- German Police University, Traffic Science and Traffic Psychology, Faculty Memberadd
- Emotions, Human Computer Interaction, Human Factors, Ergonomics, Human Machine Interface, Traffic Psychology, and 9 moreEmotions (Social Psychology), Traffic behaviour and psychology, Traffic and Transport Psychology, Traffic Engineering, Traffic, Traffic Simulation, Lane changing model, Knowledge Acquisition, and Computer Scienceedit
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
Remote operation bears the potential to roll out highly automated vehicles (AVs, SAE Level 4) more safely and quickly. Moreover, legal regulations on highly automated driving, e.g., the current law on highly automated driving (SAE Level... more
Remote operation bears the potential to roll out highly automated vehicles (AVs, SAE Level 4) more safely and quickly. Moreover, legal regulations on highly automated driving, e.g., the current law on highly automated driving (SAE Level 4) in Germany, permit a remote supervisor to monitor and intervene in driving operations remotely in lieu of a safety operator on board AVs. In order to derive requirements for safe and effective remote driving and remote assistance of AVs and to create suitable human-centered design solutions for human-machine interfaces (HMIs) that serve this purpose, a set of 74 core scenarios that are likely to occur in public transport AVs under remote operation was compiled. The scenarios were collected in several projects on the remote operation of AVs across a variety of contexts including interviews with and observations of control center staff, video analyses from naturalistic road events, and interviews with safety operators of AVs. A hierarchical system t...
Research Interests:
In this study the location of vehicle to vehicle distance thresholds for self-reported subjective risk and comfort was researched. Participants were presented with ascending and descending time headway sequences in a driving simulator.... more
In this study the location of vehicle to vehicle distance thresholds for self-reported subjective risk and comfort was researched. Participants were presented with ascending and descending time headway sequences in a driving simulator. This so called method of limits of ascending and descending stimuli (Gouy, Diels, Reed, Stevens, & Burnett, 2012) was refined to efficiently determine individual thresholds for stable time headways with a granularity of 0.1 seconds. Time headway thresholds were researched for 50, 100, and 150 km/h in a city, rural, and highway setting. Furthermore, thresholds for self-driving (level 0 automation: NHTSA, 2013) were compared with thresholds for the experience of subjective risk and comfort in assisted driving, similar to adaptive cruise control (level 1 automation). Results show that preferred individual time headways vary between subjects. Within subjects however, time headway thresholds do not significantly differ for different speeds. Furthermore we ...
Abstract: A growing body of research shows that cooperation scripts can be beneficial for online learning processes of groups. What we call a learning protocol is an implementation of a special variant of cooperation scripts to support... more
Abstract: A growing body of research shows that cooperation scripts can be beneficial for online learning processes of groups. What we call a learning protocol is an implementation of a special variant of cooperation scripts to support synchronous chat-based learning discourses. Learners are provided with a set of functionalities such as referencing and typing one’s contribution, which can be optionally employed if learners consider it to be advantageous. Theoretically, these functionalities can be regarded as grounding activities which participants apply to ground the ongoing discourse. Motivational focus and type of task were experimentally examined with respect to their impact on the use of such grounding activities. A process model is proposed which models the cognitive processes leading to grounding activities. Results show that, as hypothesized, a motivational focus on the group increases the likelihood of grounding activities, but, unexpectedly, the task of problem solving de...
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
Emotion detection provides a promising basis for designing future-oriented human centered Human-Machine Interfaces. Affective Computing can facilitate humanmachine communication. Such adaptive advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS)... more
Emotion detection provides a promising basis for designing future-oriented human centered Human-Machine Interfaces. Affective Computing can facilitate humanmachine communication. Such adaptive advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS) which are dependent on the emotional state of the driver can be applied in cars. The following pilot study evaluated automatic recognition of emotions using facial expressions with N = 1 subjects. In contrast to the majority of earlier studies that only used complex and static recognition methods, a new non-complex dynamic approach for detecting emotions in facial expressions directly in a driving context is proposed. By analysing the changes within an area, defined by a number of dots that were arranged on participants’ faces, variables were extracted to classify the participants’ emotions. A special pattern-recognition algorithm detects the dots according to the Facial Action Coding System. The results of our novel way to categorize emotions lead to ...
