Panels

The assessment of DMS-based systems –
what’s needed?

Room: PASCAL
Wednesday 21 Oct, 13.30-14.40

Panelists

  • Adriano Palao Bernal, EuroNCAP
    Adriano Palao Bernal is Technical Manager at Euro NCAP, where he
    has a major role in the development of the EuroNCAP assessment program of advanced vehicle safety technologies. His work focuses on translating research and regulatory priorities into practical consumer testing protocols, including the evaluation of driver monitoring systems.
  • Bruce Mehler, MIT
    Bruce Mehler is a Research Scientist at MIT whose work examines driver workload, attention, stress, and interactions with emerging vehicle technologies. His research has helped establish evidence-based approaches for evaluating how drivers respond to assistance, automation, and monitoring systems
    , and recently he was one of the authors of literature review paper on inattention/attention.
  • Henrik Lind, Smart Eye
    Henrik Lind is Chief Research Officer at Smart Eye and has extensive experience in the development of camera-based driver monitoring technologies. His work bridges scientific research and industrial deployment, helping advance the use of driver state measurement in real-world vehicles.
  • Mike Lenne, Seeing Machines
    Mike Lenne is Chief Safety Officer at Seeing Machines and a recognized expert in human factors, road safety, and driver monitoring. With experience spanning both academia and industry, he works on the application of driver monitoring technologies to reduce crash risk and improve transportation safety.
  • Prof. Natasha Merat, University of Leeds
    Natasha Merat is Professor of Human Factors of Transport Systems at the University of Leeds
    . Her work focuses on driver engagement, supervision of automation, and the safe integration of advanced vehicle technologies into everyday transport systems, and she has a strong background and interest in distraction research.

The panel discussion will be moderated by the conference Co-chairs Dr Christophe Jallais and Prof. Jonas Bärgman.

Driver monitoring systems (DMSs) are becoming increasingly common in cars, and are now mandatory in some regions. A DMS is by itself only a means of collecting information about the driver, including glance behavior and drowsiness. It is first when DMS data is combined with either some feedback to the driver or is integrated in algorithms to adapt safety systems to the driver’s state that it may have an impact on safety. Few established methods currently exist for evaluating how DMS based safety systems influence both safety outcomes and user acceptance, which poses challenges for their systematic design and evaluation. To enable proper regulation and consumer testing regimes related to DMS-based systems assessment methods are crucial – without them we may release systems that are either not as effective as they could be or are overly and unnecessarily annoying to the driver.

This panel will address questions such as: How can DMS-based safety systems be evaluated? What approaches exist today, and what can reasonably be developed? What limitations are inherent to these methods? How can safety benefits and nuisance be assessed together? How can we evaluate long-term driver perception and behavioral adaptation to DMS-based systems? And can the “objective safety” of such systems be meaningfully assessed? What should system performance be compared to (i.e., what baseline should be used)?

The touchscreen takeover: Can “glass” be safe enough?

Room: PASCAL
Thursday 22 Oct, 08.50-09.50

Panelists:

  • Dr. Mikael Ljung Aust, Volvo Cars
    Driver behavior specialist at Volvo Cars with extensive experience in understanding how drivers interact with emerging vehicle technologies. He brings an industry perspective on balancing usability, safety, customer expectations, and design constraints in modern vehicle interfaces.
  • Prof. Tuomo Kujala. University of Jyväskylä
    Associate Professor and leading researcher in driver behavior, attention, and human-machine interaction. His work focuses on how in-vehicle interfaces influence driver distraction, workload, and overall traffic safety.
  • Ilse Harms, Euro NCAP
    Chair of the Driver Engagement Working Group at Euro NCAP and a recognized expert in driver behavior and safety assessment. She contributes expertise on how consumer testing and regulatory frameworks can address touchscreen-related safety risks.
  • Audrey Bruneau, Toyota Motor Europe
    Human factors and vehicle interface expert at Toyota Motor Europe. She brings practical insights into the design, implementation, and evaluation of driver-vehicle interfaces in production vehicles.

The panel discussion will be moderated by the conference Co-chairs Alexandra Fort and Christophe Jallais.

The use of touch screens as a primary driver–vehicle interface (DVI) in cars has been rapidly increasing over the last few years. From an automotive industry perspective, this offers substantial cost savings and enables wireless updates of the DVI. Also, given the vast number of configurations and controls required in today’s cars, relying solely on physical buttons would make them resemble airplane cockpits. There is, however, substantial concern that the introduction of touch screens may negatively impact safety.

This panel will address questions such as: Are touchscreens making cars less safe? Which interfaces need to be physical – if any? Should all be physical? How important is the tactile component for avoiding prolonged distraction? To what extent do “moving images” draw attention away from safe driving? Can large touch screens be designed to be safe (enough); if so, how? Is there a middle ground? How can/should regulation and consumer rating programs evaluate the risks associated with touch screens? How much does the cost perspective affect car manufacturers’ competitiveness?

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