Dialog with trucks: Situation-aware conversational agents in driver support systems

Purpose and goal

Conversational Agents (CA) have the potential to provide improved real-time support to drivers. However, current CA disregard situation awareness, a deficiency that can increase the driver’s cognitive load. The goal is to integrate situation-aware CA into driver support systems (SAE L1-2). Our focus is on establishing a smooth conversation flow between long-distance truck drivers and CA and studying the impact in terms of safety, efficiency and user experience.

Expected effects and result

Expected results: a) A decision system that combines various data to achieve situational awareness and controls CA dialogue based on the situation, b) Understanding of the CA-role for long-distance drivers, c) A CA prototype tailored to the needs of long-distance drivers, d) Initial guidance for the design of CA for optimal driver support. The results will support future R&D among project partners. Dissemination will occur through articles, demonstrations, and an external reference group.

Planned approach and implementation

The project consortium consists of Scania (TRATON), Nagoon, KTH, and Smart Eye. The project will develop the following functionalities: Situational awareness, Dialogue flow management, and Safety and ethics policy for CA. A series of experiments will be conducted, each designed to highlight a specific aspect of situational awareness, dialogue flow, and their effects on truck drivers. The investigated factors will be anchored in interviews, observations, and measurements with truck drivers.