Multimodal Mental workload assessment from L0 to L5 automation

Abstract

Mental workload is an important construct for understanding human cognitive states in conventional, automated, and highly automated vehicles. As vehicle automation progresses, the role of the human changes from active driving to supervision or passive use, which leads to different types of cognitive demands across different levels of automation. Existing approaches for assessing mental workload in automotive contexts have mainly relied on subjective questionnaires and, to a lesser extent, performance-based measures. While these methods have been widely used in conventional and partially automated driving, their suitability for highly automated environments is still under discussion, as the nature of human-vehicle interaction is changing. This workshop focuses on mental workload assessment in conventional, automated, and highly automated vehicles. It brings together researchers and practitioners to critically discuss current measurement approaches and their limitations, and to explore a broader set of assessment methods, including questionnaires, behavioral measures, and neurophysiological techniques. The aim is to create a shared understanding of how mental workload can be assessed across different levels of vehicle automation and to identify directions for improving existing evaluation methods and tools used in this field.