Examining and Evaluating the Window of Intervention in Autonomous Vehicles

As autonomous vehicle development rapidly accelerates, it is important to not lose sight of what the worst case scenario is during the drive of an autonomous vehicle. Autonomous vehicles are not perfect, and will not be perfect for the foreseeable future. These vehicles will shift the responsibility of driving to the passenger in front of the wheel, regardless if said passenger is prepared to do so. However, by studying the human reaction to an autonomous vehicle crash, researchers can mitigate the risk to the passengers in an autonomous vehicle. Located on the ASU Polytechnic campus, there is a car simulation lab, or SIM lab, that enables users to create and simulate various driving scenarios using the Drive Safety and HyperDrive software. Using this simulator and the Window of Intervention, the time a driver has to avoid a crash, vital research into human reaction time while in an autonomous environment can be safely performed. Understanding the Window of Intervention is critical to the development of solutions that can accurately and efficiently help a human driver. After first describing the simulator and its operation in depth, a deeper look will be offered into the autonomous vehicle field, followed by an in-depth explanation into the Window of Intervention and how it is studied and an experiment that looks to study both the Window of Intervention and human reactions to certain events. Finally, additional insight from one of the authors of this paper will be given documenting their contributions to the study as a whole and their concerns about using the simulator for further research.