Introducing ROADS: A Systematic Comparison of Remote Control Interaction Concepts for Automated Vehicles at Road Works

Colley, Mark; Westhauser, Jonathan; Andersson, Jonas; Mirnig, Alexander G.; Rukzio, Enrico · 2025 · OpenAlex-citations

DOI: 10.1145/3706598.3713476

archive: archived pipeline: cataloged verified

Get this paper ↗ (DOI — opens at the source; we link to it, we don't host it)

Summary

This paper addresses the lack of comparative studies on human-machine interfaces (HMIs) for remote assistance of automated vehicles (AVs). As AV technology matures, remote operators (ROs) are needed to intervene during malfunctions or in areas outside the vehicle’s operational design domain, such as complex road works. The authors introduce ROADS (Remote Operation Automated Driving Suite), a system designed to evaluate three distinct interaction concepts for remote assistance: path planning, trajectory guidance, and waypoint guidance. The study aims to determine which interface best supports ROs, particularly when managing multiple concurrent vehicle requests, a scenario critical for efficient fleet management. The researchers conducted a within-subjects user study with 23 participants using a Unity-based simulation. The experimental design involved a 3x4 factorial structure, testing the three interaction concepts against one to four parallel vehicle requests. Participants acted as remote operators guiding AVs through a simulated road work zone. In **path planning**, users selected from system-generated path options; in **trajectory guidance**, users drew paths by dragging a mouse cursor; and in **waypoint guidance**, users placed discrete points to define the route. The interface provided a bird’s-eye view and allowed operators to monitor up to two vehicles simultaneously, with one active for control. Performance metrics included task completion time, error rates, and the number of requests resolved, while subjective measures included usability (System Usability Scale), acceptance, and workload (NASA-TLX). The results indicated a clear preference for the **path planning** concept, which achieved the highest usability scores. However, this method resulted in lower user satisfaction compared to other methods. **Trajectory guidance** performed the worst, yielding the fewest resolved requests and receiving the lowest ratings. The study also found that handling multiple parallel requests was feasible but led to degraded performance as the number of concurrent vehicles increased. Path planning allowed operators to resolve requests more efficiently than the manual drawing methods, though it required fewer individual inputs. The findings suggest that while abstracting control through pre-defined options improves usability, it may impact user satisfaction, whereas direct manipulation methods like trajectory guidance impose higher cognitive and motor demands. These findings contribute to the development of HMIs for remote AV assistance by providing empirical evidence on the trade-offs between different interaction modalities. The study highlights that path planning is the most viable option for remote assistance scenarios requiring high usability and efficiency, particularly when operators must manage multiple vehicles. By demonstrating that remote assistance is a distinct and manageable category compared to direct remote driving, the work supports the transition toward scalable, one-to-many teleoperation models. The open-source availability of the ROADS system further aids future research in optimizing remote operator interfaces for automated transportation systems.

Provenance

The full processing record for this entry. Every stage of this paper's journey through the pipeline is logged — what ran, with which tool and model, how many attempts it took, and when it last completed.

Summary generated by qwen3.6-27b-prismaquant on 2026-06-26; verification: verified.

Topics

Ranked by relevance to this paper. Hover a topic for its definition.

• teleoperation remote driving
• automation
• ehmi external hmi