Autonomous Driving Systems: A Preliminary Naturalistic Study of the Tesla Model S

Autonomous and semiautonomous vehicles are currently being developed by over14 companies. These vehicles may improve driving safety and convenience, or they may create new challenges for drivers, particularly with regard to situation awareness (SA) and autonomy interaction. I conducted a naturalistic driving study on the autonomy features in the Tesla Model S, recording my experiences over a 6-month period, including assessments of SA and problems with the autonomy. This preliminary analysis provides insights into the challenges that drivers may face in dealing with new autonomous automobiles in realistic driving conditions, and it extends previous research on human-autonomy interaction to the driving domain. Issues were found with driver training, mental model development, mode confusion, unexpected mode interactions, SA, and susceptibility to distraction. New insights into challenges with semiautonomous driving systems include increased variability in SA, the replacement of continuous control with serial discrete control, and the need for more complex decisions. Issues that deserve consideration in future research and a set of guidelines for driver interfaces of autonomous systems are presented and used to create recommendations for improving driver SA when interacting with autonomous vehicles. © 2017 Human Factors and Ergonomics Society.