Toyota's "Driver Awareness Exploration" concept technology interpretation

    At this year's Los Angeles Auto Show, Toyota will showcase a concept car called Driver Awareness Research Vehicle (DAR-V). This car was jointly developed by Toyota and Microsoft Research, which uses Microsoft's Kinect somatosensory technology to fully integrate the interaction design between the car and the human into the display system.

    By combining gesture control, voice control, and remote control keys, drivers can get information about traffic, weather, appointments, and even mark gas stations along the way before driving. The remote control can be used to plan multiple tasks during the trip on the window display. Toyota said that by planning all these "daily tasks" before the driver enters the car, the driver can focus more on the driving process.

    “For the past 100 years, cars have been just tools,” said Chuck Gulash, director of Toyota’s Collaborative Safety Research Center. “Today, cars can react even earlier than humans can – they are smarter. Just like people communicate with each other, cars can now influence people’s emotions.”

    The DAR-V system can distinguish between different occupants in the car and use other methods to reduce driver distraction during driving. For example, when children are playing in the car, the system will automatically tighten the child's seat belt. This relieves the pressure on parents to balance road conditions and children's behavior while driving.

    Toyota said that its technical goal is not only to minimize the damage when an accident occurs, but also to eliminate the possibility of accidents from the source. It is using a new technical approach to minimize the chance of drivers being distracted while driving.

    Gulash described three areas (hands on the wheel, mind focused, and awareness of potential hazards) of research initiatives aimed at using advanced vehicle design and interactive systems to help drivers focus on the road. In addition to developing the DAR-V new concept car, Toyota has also conducted related research with two universities.

    The MIT AgeLab is responsible for studying the impact of human factors on the function of voice commands. Led by MIT professors Bryan Reimer and Bruce Mehler, the team is studying how to make voice control systems better understand driver commands.

    Researchers found that the actual satisfaction drivers get when using such functions is far lower than expected, because when drivers use voice control, they often need to take preparatory measures such as slowing down and increasing the distance from the vehicle in front.

    In addition, in some voice interaction studies, researchers found that drivers' eyes were away from the road for longer than expected when using this function. This phenomenon was particularly evident among experienced drivers, who would unconsciously move their bodies closer to the system interface while using this function.

    Another university that has collaborated with Toyota is Stanford University, which is responsible for studying the impact of human factors on the process of autonomous driving. It uses the most advanced driving simulation device in the United States to study the interaction between drivers and autonomous driving safety technology.

    The system uses an electroencephalogram to record the driver's brain waves, skin sensors to detect changes in the driver's emotions, and a research tracker to monitor the driver's line of sight. Based on the collected data, the system can match what's happening outside the car, what's happening inside the car, and the state of the driver's brain.

    The unique feature of this driving simulator is that it can quickly switch from fully autonomous driving mode to hybrid control mode (where the driver and safety system work together to control the vehicle). The research will help improve the coordination between the autonomous driving system and the driver, thereby improving driving safety.

    One of the research projects is to compare the driver's response in the process of fully automatic driving by suddenly issuing a "need to take over" instruction or reminding the driver to take over the control in a slightly gentler way. Other related projects include: studying the driver's mental state, such as reaction time, in long-term automatic driving mode.

    Gulash also pointed out that the purpose of the research is not just to develop new safety technology products. More importantly, it is to further understand the relationship between human emotional activities and self-driving cars.