[{"command":"openDialog","selector":"#drupal-modal","settings":null,"data":"\u003Cdiv id=\u0022republish_modal_form\u0022\u003E\u003Cform class=\u0022modal-form-example-modal-form ecl-form\u0022 data-drupal-selector=\u0022modal-form-example-modal-form\u0022 action=\u0022\/en\/article\/modal\/6566\u0022 method=\u0022post\u0022 id=\u0022modal-form-example-modal-form\u0022 accept-charset=\u0022UTF-8\u0022\u003E\u003Cp\u003EHorizon articles can be republished for free under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0) licence.\u003C\/p\u003E\n \u003Cp\u003EYou must give appropriate credit. We ask you to do this by:\u003Cbr \/\u003E\n 1) Using the original journalist\u0027s byline\u003Cbr \/\u003E\n 2) Linking back to our original story\u003Cbr \/\u003E\n 3) Using the following text in the footer: This article was originally published in \u003Ca href=\u0027#\u0027\u003EHorizon, the EU Research and Innovation magazine\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\n \u003Cp\u003ESee our full republication guidelines \u003Ca href=\u0027\/horizon-magazine\/republish-our-stories\u0027\u003Ehere\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\n \u003Cp\u003EHTML for this article, including the attribution and page view counter, is below:\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cdiv class=\u0022js-form-item form-item js-form-type-textarea form-item-body-content js-form-item-body-content ecl-form-group ecl-form-group--text-area form-no-label ecl-u-mv-m\u0022\u003E\n \n\u003Cdiv\u003E\n \u003Ctextarea data-drupal-selector=\u0022edit-body-content\u0022 aria-describedby=\u0022edit-body-content--description\u0022 id=\u0022edit-body-content\u0022 name=\u0022body_content\u0022 rows=\u00225\u0022 cols=\u002260\u0022 class=\u0022form-textarea ecl-text-area\u0022\u003E\u003Ch2\u003ESplit-second decisions \u2013 navigating the fine line between man and machine\u003C\/h2\u003E\u003Cp\u003EAutomated cars are hurtling towards us at breakneck speed, with all-electric Teslas already running limited autopilot systems on roads worldwide and Google trialling its own autonomous pod cars.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EHowever, before we can reply to emails while being driven to work, we have to have a foolproof way to determine when drivers can safely take control and when it should be left to the car.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u2018Even in a limited number of tests, we have found that humans are not always performing as required,\u2019 explained Dr Riender Happee, from Delft University of Technology\u0026nbsp;in the Netherlands, who is coordinating the EU-funded HFAuto project to examine the problem and potential solutions.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u2018We are close to concluding that the technology always has to be ready to resolve the situation if the driver doesn\u2019t take back control.\u2019\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EBut in these car-to-human transitions, how can a computer decide whether it should hand back control?\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u2018Eye tracking can indicate driver state and attention,\u2019 said Dr Happee. \u2018We\u2019re still to prove the practical usability, but if the car detects the driver is not in an adequate state, the car can stop in the safety lane instead of giving back control.\u2019\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003ENext level\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EIt\u2019s all a question of the level of automation. According to the scale of US-based standards organisation SAE International, Level 1 automation already exists in the form of automated braking and self-parking.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ELevel 4 \u0026amp; 5 automation, where you punch in the destination and sit back for a nap, is still on the horizon.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EBut we\u2019ll soon reach Level 3 automation, where drivers can hand over control in situations like motorway driving and let their attention wander, as long as they can safely intervene when the car asks them to.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EHFAuto\u2019s 13 PhD students have been researching this human-machine transition challenge since 2013.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EBacked with Marie Sk\u0142odowska-Curie action funding, the students have travelled Europe for secondments, to examine carmakers\u2019 latest prototypes, and to carry out simulator and on-road tests of transition takeovers.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EAlongside further trials of their transition interface, HFAuto partner Volvo has already started testing 100 highly automated Level 3 cars on Swedish public roads.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EAnother European research group is approaching the problem with a self-driving system that uses external sensors together with cameras inside the cab to monitor the driver\u2019s attentiveness and actions.\u003Cspan style=\u0022font-size: 13.008px;\u0022\u003E\u003Cblockquote class=\u0022tw-text-center tw-text-blue tw-font-bold tw-text-2xl lg:tw-w-1\/2 tw-border-2 tw-border-blue tw-p-12 tw-my-8 lg:tw-m-12 lg:tw--ml-16 tw-float-left\u0022\u003E\n \u003Cspan class=\u0022tw-text-5xl tw-rotate-180\u0022\u003E\u201c\u003C\/span\u003E\n \u003Cp class=\u0022tw-font-serif tw-italic\u0022\u003E\u2018It comes down to making these as safe as possible.\u2019\u003C\/p\u003E\n \u003Cfooter\u003E\n \u003Ccite class=\u0022tw-not-italic tw-font-normal tw-text-sm tw-text-black\u0022\u003EDr Riender Happee, Delft University of Technology, The Netherlands\u003C\/cite\u003E\n \u003C\/footer\u003E\n\u003C\/blockquote\u003E\n\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EBlink\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u2018Looking at what\u2019s happening in the scene outside of the cars is nothing without the perspective of what\u2019s happening inside the car,\u2019 explained Dr Oihana Otaegui, head of the Vicomtech-IK4 applied research centre in San Sebasti\u00e1n, Spain.