Ford's VIRTTEX Lab Helps Lead Driver Distraction Research for NHTSA's SAVE-IT Project

DEARBORN, Mich., Dec. 11, 2007 – Results from a five-year study aimed at finding ways to develop, demonstrate and evaluate methods to help minimize the risk of driver distraction and enhance the effectiveness of crash warning systems in vehicles are expected to be released in early 2008 by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA).

Highlights:
* NHTSA’s SAfety VEhicles using adaptive Interface Technologies (SAVE-IT) research project is investigating ways to reduce distraction-related crashes and improve the effectiveness of safety warning system.
* On-going, two-phase research program began in 2003 and is scheduled to be completed in 2008.
* In-vehicle research continues at Ford’s state-of-the-art Virtual Text Track Experiment (VIRTTEX) lab.
* The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration estimates that driver distraction and inattention contribute up to 30 percent of crashes each year.

The NHTSA-directed project was initiated in 2003 as a way to learn how automakers might be able to better manage driver workloads and reduce distractions in a day when more drivers are bringing portable electronic devices into their vehicles and as in-car electronics continue to provide greater functionality.

The "SAfety VEhicles using adaptive Interface Technologies” research project, or SAVE-IT, is being led by Delphi Corp. In-vehicle research continues simultaneously at the National Advanced Driving Simulator (NADS) at the University of Iowa, at the University of Michigan Transportation Research Institute (UMTRI) and at Ford Motor Company's Virtual Text Track Experiment (VIRTTEX) lab.

The goal of the NHTSA-directed project is to develop, demonstrate, and evaluate methods to help minimize the risk of driver distraction and enhance the effectiveness of crash warning systems. The SAVE-IT project is scheduled to be completed in early 2008.

VIRTTEX, Ford's full-motion-based driving simulator, has been operational since 2001 and continues to be a critical tool in the industry’s ongoing effort to better understand the complexities of driver distraction. Ford, together with Volvo, recently used VIRTTEX to examine driver preferences and reaction times with advanced early-warning systems such as Forward Collision Warning (FCW).

The study evaluated several different types of FCW driver interfaces, including those that alert drivers via a tone, a voice warning or a haptic/vibrating belt. The study concluded that each of these systems provide a 0.6 to 0.9 second reduction in reaction time for distracted drivers. Overall, the tone-based system was perceived to be the most suitable and least annoying.

SAVE-IT PROJECT TO WRAP UP IN EARLY 2008
Because of the complexity of the SAVE-IT project, the research was divided into two distinct phases when it was initiated in 2003. The first phase of the program involved comprehensive research to determine usable driver distraction and workload measures, and an effort to better understand driver acceptance of distraction mitigation and safety warnings. Phase 1 of the program also included the development of a rudimentary vehicle prototype.

Phase 2 of the program began in 2004, with the objective of enhancing and evaluating the SAVE-IT prototype as a tool to evaluate technologies that measure driver distraction. The prototype was created by the Delphi Electronics & Safety Division-led team, which included the University of Iowa, University of Michigan, Seeing Machines Inc., Ford and GM and has been evaluated in simulated environments, including Ford’s VIRTTEX lab, and in on-road testing.

The SAVE-IT prototype is a test-bed to better understand the driving environment, monitoring the driver's workload and distraction level, and adapting the flow of information to the driver accordingly. In concept, the SAVE-IT prototype uses a collection of sensors to monitor the roadway, nearby traffic, vehicle conditions, and driver state and then provides information to a system that "decides" how to adapt the vehicle based on the demands of the driving task relative to the distraction state of the driver.

According to NHSTA, the results of the SAVE-IT study will spur ongoing industry efforts to reduce driver distraction and create a basis for possible industry standards needed to achieve widespread application of a common adaptive interface.

FORD WAS FIRST AND CONTINUES TO LEAD
Ford was the first auto manufacturer in North America to invest in a full-motion-based driving simulator, so it could lead the study of driver reaction and behavior in a more controlled, safe laboratory setting.

Since VIRTTEX opened in 2001, Ford has completed a number of driver distraction studies as well as an evaluation of teen driving patterns, a drowsy driver simulation, and a pedestrian warning assessment, among others. All of these studies have led to the development of programs, technologies and vehicle features designed to improve vehicle and occupant safety.

The teen driving experiment revealed that teens have trouble multi-tasking, for example, and are four times more distracted than adult drivers when using a cell phone while driving. Based on these findings, Ford created the Driving Skills for Life (www.drivingskillsforlife.com) program to help teens master important driving skills such as hazard recognition and speed management.

The VIRTTEX drowsy driving study conducted by a team of Ford and Volvo engineers is one of the most complete, controlled laboratory experiments of its kind on this issue. Results showed that even severely sleep-deprived drivers can benefit from early-warning systems, which has led Volvo researchers to develop new ways of detecting and addressing drowsiness. A more adaptive, intelligent Driver Drowsiness Monitoring system is scheduled for production on select Volvo lines in 2008.

In 2003, Ford conducted one of its first driver distraction studies in VIRTTEX that measured a driver's failure to detect safety-relevant events while doing visual or manual tasks such as retrieving voicemail on a handheld cell phone. The study revealed much higher levels of distraction – glances off the road – among drivers doing such manual and/or visual tasks rather than if they were using some type of hands-free, voice interface. As a result, Ford is currently working with US DOT and other automakers to develop in-vehicle wireless communication systems that could help reduce driver distraction.

Along with its investment in VIRTTEX, Ford has worked with the Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers to develop driver-interface test methods and criteria to address driver focus and interaction with telematics and infotainment systems. In addition, Ford helped define and implement design guidelines for the maximum down-angle that visually intensive driver controls and displays may be positioned.

Ford is also one of several auto manufacturers involved in the Crash Avoidance Metrics Partnership (CAMP) Driver Workload Metrics Project. CAMP just released the results of a four-year study evaluating how individual drivers balance their attention between the road and other activities such as dialing a cell phone or listening to an audio book. The overall purpose of the study is to help researchers and engineers measure driver distraction and design vehicle technologies that do not overly distract a driver.

According to Jeff Greenberg, senior technical leader, Ford Research & Advanced Engineering, the CAMP study validates the research Ford has already conducted in the area of driver distraction. “Our earlier internal results are largely consistent with the CAMP findings,” says Greenberg, adding that Ford's internal test procedures helped influence the design of some of the CAMP study's on-road testing procedures. Ford intends to use the results of this comprehensive study as another tool when examining innovative vehicle technologies and their effects on driver performance.

“Ford is committed to addressing driver distraction in empirical, research-driven ways and implementing our findings in active safety systems and advanced infotainment systems throughout our Ford North American vehicle lines,” adds Dr. Louis Tijerina, a senior technical specialist at Ford Motor Company and a member of the CAMP-DVM project team.

About Ford Motor Company

Ford Motor Company, a global automotive industry leader based in Dearborn, Mich., manufactures or distributes automobiles in 200 markets across six continents. With about 260,000 employees and about 100 plants worldwide, the company’s core and affiliated automotive brands include Ford, Jaguar, Land Rover, Lincoln, Mercury, Volvo and Mazda. The company provides financial services through Ford Motor Credit Company. For more information regarding Ford’s products, please visit www.fordvehicles.com.

Source: Ford Motor Company