Feeling Uncertain: Effects of Encoding Uncertainty in the Tactile Communication of a Spatiotemporal Feature

Feeling Uncertain: Effects of Encoding Uncertainty in the Tactile Communication of a Spatiotemporal Feature

Driessen, Tom (TU Delft Mechanical, Maritime and Materials Engineering)

de Winter, J.C.F. (mentor)
Dodou, D. (graduation committee)
Bazilinskyy, P. (graduation committee)
Krüger, Matti (graduation committee)

Delft University of Technology

Mechanical Engineering

2019-08-27

An appropriate understanding of a machine's competences may be critical for safe use. Sharing measures of real-time function reliability could help users to adjust their reliance on machine capabilities. We designed a vibrotactile interface that communicates spatiotemporal information about surrounding events and further encodes a representation of spatial uncertainty. We evaluated this interface in a driving simulator experiment with varying levels of machine confidence linked to a simulated degradation of sensor signal quality and varying levels of human confidence induced through a degradation of visual feedback. A comparison between variants of the system indicated positive performance effects of providing uncertain information compared to a more conservative solution that only provided information above a specific confidence level. Subjective reports revealed a positive acceptance of uncertainty signaling in low-visibility conditions, comparable to acceptance ratings of a fully confident machine that accurately signaled the precise location of events.

reliability display
haptic assistance
uncertainty display
human-machine cooperation
automotive hmi

http://resolver.tudelft.nl/uuid:ea30f1c8-70d6-493c-948b-3b6e0c398c3a

Digital supplement is available at www.github.com/tomdries/feelinguncertain

Student theses

master thesis

© 2019 Tom Driessen