MEDIATOR - MEdiating between Driver and Intelligent Automated Transport systems on Our Roads – a new project in SAFER’s portfolio
Automation will certainly contribute to increase road safety, but the technology posits many risks such as misuse, overreliance, reduced situational awareness and mode confusion. This is why a European consortium, in which SAFER partners are included with qualified researchers, is developing MEDIATOR, an intelligent mediating system that safely switch between the driver and the automated system, based on who is fittest to drive. The objective of the mediator system is to intelligently assess the strengths and weaknesses of both the driver and the automation and mediate between them, while also taking into account the driving context. MEDIATOR will use the latest artificial intelligence technique to evaluate driver state, automation status and driving context in real time and tailoring the driver’s preferences and settings.
During the four year project, MEDIATOR will develop a working prototype validated in a number of simulator and on-road studies in different use-cases by integrating and enhancing existing knowledge on human performance, human-machine interface and self-driving car technology, building on experiences from other transport modes.
MEDIATOR pursues a paradigm shift away from a view that prioritises either the driver or the automation, instead integrating the best of both. It will use state-of-the-art knowledge, including that from other transport modes, and develop new knowledge about human behaviour and human-machine interaction. It will produce several prototypes in the lab and in actual vehicles, for evaluation in simulation, simulator and on-road studies, as well as several tools for further exploitation.
The project will be associated to the ‘road user behaviour’ project portfolio. The project started in May 2019 and ends in April 2023. The total budget is 6 461 615 Euro (Swedish partners get 1 699 200 Euro). Nicole van Nes (SWOV – Institute for Road Safety Research), is the project coordinator. SAFER partners within the project are VTI, Autoliv and Zenuity.
Learn more about the project in the video below!
