This paper discusses the design of the GIDS I prototype adaptive vehicle support system, developed in the Generic Intelligent Driver Support Systems (GIDS) project of the DRIVE programme. It also considers its likely future extensions. As it has been found that changing car designs is unlikely to improve the safety of drivers' performance, the following aspects of driver behaviour need to be considered: perception, anticipation, decision, action and evaluation. A table shows how these aspects arise in the three hierarchical levels of the driving task: navigation, manoeuvring and control. Six different ways in which driver support can be adaptive are identified. Design decisions for the GIDS I prototype included those concerning task allocation and how the support system addresses the driver. The three models, included in the prototype design, are: (1) the driving model; (2) the workload model; and (3) the history model. They are discussed, together with some possible extensions and the desired adaptiveness of the models and of the support that they provide. The prototype allows a few user preferences to be set. The choice is either: (a) to switch off certain types of driver support (e.g. navigation, speed support, lane keeping support); or (b) to switch between the use of different control methods (the use of active controls versus spoken warnings).
Abstract