Together We Drive Better

Today, many different Advanced Driver Assistance Systems (ADAS) support the driver autonomously while driving (e.g., the system takes over the acceleration or keeps the car on track). In the future, cars will have even more such functionalities, and there is not much known, about the experiences and chal- lenges this will cause for the drivers of the near future. Do they know how to handle these assistant systems accurately? How do they experience the new autonomy of their cars? Regarding this topic, a lot of insecurity exists in society and research. Therefore, it is important to involve the drivers, who will be directly affected by the assistant systems of the future in the creation of training materials, which will support a safer handling of the automated in-car systems of the future. That is the aim of the GeFaBe project. Its not only the first citizen science project that deals with in- car systems but also the first one that aims at producing teaching materials for the Austrian public in collaboration with Austrian car drivers. The main research questions are: What are car drivers` user experiences (UX) in interacting with ADAS? Which skills do they lack regarding ADAS and in-vehicle functionalities that support driving in a vehicle? What do drivers want to learn about ADAS in driving schools, from their car dealers, or in driver safety trainings in order to be prepared for the future of driving? Which methods and materials are best suited to teach how to operate ADAS from a driv- ers/learners perspective? The project will be realized in 4 phases. It will start with an initial information event at which the pro- ject, the project website, and a webinar how to use the mobile application as a research tool will be in- troduced to the public. In the following exploration phase the citizen scientists capture, collect and share their experiences with ADAS in the car. They reflect on their experiences, create usage scenarios and even according teaching materials based on their own discoveries. During all these tasks, they are supported by online-webinar-trainings they receive every two months, Also the researchers support them with advice, whenever needed. At the end of the project, all materials together form a full ADAS training course, which will be held together with interested citizen scientists at the GeFaBe closing event. These teaching materials will finally be published on the web site and Austria-wide disseminated to inspire future education and trainings, e.g., in driving schools or driver safety training centers in or- der to mitigate the risks and challenges caused by the (semi-)autonomous cars of the future.

The Top Citizen Science project "Together We Drive Better" had the goal to involve Austrian drivers as citizen scientists to identify safety gaps, advantages, and best practices in the use of advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS) to gain a deeper understanding of the driver's perspective on these systems and to identify challenges that arise in the usage of the ADAS. To achieve this goal, drivers and co-drivers were able to document their experiences with current driver assistance systems (such as cruise control, lane departure warning, parking assistance, etc.) online or via the GeFaBe app. The focus was on the following questions: 1) What works well/badly during use? 2) What information is missing? 3) What are the advantages/disadvantages of advanced driver assistance systems? On the basis of these experience reports, Citizen Scientists and scientists from the Center for Human Computer Interaction at the University of Salzburg (https://hci.sbg.ac.at) jointly developed a first teaching tutorial that can be used as an exemplary basis for the creation of further teaching materials on driver assistance systems in Austria. This teaching unit is freely available for download at the GeFaBe website (https://gefabe.at). At the website also in sights can be gained into the project and the further results of the cooperation between science and interested citizens. If you would like to learn more about the GeFaBe app and its use, you can watch the tutorial video at the GeFaBe video channel (https://vimeo.com/gefabe). There you will also find interesting short films on the statements of the mobility experts who discussed topics such as "Should driver assistance systems become a part of driving school training?" at the Citizen Science Conference 2018 in Salzburg.