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
Driver performance and behavior can be partially predicated based on one's emotional state. Through ascertaining the emotional state of passengers and employing various mitigation strategies, empathic cars can show potential in... more
Driver performance and behavior can be partially predicated based on one's emotional state. Through ascertaining the emotional state of passengers and employing various mitigation strategies, empathic cars can show potential in improving user experience and driving performance. Challenges remain in the implementation of such strategies, as individual differences play a large role in mediating the effect of affective intervention. Therefore, we propose a workshop that aims to bring together researchers and practitioners interested in affective interfaces and in-vehicle technologies as a forum for the development of targeted emotion intervention methods. During the workshop, we will focus on a common set of use cases and generate approaches that can suit different user groups. By the end of this short workshop, researchers will determine ideal intervention methods for prospective user groups. This will be achieved through the method of insight combination to generate and discuss i...
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
Improving user experience of highly automated vehicles is key to increase their acceptance. One possibility to realize this is the design of empathic cars that are capable of assessing the emotional state of vehicle occupants and react to... more
Improving user experience of highly automated vehicles is key to increase their acceptance. One possibility to realize this is the design of empathic cars that are capable of assessing the emotional state of vehicle occupants and react to it accordingly by providing tailored support. At the moment, the central challenge is to derive relevant use cases as basis for the design of future empathic cars. Therefore, we propose a workshop that aims to bring together researchers and practitioners interested in affective computing, affective interfaces and automated driving as forum for the development of a roadmap towards empathic vehicles using design thinking methods. During the workshop, we will gain a common understanding of the central concepts and listen to impulse talks about current and recent projects on emotions during automated driving. Based on this, relevant use cases are generated in group work and discussed with the goal to identify potential research and knowledge gaps. Fina...
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
With aging visual feedback becomes increasingly relevant in action control. Consequently, visual device and task characteristics should more and more affect tool use. Focussing on late working age, the present study aims to investigate... more
With aging visual feedback becomes increasingly relevant in action control. Consequently, visual device and task characteristics should more and more affect tool use. Focussing on late working age, the present study aims to investigate age-related differences in processing task irrelevant (display size) and task relevant visual information (task difficulty). Young and middle-aged participants (20-35 and 36-64 years of age, respectively) sat in front of a touch screen with differently sized active touch areas (4″ to 12″) and performed pointing tasks with differing task difficulties (1.8-5 bits). Both display size and age affected pointing performance, but the two variables did not interact and aiming duration moderated both effects. Furthermore, task difficulty affected the pointing durations of middle-aged adults moreso than those of young adults. Again, aiming duration accounted for the variance in the data. The onset of an age-related decline in aiming duration can be clearly located in middle adulthood. Thus, the fine psychomotor ability "aiming" is a moderator and predictor for age-related differences in pointing tasks. The results support a user-specific design for small technical devices with touch interfaces.
Research Interests:
The development of automated vehicles (AVs) and their integration into traffic are seen by many vehicle manufacturers and stakeholders such as cities or transportation companies as a revolution in mobility. In future urban traffic, it is... more
The development of automated vehicles (AVs) and their integration into traffic are seen by many vehicle manufacturers and stakeholders such as cities or transportation companies as a revolution in mobility. In future urban traffic, it is more likely that AVs will operate not in separated traffic spaces but in so-called mixed traffic environments where different types of traffic participants interact. Therefore, AVs must be able to communicate with other traffic participants, e.g., pedestrians as vulnerable road users (VRUs), to solve ambiguous traffic situations. To achieve well-working communication and thereby safe interaction between AVs and other traffic participants, the latest research discusses external human–machine interfaces (eHMIs) as promising communication tools. Therefore, this study examines the potential positive and negative effects of AVs equipped with static (only displaying the current vehicle automation status (VAS)) and dynamic (communicating an AV’s perception...
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
Abstract Objectives Emotions can be dangerous companions in road traffic for vehicle drivers and cyclists in particular. It is therefore important to reliably assess emotions like anger in road traffic. The first objective of the present... more
Abstract Objectives Emotions can be dangerous companions in road traffic for vehicle drivers and cyclists in particular. It is therefore important to reliably assess emotions like anger in road traffic. The first objective of the present paper is to examine whether the cycling anger scale (CAS) can be used to assess Singaporean Cyclists’ anger experiences in traffic. In addition, it relates the cycling anger measure to similar constructs like driving anger (DAS), and the cyclists’ experiences of trait anger in general in order to further examine the validity of the CAS scale. Methods In an online survey, we distributed the English versions of the Cycling Anger Scale (CAS), the Driving Anger Scale (DAS), and the Trait Anger Scale (TAS) to a sample of 116 cyclists from Singapore. We then analyzed the psychometric properties of the CAS. In addition, we correlated cyclists’ CAS ratings with their DAS ratings, TAS ratings, and demographic variables. Finally, we compared cycling anger ratings across cultures. Results With respect to the first objective, we found that the Cycling Anger Scale can be applied to cyclists from Singapore given very minor modifications. Regarding our second objective, we obtained substantial correlations between cycling anger experience, driving anger experience, and general anger experience. In addition, cyclists’ CAS ratings were related to their demographic variables but not to their self-reported aggressive cycling behavior. The cross-cultural comparison revealed that cyclists from Singapore experience less anger than cyclists from other cultures. Conclusions We conclude that we could show the validity of the CAS for cyclists from Singapore. Researchers and practitioners who are interested in safer cycling can apply the CAS in Singapore. In line with other studies, we also conclude that cycling anger experience is related to driving anger experience and general trait anger. However, cycling anger does not seem to be related to self-reported aggressive cycling.
