Our team at Ben-Gurion University of the Negev (BGU), is conducting various driving simulator experiments to evaluate MEDIATOR’s HMI concept of preventive and corrective mediation. We focus on assessing the effects of driver distraction and driver fatigue on driving performance under partial automation conditions with and without the HMI.

MEDIATOR is a significant project that exploits the technological evolvements of automated vehicles to share the driving task between humans and machines. As human factors experts, we believe that humans and automation should work collaboratively to optimize performance and enhance traffic safety. Working on this project with the other partners enriched our understanding of how humans and technology can be integrated to create a safer driving environment.

The project is being conducted during a challenging period, where physical meetings with other partners were impossible, and with a few quarantines along the way. Nevertheless, our team was able to maintain continuous communication with the other partners and construct experiments that account for the overall goal of the MEDIATOR. We are currently in the data collection phase and looking forward to starting data analysis.