A transforming steering wheel for highly automated cars

In the near future, highly automated driving will almost certainly be available in commercial vehicles. Concerning the human-machine interface in such cars, two main issues have to be addressed. First, the detrimental effects of automation have to be avoided. Second, cars should provide an interface that allows the driver to utilize the time while driving highly automated. We conducted a driving simulator study to investigate the concept of geometrical transformation of the steering wheel to address both issues. Therefore, we implemented a prototype steering wheel which changes its shape depending on the current driving mode to improve mode awareness and comfort when driving highly automated. The study was focused on possible negative effects of the mechanical transformation in front of the driver during the take-over process. Results indicate that on average participants reacted faster and took over control later. The number of lane change errors, for example changing lanes without looking into the mirror, even somewhat decreased when using the transforming steering wheel. Furthermore, participants mainly rated the proposed concept as usable without problems during the take-over process.