Autonomous Vehicles Research: Ford x UCSD Design Lab

Overview —

The UC San Diego Design Lab Automation Playground is engaging with Ford, a major Original Equipment Manufacturer, to explore how the configuration of a vehicle cockpit can allow a driver to understand, negotiate and manage the shared autonomy in vehicles with SAE Level 2+/3 automated driving systems. There are several design possibilities for making the sharing explicit as well as helping the driver maintain situational awareness. The research examines dynamic sharing that responds to situation changes with continuous feedback rather than discrete warnings. In the initial phase of student research, all student research assistants were split working in teams of 8 to explore 7 related research sub-topics, including Situation Awareness, Verbal Communication, Negotiation, Relationships, Driving In-The-Wild, Implications of SAE Level 2+/3 vehicles, as well as developing technical knowledge related to the research topics and simulation opportunities for further exploration of the topics. I was a team co-lead for the Verbal Communication group.

My research team focused on how the communication style of the AI may impact the: person’s acceptance of the AI, type of response from the human co-pilot, inclination to do what the AI requests, person’s trust of the AI, and opinion the driver has of the AI. We also explored how vocalics (style, tone, gender) may impact the quality of verbal communication between the human and the AI. Each team member researched these areas in depth through literature reviews, rabbit holes, and scenario mapping.

Project Details —

• Role: AI/UX Research Assistant

• Senior Project Personnel:

  • Don Norman, Design Lab Director

  • Colleen Emmenegger, Head of People Centered Automation

  • Stephanie Sherman, Co-Founder of People Centered Automation

My Core Research Areas —

• Voice assistants / Conversational systems

• Voice command automated driving systems

• Automatic speech recognition

• Speech User Interface (SUI)

• Human-Robot Interaction

Reflection —

This was my first time being a part of a university research team. It has been an incredible opportunity to be an active part of this research team. I have been exposed to human-centered design research methodologies, and the possible future of Autonomous Vehicles. I also really had to learn to be patient. Being in the developmental phase of research requires you to be patient and flexible as you are trying to make sense of the research areas/ the big questions. Also, I also noted that collaborating with other team members is important; so that wou can identify overlaps and learn from one another.

Acknowledgements —

Special shout out to Stephanie for sharing this wonderful opportunity with me and to Colleen for getting me more involved with this team! Thank you to the Ford team for sponsoring this project and providing useful insights on the project direction during our collaborative meetings. Also, shout out to my Verbal Communication team members: Irene Guo (co-lead), Yinxuan Du, Anna Wang, Erika Joun, Fiona Feng, and Yada Chuengsatiansup! It was amazing working with you all.

Overall Project Journey