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EShe coordinates the work as part of the EU-funded VI-DAS project. The idea is to avoid high-risk transitions by monitoring factors like a driver\u2019s gaze, blinking frequency and head pose \u2014 and combining this with real-time on-road factors to calculate how much time a driver needs to take the wheel.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EIts self-driving system uses external cameras as affordable sensors, collecting data for the underlying artificial intelligence system, which tries to understand road situations like a human would.\u003Cbr\u003E \u003Cbr\u003EVI-DAS is also studying real accidents to discern challenging situations where humans fail and using this to help train the system to detect and avoid such situations.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe group aims to have its first interface prototype working by September, with iterated prototypes appearing at the end of 2018 and 2019.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EDr Otaegui says the system could have potential security sector uses given its focus on creating artificial intelligence perception in any given environment, and hopes it could lead to fully automated driving.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u2018It could even go down the path of Levels 4 and 5, depending on how well we can teach our system to react \u2014 and it will indeed be improving all the time we are working on this automation.\u2019\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cfigure role=\u0022group\u0022\u003E\n\u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/bit.ly\/newsalertsignup\u0022 target=\u0022_blank\u0022\u003E\u003Cimg alt=\u0022Subscribe to our newsletter\u0022 height=\u0022222\u0022 src=\u0022\/research-and-innovation\/sites\/default\/files\/hm\/news-alert-final.jpg\u0022 title=\u0022Subscribe to our newsletter\u0022 width=\u0022983\u0022\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E\n\u003Cfigcaption class=\u0022tw-italic tw-mb-4\u0022\u003ESubscribe to our newsletter\u003C\/figcaption\u003E\n\u003C\/figure\u003E\n\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe question of transitions is so important because it has an impact on liability \u2013 who is responsible in the case of an accident.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EIt\u2019s clear that Level 2 drivers can be held liable if they cause a fender bender, while carmakers will take the rap once Level 4 is deployed. However, with Level 3 transitions, liability remains a burning question.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EHFAuto\u2019s Dr Happee believes the solution lies in specialist insurance options that will emerge.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u2018Insurance solutions are expected (to emerge) where a car can be bought with risk insurance covering your own errors, and those which can be blamed on carmakers,\u2019 he said.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EYet it goes further than that. Should a car choose to hit pedestrians in the road, or swerve into the path of an oncoming lorry, killing its occupants?\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u2018One thing coming out of our discussions is that no one would buy a car which will sacrifice its owner for the lives of others,\u2019 said Dr Happee. \u2018So it comes down to making these as safe as possible.\u2019\u003Cem style=\u0022font-size: 13.008px;\u0022\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/em\u003E\u003Cspan style=\u0022font-size: 13.008px;\u0022\u003E\u003Cdiv class=\u0022moreinfoblock\u0022\u003E\n \u003Ch3\u003EThe five levels of automation\u003C\/h3\u003E\n \u003Cp\u003ELevel 1 \u2013 Driver Assistance: the car can either steer or regulate speed on its own.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ELevel 2 \u2013 Partial Automation: the vehicle can handle both steering and speed selection on its own in specific controlled situations, such as on a motorway.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ELevel 3 \u2013 Conditional Automation: the vehicle can be instructed to handle all aspects of driving, but the driver needs to be on standby to intervene if needed.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ELevel 4 \u2013 High Automation: the vehicle can be instructed to handle all aspects of driving, even if the driver is not available to intervene.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ELevel 5 \u2013 Full Automation: the vehicle handles all aspects of driving, all the time.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003C\/div\u003E\n\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cspan style=\u0022font-size: 13.008px;\u0022\u003E\u003Cem\u003EIf you liked this article, please consider sharing it on social media.\u003C\/em\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003C\/textarea\u003E\n\u003C\/div\u003E\n\n \u003Cdiv id=\u0022edit-body-content--description\u0022 class=\u0022ecl-help-block description\u0022\u003E\n Please copy the above code and embed it onto your website to republish.\n \u003C\/div\u003E\n \u003C\/div\u003E\n\u003Cinput autocomplete=\u0022off\u0022 data-drupal-selector=\u0022form-os35ecu0ctn8ex6a98bmof-sx0oatjcvluqx1ebeo9m\u0022 type=\u0022hidden\u0022 name=\u0022form_build_id\u0022 value=\u0022form-os35ecu0cTN8Ex6a98BmOf-Sx0oAtjcvLuQX1ebEo9M\u0022 \/\u003E\n\u003Cinput data-drupal-selector=\u0022edit-modal-form-example-modal-form\u0022 type=\u0022hidden\u0022 name=\u0022form_id\u0022 value=\u0022modal_form_example_modal_form\u0022 \/\u003E\n\u003C\/form\u003E\n\u003C\/div\u003E","dialogOptions":{"width":"800","modal":true,"title":"Republish this content"}}]