Design of time-to-lane-crossing based haptic steering guidance

Current haptic control systems provide feedback torques based on a lateral deviation with respect to a reference trajectory (i.e., centre of the lane), which do not capture the satisficing behaviour human beings typically adopt during a lane keeping task. As such, a novel time-to-lane-crossing-based controller is proposed, which is expected to provide more human-like guidance. The aim of this study is to describe a novel time-to-lane-crossing-based controller and investigate its potential as an alternative to previous reference-trajectory-based guidance. In a simulator study twenty-four participants drove three trials through a single-lane, 10.8 km long road (width: 3 m), receiving three types of guidance, namely 1) none (manual), 2) reference based controller, 3) TLC-based controller. Results showed that both the reference-based, as well as the TLC-based guidance provided significant safety benefits, in terms of more centred and less varying lane position, and higher safety margins. Moreover, no significant differences were revealed between the two guidance approaches. In conclusion, the TLC-based guidance is a potential alternative to reference trajectory-based guidance. Nevertheless, a more detailed analysis is warranted to investigate the two approaches in different driving conditions, like road width, straights, and curves.