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
The development of automated vehicles (AVs) and their integration into traffic are seen by many vehicle manufacturers and stakeholders such as cities or transportation companies as a revolution in mobility. In future urban traffic, it is... more
The development of automated vehicles (AVs) and their integration into traffic are seen by many vehicle manufacturers and stakeholders such as cities or transportation companies as a revolution in mobility. In future urban traffic, it is more likely that AVs will operate not in separated traffic spaces but in so-called mixed traffic environments where different types of traffic participants interact. Therefore, AVs must be able to communicate with other traffic participants, e.g., pedestrians as vulnerable road users (VRUs), to solve ambiguous traffic situations. To achieve well-working communication and thereby safe interaction between AVs and other traffic participants, the latest research discusses external human–machine interfaces (eHMIs) as promising communication tools. Therefore, this study examines the potential positive and negative effects of AVs equipped with static (only displaying the current vehicle automation status (VAS)) and dynamic (communicating an AV’s perception...
Research Interests:
Diese experimentelle Studie untersucht die Leistung von Linksund Rechtshändern mit ihrer dominanten vs. nicht-dominanten Hand bei der Bearbeitung einer komplexeren Point-Drag-DropAufgabe im Vergleich zu einfacheren Pointing-Aufgaben (Oehl... more
Diese experimentelle Studie untersucht die Leistung von Linksund Rechtshändern mit ihrer dominanten vs. nicht-dominanten Hand bei der Bearbeitung einer komplexeren Point-Drag-DropAufgabe im Vergleich zu einfacheren Pointing-Aufgaben (Oehl et al. 2015) mit den etablierten integrierten Eingabegeräten Touchpad und Trackpoint. Linkshänder sind häufig gezwungen, für alltägliche Handlungen die rechte Hand zu benutzen. Dadurch sind sie mit ihrer nicht-dominanten Hand geübter. Es gibt bisher kaum Untersuchungen in der Mensch-Computer-Interaktion bezüglich der Usability für Linkshänder. Die Ergebnisse der Studie zeigen, dass Linkshänder mit der nichtdominanten Hand eine bessere Leistung bei komplexeren Aufgaben zeigen. Bei einfacheren Aufgaben war dies nur tendenziell so. Mit der dominanten Hand ist die Leistung zwischen Linksund Rechtshändern aber vergleichbar gut. Erneut ist ein Touchpad effizienter bedienbar als ein Trackpoint.
Research Interests:
Motion sickness (MS) is a syndrome associated with symptoms like nausea, dizziness, and other forms of physical discomfort. Automated vehicles (AVs) are potent at inducing MS because users are not adapted to this novel form of... more
Motion sickness (MS) is a syndrome associated with symptoms like nausea, dizziness, and other forms of physical discomfort. Automated vehicles (AVs) are potent at inducing MS because users are not adapted to this novel form of transportation, are provided with less information about the own vehicle’s trajectory, and are likely to engage in non-driving related tasks. Because individuals with an especially high MS susceptibility could be limited in their use of AVs, the demand for MS mitigation strategies is high. Passenger anticipation has been shown to have a modulating effect on symptoms, thus mitigating MS. To find an effective mitigation strategy, the prototype of a human–machine interface (HMI) that presents anticipatory ambient light cues for the AV’s next turn to the passenger was evaluated. In a realistic driving study with participants (N = 16) in an AV on a test track, an MS mitigation effect was evaluated based on the MS increase during the trial. An MS mitigation effect w...
