so, the researchers can draw on extensive expertise in the areas of automated driving, "human factors", augmented/virtual reality, usability research and user experience design. The spectrum of user studies ranges from basic research and the evaluation of driving behavior and user requirements to the implementation and testing of prototypes for future interaction concepts or human-machine interfaces in vehicles. The goal is to increase both safety and the user experience. This is done by incorporating state-of-the-art measurement instruments and processes, such as eye tracking, ECG or EEG.
One of the central goals of the further development of the laboratory is to establish real-time networking with other simulators and laboratories at THI, in particular the HiL laboratory, the Car2X laboratory or also the virtual reality laboratory, in order to realize the vision of a so-called "mixed reality" test environment (goal in the SAFIR IP1 project)..
The use of automated vehicles is on the verge of becoming a reality. But how will people interact with vehicles at different levels of automation in the future? What human factors play a role in this? And will the public accept automated vehicles? Highly and fully automated vehicles can currently only be used on public roads under strict safety regulations, which makes conducting user studies under real-world conditions a challenge. Furthermore, these trials are not reproducible and therefore cannot be directly compared with one another.
This laboratory offers the opportunity to conduct user studies in a dynamic driving simulator (hexapod test rig) or in virtual reality. Lab users can draw on the extensive expertise of the lab director and his postdoc/PhD team (the ‘Human Computer Interaction Group’, HCIG) in the fields of automated driving, human factors, augmented and virtual reality, usability research and user experience design. The scope of user studies carried out in teaching and project contexts ranges from fundamental research, through the evaluation of driving behaviour and user preferences, to the implementation and testing of prototypes for future interaction concepts and human–machine interfaces in vehicles. The aim is to enhance both safety and the user experience. This is achieved using state-of-the-art measurement instruments and methods, such as eye tracking, ECG or EEG.
The dynamic driving simulator (hexapod test rig), the centrepiece of the laboratory, consists of a real half-vehicle (VW Golf) mounted on a hydraulic motion platform. The windows of the driver’s cabin, which can move in six degrees of freedom, are projected onto using a total of four projectors and an additional monitor for the rear-view mirror, in order to offer test subjects the most realistic driving experience possible. In addition, the vehicle’s interior has been modified so that a series of tablet computers cover the instrument cluster, the centre console and the front passenger area. This enables novel interaction concepts to be implemented and evaluated.
One of the key objectives of the laboratory’s further development is to establish real-time networking with other simulators and laboratories, in particular the HiL laboratory, the Car2X laboratory or the VR laboratory, in order to realise the vision of a so-called ‘mixed reality’ test environment.
Laboratory equipment and activities
Software
The control cabinet (built-in control computer) represents the core of the electronic control system. It performs the following tasks in the "motion platform control" program:
- Monitoring the operating sequence for safe operation of the motion platform
- Control of the platform's motion sequence according to the motion data calculated by the "CarMaker" program
- Determination of the cylinder deflections for all six axes from the motion data in real time
- Powerful workstations for calculation and visualization
- Simulation software: CarMaker, Matlab/Simulink
Courses
In the laboratory there are sufficient workstations for students. Internships such as vehicle integration and testing are offered in the summer semester for courses of study at the Faculty of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science. Here, a wide variety of questions from the subject areas of driver assistance systems, vehicle dynamics and simulations are dealt with.
Numerous interns, also from international partner universities, and final theses are supervised and completed per semester directly in the laboratory and in these subject areas.
Possible courses
- Vehicle integration & test
- Vehicle dynamics (longitudinal and lateral dynamics)
- Basics of the Human-Machine-Interface
Research
The research activities in the Hexapode laboratory (C020) are based on the research programme of the CARISSMA research and test centre. Various working groups are working on the overarching task of contributing to the long-term goal of zero road deaths with innovative developments and new approaches. The driving simulator is used especially for test person studies to examine pre-crash scenarios and human-machine interface (HMI) concepts of various vehicle safety functions.