Handover and emotion: the supervisory transition in partially automated driving
Take-over requests, the moments at which a partially automated system asks the driver to resume control, are among the most safety-critical events in current automated driving. Existing research has examined cognitive workload, gaze behaviour, and non-driving-related task engagement at handover, but the role of the driver's emotional state remains poorly understood. This PhD project will examine how anger, anxiety, frustration, and boredom shape the speed, quality, and safety of handover performance. The research will explore whether angry drivers resume control too aggressively, anxious drivers delay or resist handover, and bored or under-aroused drivers take longer to re-acquire situation awareness. Methods will likely combine driving simulator experiments, emotion-induction protocols, and physiological measurement. The findings will inform handover interface design, driver training for automated vehicle use, and policy on the conditions under which different levels of automation can be safely deployed.
Supervisor: Amanda Stephens