An eHMI Presenting Request-to-Intervene Status of Level 3 Automated Vehicles to Surrounding Vehicles

This study takes a fresh perspective by focusing on the drivers of surrounding cars near to level 3 automated vehicles (AVs). We advocates for level 3 AVs using an external human-machine interface (eHMI) to provide high-risk warning information to drivers of surrounding cars during AVs issuing a request-to-intervene (RtI). Through a driving simulator-based subjects experiments, we have established that the proposed eHMI can assist the surrounding MV’s driver in better comprehending the AV’s driving intentions and predicting its driving behavior. This leads to increased the surrounding MV’s driver confidence in handling potential risks from the AV during the take-over period. Although we did not observe a significant impact of the proposed eHMI on the driving behavior of the MV drivers, i.e. participants, they reported a greater willingness to have AVs equipped with the proposed eHMI drive around them in their daily life.