The Effect of Tactile Prompts During the Takeover Process of Autonomous Driving

Guo, Sijia; Wu, Wenyu · 2025 · Crossref

DOI: 10.54941/ahfe1005853

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Summary

This study investigates the efficacy of tactile prompts as takeover requests in Level 3 autonomous driving, addressing the challenge of driver disengagement during non-driving tasks. In conditionally automated vehicles, drivers may lose situational awareness, making rapid and safe handover of control critical. While visual and auditory alerts are common, they can be overlooked due to spatial limitations or cognitive load from secondary tasks. The authors hypothesize that tactile signals, which compete for fewer cognitive resources and are difficult to ignore, can enhance takeover efficiency. The research specifically examines how tactile feedback performs across varying environmental conditions, aiming to determine if haptic cues provide a reliable alternative or supplement to traditional warning modalities. The experiment utilized a high-f driving simulator with a 180-degree field of view and realistic controls. Twenty licensed participants (aged 18–45) underwent six simulated driving trials each, involving three common collision scenarios: pedestrian crossing, vehicle breakdown, and visual obstruction. The independent variable was the takeover request modality: auditory-only versus combined auditory and tactile vibration. The tactile stimulus was delivered via a wrist-worn vibration motor. To assess robustness, trials were conducted under three weather conditions: normal, foggy, and rainy. Dependent measures included driver reaction time and subjective psychological perceptions gathered via post-experiment questionnaires. Results demonstrated that the addition of tactile vibration significantly reduced driver reaction times compared to auditory alerts alone across all weather conditions. Statistical analysis using independent samples t-tests confirmed these differences were highly significant (p < 0.05). The effect size, measured by Cohen’s d, was substantial in normal weather (d = 1.52) and increased markedly in adverse conditions, reaching d = 4.11 in fog and d = 2.82 in rain. Specifically, the mean reaction time improvement was approximately 0.37 seconds in normal weather, expanding to 0.82 seconds in rainy conditions. Subjective data reinforced these findings, with 95% of participants rating the tactile reminder as effective. Furthermore, 80% reported that the vibration cue became more noticeable and effective as visibility decreased, indicating that tactile feedback compensates for reduced visual perception in low-visibility environments. The study concludes that tactile prompts are an effective, non-intrusive method for enhancing driver responsiveness during autonomous driving takeovers. The findings suggest that haptic feedback imposes minimal cognitive load while significantly improving safety margins, particularly in challenging weather conditions where visual and auditory channels may be compromised. The authors note that the benefit of tactile cues intensifies as environmental complexity increases. Future research should focus on adapting tactile signals to provide directional or contextual information, thereby further optimizing human-machine interaction in diverse driving scenarios. This work supports the integration of multi-modal alert systems, specifically highlighting the critical role of haptics in ensuring reliable driver engagement in semi-autonomous vehicles.

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Summary generated by qwen3.6-27b-nvidia on 2026-08-10; verification: verified.

Topics

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

• haptic feedback
• takeover transitions
• feedback modes
• automation
• hands on hands off engagement
• multimodal feedback

Information type

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• Empirical Findings: behavioral performance data
• Methodological Resource: measurement protocol
• Theoretical Contribution: conceptual framework