Gaze behaviours engaged while taking over automated driving: a systematic literature review

Abstract

Abstract Among highly automated driving research topics, transition of control, especially from automated to manual driving (i.e., takeover) have been the object of numerous studies. Drivers’ gaze behaviours are of particular interest as proper information processing by the driver is a key element to safe manual control resumption. In this study, 22 research articles were selected and reviewed to extract main gaze behaviours tendencies during takeover transitions. Despite a great variety in protocols and gaze metrics, categories of factors and gaze parameters have been established. The resulting data shows that at the onset of the takeover request gaze tend to be quickly reoriented towards the road ahead. Despite this, an increase in gaze dispersion on the road environment was found in automated driving. In addition, clear evidence for detrimental effects of visually engaging non-driving related activities on visual exploration strategies emerge (e.g., delay in reorienting the gaze towards the road ahead). Altogether, gaze data reveal the complexity of information processing during takeovers. A synthetical view of gaze parameters evolution during the takeover process has been established and associated with visual information gathering and processing. Finally, a broader view underlying the importance of combining technological approaches with human centred ones is proposed. Supplemental data for this article is available online at at http://doi:10.1080/1463922X.2022.2036861 .