Driver Eye Scanning on Curves and on Straight Sections on Rural Highways

1982 ◽  
Vol 26 (3) ◽  
pp. 227-227 ◽  
Author(s):  
Helmut T. Zwahlen
Keyword(s):  
Exploratory Study ◽  
Visual Information ◽  
Fixation Time ◽  
Behavior Changes ◽  
Curve Section ◽  
Position Information ◽  
Eye Fixation ◽  
Eye Fixations ◽  
Scanning Behavior ◽  
Nighttime Driving

Driver eye scanning behavior was investigated for two drivers on an eight mile (13km) section of a rural hilly two-lane highway. Data was collected in both directions. Nighttime data was also collected for one of the two drivers. Seven curves of various curvature and three straight level highway sections were selected for the analysis. An instrumented vehicle with a corneal reflection technique television eye scanning recording system was used. The objectives of this exploratory study were: 1) to compare the driver eye scanning behavior between left curves, right curves and straight sections, 2) to determine to what extent driver eye scanning behavior changes when a driver approaches a curve, negotiates a curve and leaves a curve, 3) to determine to what extent the radius of a curve influences driver eye scanning behavior, and 4) to what extent driver eye scanning behavior changes from daytime driving to nighttime driving. The results of this exploratory study include x-y eye fixation density maps, spatial and temporal eye scanning summary measures (including histograms) for the curve approach section, the curve section, the after curve section and the straight highway sections for day and night. Further, the x-y centers of gravity for the eye fixations are plotted for each 100 feet (30m) segment starting at 400 feet (122m) before the beginning of a given curve and ending about 400 feet (122m) after the end of a given curve. In addition, the number of eye fixations and the fixation time durations for selected objects in the driving scene (such as looking at car ahead, looking at road surface in front, looking at road environment and signs, saccades, out of views) are graphically represented as percentages in bar graphs for the various conditions and sections. Kolmogorov-Smirnov tests were used to test for statistically significant differences at the 0.05 level. The results of this exploratory study indicate that: 1) roadway geometry (left curves vs right curves vs straight sections) influences mainly the spatial eye scanning measures (eye fixation x-y centers of gravity, dispersions), 2) curves appear to be quite demanding in terms of a driver's visual information acquisition process (3.56 fixations per 100 feet or 30m at 46.8mph or 75km/h for curves vs 2.21 fixations per 100 feet or 30m at 50mph or 80km/h for straight sections), 3) the x-y centers of gravity for eye fixations indicate that a driver's eye scanning behavior starts to be influenced by a curve about 300–400 feet (91–122m) before the curve begins (drivers fixate mainly in the vicinity of the right edge line when approaching and driving through a right curve, while fixating mainly in the vicinity of the center line or left edge line when approaching and driving through a left curve in order to obtain directional and lateral position information), 4) the fixation time durations for nighttime driving are significantly longer when compared with daytime driving (0.46 seconds vs 0.39 seconds for daytime), 5) the eye fixation patterns for nighttime are more concentrated on the roadway ahead when compared with daytime, and 6) the average foveal preview distances are much shorter at night than during the day (straight road, night: AFPD=121 feet or 37m at 43.5mph or 70km/h; straight road, day: AFPD=953 feet or 290m at 50mph or 80km/h; curves, night: AFPD=131 feet or 40m at 38.6mph or 62km/h; curves, day: AFPD=577 feet or 176m at 46.8mph or 75km/h; average preview time at night for straight road = 1.90 seconds, for curves = 2.31 seconds). In conclusion the results of this exploratory study suggest that approaching and driving through a curve is a rather demanding visual task and therefore the placement of traffic signs or advertising signs within a 400 feet or 122m approach zone and the curve zone should be avoided or kept at a minimum. Further, the relatively short average foveal preview distances and the corresponding short average preview times obtained for the nighttime driving condition demonstrate that drivers operate a vehicle at night at a much lower margin of safety (in terms of reaction time and stopping distance) than during the day.

scholarly journals Examination of Driver Visual and Cognitive Responses to Billboard Elicited Passive Distraction Using Eye-Fixation Related Potential

