As part of the Safe Human Interaction project fka, ZF and Faurecia jointly developed an innovative interaction concept for safe and convenient transitions between different automation levels. In addition to the iterative design of the concept, fka was in particular responsible for the construction of the SHI cockpit, which was exhibited at both the IAA2019 and the CES 2020, as well as the evaluation of the interaction in the context of user studies.

Core element of the concept is the active movement of the driver-seat and the steering wheel within the scope of a multi-stage take-over request. In addition, visual and acoustic signals are used for guiding the driver’s attention. To enable the driver to spontaneously regain responsibility for driving while the vehicle is in automation mode, the seat and steering wheel movements are limited to an optimal and safe level. The algorithm developed by fka for this makes use of information that is captured by a 3D interior camera.

Moreover, the Active Vehicle Aura concept - which debuted in 2017 - was advanced further in order to simplify the operation of the assistance systems. The Active Vehicle Aura incorporates all safety-relevant driver assistance systems, which are visualized using an aura or lines in the display in front of the driver. Depending on personal preferences, the desired safety distance or the desired behavior of the vehicle can be set by adding or removing additional aura rings. In case of a system intervention, the cause and strength of the intervention are visualized with a suitable deformation and discoloration of the aura. Thus, a very simple and intuitive interaction is enabled and the user always knows and understands the current system state thanks to the adaptive visualization.

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