Development of a cooperative system behavior for a highly automated vehicle guidance concept based on the Conduct-by-Wire principle

Conduct-by-Wire (CbW) is a research project which breaks away from today´s vehicle guidance by shifting the vehicle control task from a stabilization level to a conducting level. Instead of continuous stabilization on a designated trajectory - using the conventional control elements for manual steering, braking and accelerating - a Conduct-by-Wire vehicle is controlled by means of maneuver commands. By keeping the driver in the loop, the vehicle guidance is cooperatively shared between the driver and the automation. This article introduces an approach for the analysis of realizable automation levels and the design of a cooperative system behavior depending on the interaction concept between the human driver and the automation. Following a top-down approach, different driving scenarios are systematically analyzed as to the information needs that occur. This approach builds the basis for assessing the technical feasibility of a maneuver-based vehicle guidance concept based on the Conduct-by-Wire principle.