Research Interests:
Diese experimentelle Studie untersucht die Akzeptanz älterer Nutzer für persönliche Roboterassistenz in unterschiedlichen Aufgabenbereichen. Auf Basis der von Smarr et al. (2014) entwickelten "Assistance Preference Checklist"... more
Diese experimentelle Studie untersucht die Akzeptanz älterer Nutzer für persönliche Roboterassistenz in unterschiedlichen Aufgabenbereichen. Auf Basis der von Smarr et al. (2014) entwickelten "Assistance Preference Checklist" beurteilten ältere Probanden ihre Akzeptanz für Roboterassistenz. Als Stimulusmaterial der experimentellen Variation wurden Fotos zweier unterschiedlicher Robotertypen verwendet, um zusätzlich den Einfluss des Designs auf die Akzeptanz zu untersuchen. Die Probanden zeigten eine grundsätzliche Offenheit für Roboterassistenz, diskriminierten jedoch zwischen den Tätigkeitskategorien. Tätigkeiten mit viel Interaktion zwischen Benutzer und Roboter wurden weniger akzeptiert als z. B. Haushaltsaufgaben. Diese Ergebnisse sind im Einklang mit ähnlichen Studien. Das Design des Roboters hatte nur einen geringen Einfluss auf die Bewertung.
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
Paving the way to future mobility, teleoperation of vehicles promises a reachable solution to effectively use the benefits of automated driving as long as fully automated vehicles (SAE 5) are not entirely feasible. Safety and reliability... more
Paving the way to future mobility, teleoperation of vehicles promises a reachable solution to effectively use the benefits of automated driving as long as fully automated vehicles (SAE 5) are not entirely feasible. Safety and reliability are assured by a human operator who remotely observes the vehicle and takes over control in cases of disturbances that exceed the vehicle automation’s skills. In order to integrate the vehicle’s automation and human remote-operation, we developed a novel user-centered human-machine interface (HMI) for teleoperation. It is tailored to the remote-operation of a highly automated shuttle (SAE 4) by a public transport control center and based on a systematic analysis of scenarios, of which detailed requirements were derived. Subsequently, a paper-pencil prototype was generated and refined until a click-dummy emerged. This click-dummy was evaluated by twelve control center professionals. The experts were presented the prototype in regular mode and were th...
To ensure natural communication in Human-Robot Interaction (HRI), robots' design and appearance features, e.g., like the degree of anthropomorphism and especially the expression of emotions, must be considered. In this study, we... more
To ensure natural communication in Human-Robot Interaction (HRI), robots' design and appearance features, e.g., like the degree of anthropomorphism and especially the expression of emotions, must be considered. In this study, we investigated how different types of robots are perceived in complex affective settings. While varying the robots' degree of anthropomorphism and expressed emotions, participants' emotion recognition ability and the influence on the perceived uncanniness of the robots were observed. We used 16 different scenes from movies, in which robots were presented that systematically differed in their anthropomorphic appearance and behavior. N = 98 participants rated the human-likeness and their perceived uncanniness of four types of robots in four different emotional states each (happiness, sadness, anger, and neutral). Considering the results it was possible to recreate the Uncanny Valley Effect [1] with complex stimuli and to show the influence of expressed emotions by robots on the perceived human-likeness and uncanniness.
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
Introduction Designing emotion-aware systems has become a manageable aim through recent developments in computer vision and machine learning. In the context of driver behaviour, especially negative emotions like frustration have shifted... more
Introduction Designing emotion-aware systems has become a manageable aim through recent developments in computer vision and machine learning. In the context of driver behaviour, especially negative emotions like frustration have shifted into the focus of major car manufacturers. Recognition and mitigation of the same could lead to safer roads in manual and more comfort in automated driving. While frustration recognition and also general mitigation methods have been previously researched, the knowledge of reasons for frustration is necessary to offer targeted solutions for frustration mitigation. However, up to the present day, systematic investigations about reasons for frustration behind the wheel are lacking. Methods Therefore, in this work a combination of diary study and user focus groups was employed to shed light on reasons why humans become frustrated during driving. In addition, participants of the focus groups were asked for their usual coping methods with frustrating situa...
