Drivers Use Constrained Gaze Regulation for Risk Perception: An Analysis of Visual Behaviors in Braking Control
摘要
Human drivers continue to possess superior ability for risk perception, despite significant advancements in autonomous driving technologies. This highlights the importance of investigating the gaze regulation that serves as crucial visual feedback for risk perception. However, it remains unclear how human drivers regulate their visual behaviors to respond to potential collision risks. Therefore, this study investigates gaze regulation for risk perception to provide valuable insights. A simulated collision avoidance task was performed, in which they decelerated at either 2.5, 5.0, or 7.5 m/s2 from velocities of either 40, 60, or 80 km/h to avoid collision with a parking vehicle. To analyze gaze regulation for risk perception, a novel application of probability density estimation is proposed to extract the statical characteristics of gaze regulation. Meanwhile, nonlinear regression was also employed to analyze the dynamic characteristics of gaze regulation. The analysis results indicated a consistent downward-constrained gaze when drivers decelerated to avoid collision. Such gaze regulation suggested that the principal function of gaze pertains to vigilant monitoring of potential collision risks. It is discussed how gaze regulation potentially serves as a pivotal measure of driver braking intent to mitigate conflicts between human operators and automated driving systems. This kind of mitigation may be helpful in developing human-centered automated driving systems.