Haptic car-following support with deceleration control

A haptic gas pedal feedback system was developed at Delft University of Technology that translated the separation to a lead vehicle into continuous haptic cues (force, stiffness) on the gas pedal. During normal car-following situations, the haptic feedback cues were sufficient to reduce control activity and improve car-following performance. However, in more critical following situations drivers use the brake pedal to maintain separation with the lead vehicle. A deceleration control algorithm was designed that, in addition to the haptic feedback, provided increased deceleration upon release of the gas pedal during critical car-following situations. The deceleration control algorithm was tested in a fixed-base driving simulator experiment. Deceleration control improved car-following performance while reducing driver brake pedal control activity in the conditions tested.