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
Abstract Objective: The present study has 3 objectives: First, we wanted to examine whether the Cycling Anger Scale (CAS) applies to German professional bike messengers, because this scale was previously developed with nonprofessional... more
Abstract Objective: The present study has 3 objectives: First, we wanted to examine whether the Cycling Anger Scale (CAS) applies to German professional bike messengers, because this scale was previously developed with nonprofessional cyclists in Germany. Second, we wanted to look at possible differences in cycling anger experience and expression between professional German bike messengers and nonprofessional German cyclists. Third, we explored whether cycling anger is somehow related to driving anger and general anger. Methods: We applied German versions of the CAS, the Driving Anger Scale (DAS), and the State–Trait Anger Expression Inventory (STAXI) to a sample of 123 professional German bike messengers. Then we compared their ratings with the results of 421 nonprofessional German cyclists. Results: Regarding our first objective, results indicate that the CAS model fit is better for nonprofessional than for professional cyclists. However, the CAS in a slightly modified version can be used for professional cyclists as well. As for our second objective, we show that professional cyclists experience significantly less cycling anger than nonprofessional cyclists. However, bike messengers report more frequent aggressive cycling behaviors when angry, indicating a weaker link between trait anger while cycling and aggressive behavior among professionals. Thirdly, we found relations between cycling anger, driving anger, and general anger. Conclusions: We conclude that the CAS in its slightly modified 13-item version with the established 4 subscales produces an acceptable model fit and can be applied to professional German bike messengers for further research purposes or applied issues; for example, traffic education or self-awareness in terms of accident prevention behaviors. In addition, for professional cyclists, less anger does not result in less aggressive cycling behaviors. Subsequent research should explore the role of anger in behavioral regulation of cyclists’ unsafe cycling behaviors taking different levels of experience and professionalism into account in order to reduce adverse effects of anger on traffic safety.
Research Interests:
ABSTRACT Objective: The objective of this article was 2-fold: firstly, we wanted to examine whether the original Driving Anger Scale (DAS) and the original Driving Anger Expression Inventory (DAX) apply to German professional taxi drivers... more
ABSTRACT Objective: The objective of this article was 2-fold: firstly, we wanted to examine whether the original Driving Anger Scale (DAS) and the original Driving Anger Expression Inventory (DAX) apply to German professional taxi drivers because these scales have previously been given to professional and particularly to nonprofessional drivers in different countries. Secondly, we wanted to examine possible differences in driving anger experience and expression between professional German taxi drivers and nonprofessional German drivers. Methods: We applied German versions of the DAS, the DAX, and the State–Trait Anger Expression Inventory (STAXI) to a sample of 138 professional German taxi drivers. We then compared their ratings to the ratings of a sample of 1,136 nonprofessional German drivers (Oehl and Brandenburg n.d.). Results: Regarding our first objective, confirmatory factor analysis shows that the model fit of the DAS is better for nonprofessional drivers than for professional drivers. The DAX applies neither to professional nor to nonprofessional German drivers properly. Consequently, we suggest modified shorter versions of both scales for professional drivers. The STAXI applies to both professional and nonprofessional drivers. With respect to our second objective, we show that professional drivers experience significantly less driving anger than nonprofessional drivers, but they express more driving anger. Conclusions: We conclude that the STAXI can be applied to professional German taxi drivers. In contrast, for the DAS and the DAX we found particular shorter versions for professional taxi drivers. Especially for the DAX, most statements were too strong for German drivers to agree to. They do not show behaviors related to driving anger expression as they are described in the DAX. These problems with the original American DAX items are in line with several other studies in different countries. Future investigations should examine whether (professional) drivers from further countries express their anger as proposed by the DAX. In addition, professional drivers experience less driving anger (DAS) and less general trait anger (STAXI) than nonprofessional drivers, but they report more driving anger expression (DAX) and more current general state anger (STAXI). Subsequent studies should therefore focus on different types of anger within the group of professional drivers.
Research Interests:
Abstract Previous research shows that anger and aggression among road users lead to maladjusted driving and a higher risk of accidents. Especially cyclists as vulnerable road users have a high risk of being injured if they are involved in... more
Abstract Previous research shows that anger and aggression among road users lead to maladjusted driving and a higher risk of accidents. Especially cyclists as vulnerable road users have a high risk of being injured if they are involved in accidents. This paper examines reasons for cycling anger in two studies. The first study aimed at identifying anger provoking events. Seventy-three cyclists were invited to discuss anger provoking events in a focus group setting. These events were rated regarding their anger intensity, clustered within focus groups, and aggregated across all groups. The first study revealed 208 unique cycling anger provoking events of varying anger intensity that were summarized in six clusters. The second study aimed at validating these anger provoking events, the ratings, and the clusters. Here, 129 participants were asked to complete a four-time point diary study (over the course of ten days), in which they registered all anger provoking events that they experienced while cycling. The results of this study validated most of the anger provoking events of the first study. Both studies show that most anger provoking events are related to conflicts between cyclists with other road users like car drivers and pedestrians. Moreover, conflicts with car drivers seem to cause stronger anger among cyclists than conflicts with other cyclists or pedestrians. Implications for further research and the planning of road infrastructure are discussed.