Incorporating Operator States in Driver Assistance Systems Control

In recent years, the human-in-the-loop principle has been an emerging topic throughout the field of dynamic systems and control. Within this field, Human Assistance Systems (HAS) have become increasingly important and the driving environment, in particular, tends to play a distinctive role. Previous studies mainly aimed at making assistance systems as efficient as possible, reducing the possibility for errors (collisions) to a great extent. Due to this performance-oriented approach, however, former systems tend to take up the role of a strict supervisor, rather than that of a guide-like operator assistant. This research focuses on expanding the HAS’ contribution to the control loop by incorporating both the operator state and an additional assistance level into the system’s output behavior, thereby aiming to advance the systems in terms of user interaction and satisfaction. As a result, system efficiency will be maintained, while simultaneously sustaining the operator’s perceived level of control.