Vorreiter: Manoeuvre-Based Steering Gestures for Partially and Highly Automated Driving

Automated driving is dramatically changing the way we perceive and control cars and lorries. In partially automated driving, the driver is still responsible for the vehicle control, but is strongly supported. In highly automated driving, the driver can give control and responsibility to the automation for a certain time and can get control back, e.g. when the automation encounters limits. However, an intuitive way to interact with these automated modes is largely missing. Vorreiter is addressing this by using the inspiration of a rider and a horse to provide intuitive steering gestures on the steering wheel or an alternative device, which initiate manoeuvres to be executed by the automation and to be supervised, influenced or interrupted by the driver. The gestures are built up in a design-for-all which helps all drivers, including beginners and drivers with disabilities. A consortium of RWTH Aachen University, Fraunhofer IAO, University of Stuttgart, Valeo and Hochschule für Wirtschaft und Recht Berlin defined a concept, built up prototypes and investigated its impact in workshops and simulator experiments.