Learning-by-Doing: Using Near Infrared Spectroscopy to Detect Habituation and Adaptation in Automated Driving

The advent of automated features in modern vehicles requires human factors researchers to find measures other than driving behavior to anticipate the response of drivers in various contexts. Functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) is one research tool that allows us to quantify the driver's mental state. However, the underlying mechanisms of fNIRS technology can limit the possible contexts for its application. The pervasive question arises, whether the measurement device at hand is suitable for the research topic in question and is it capable of detecting the phenomenon under investigation? We provide a proof of concept study demonstrating that significant habituation is present when drivers operate new automated driving systems and that fNIRS technology is suitable to detect said driver habituation effects. The study presented here was conducted in a driving simulator and investigated the drivers' cortical activation in three different modes of automation: manual, partially autonomous, and fully autonomous modes.