Sensors ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 21 (4) ◽  
pp. 1471
Author(s):  
Yongxiang Wang ◽  
William Clifford ◽  
Charles Markham ◽  
Catherine Deegan
Keyword(s):  
Visual Information ◽  
Driving Simulator ◽  
Tracking System ◽  
Eye Gaze ◽  
Driver Distraction ◽  
Experimental Results ◽  
Human Information Processing ◽  
Cognitive Responses ◽  
Information Processing Model ◽  
Eye Fixation

Distractions external to a vehicle contribute to visual attention diversion that may cause traffic accidents. As a low-cost and efficient advertising solution, billboards are widely installed on side of the road, especially the motorway. However, the effect of billboards on driver distraction, eye gaze, and cognition has not been fully investigated. This study utilises a customised driving simulator and synchronised electroencephalography (EEG) and eye tracking system to investigate the cognitive processes relating to the processing of driver visual information. A distinction is made between eye gaze fixations relating to stimuli that assist driving and others that may be a source of distraction. The study compares the driver’s cognitive responses to fixations on billboards with fixations on the vehicle dashboard. The measured eye-fixation related potential (EFRP) shows that the P1 components are similar; however, the subsequent N1 and P2 components differ. In addition, an EEG motor response is observed when the driver makes an adjustment of driving speed when prompted by speed limit signs. The experimental results demonstrate that the proposed measurement system is a valid tool in assessing driver cognition and suggests the cognitive level of engagement to the billboard is likely to be a precursor to driver distraction. The experimental results are compared with the human information processing model found in the literature.

Wandering Eyes: Using Gaze-Tracking Method to Capture Eye Fixations in Unfamiliar Healthcare Environments

2021 ◽  
pp. 193758672110423
Author(s):  
Hessam Ghamari ◽  
Nasrin Golshany
Keyword(s):  
Human Subjects ◽  
Age Groups ◽  
Healthcare Setting ◽  
Fixation Time ◽  
Gaze Tracking ◽  
Healthcare Facilities ◽  
Eye Fixations ◽  
Environmental Attributes ◽  
Architectural Features ◽  
Healthcare Environments

Objective: This study aims to investigate the elements of wayfinding in indoor complex healthcare environments. Background: The study replicates Ghamari and Pati’s 2018 study to identify the environmental attributes that attract eye fixation during wayfinding by objectively tracking eye movements and fixation as healthy subjects navigate through a complex, unfamiliar indoor healthcare setting. The study addressed what do people look at while navigating in unfamiliar healthcare environments? What are the relative time periods of eye fixations on different visual environmental elements of the healthcare-designed environments? And what role do visual environmental attributes in healthcare facilities, such as configuration, color, art, directories, maps, furniture, and so on, play during the wayfinding process. Method: Twenty-four adults in different genders and various age groups participated in this study and navigated five routes with different degrees of difficulty. The sequence of the destinations in this study was randomized. The data were collected by tracking gaze fixations while human subjects navigated an indoor complex healthcare environment. Results: The findings show that identifying signs (29.1%), informative signs (20.8%), and architectural features (11.3%) constituted the most frequent elements attracting gaze, substantially more than the other classes of information. Four types of signage (identifying signs, informative signs, directional, and safety/regulatory signs) were accounted for 62.3% of the total gaze fixation time. Conclusions: The comparison of the ordered list based on frequencies and time of eye fixations on various elements developed in Ghamari and Pati’s study shows a vast degree of similarities.

scholarly journals Selection of visual information for lightness judgements by eye movements

2013 ◽  
Vol 368 (1628) ◽  
pp. 20130056 ◽  
Author(s):  
Matteo Toscani ◽  
Matteo Valsecchi ◽  
Karl R. Gegenfurtner
Keyword(s):  
Eye Movements ◽  
Visual System ◽  
Visual Information ◽  
Selection Process ◽  
Sampling Strategy ◽  
Selection Strategy ◽  
Eye Fixations ◽  
Target Layer ◽  
Highly Correlated ◽  
Selection Of

When judging the lightness of objects, the visual system has to take into account many factors such as shading, scene geometry, occlusions or transparency. The problem then is to estimate global lightness based on a number of local samples that differ in luminance. Here, we show that eye fixations play a prominent role in this selection process. We explored a special case of transparency for which the visual system separates surface reflectance from interfering conditions to generate a layered image representation. Eye movements were recorded while the observers matched the lightness of the layered stimulus. We found that observers did focus their fixations on the target layer, and this sampling strategy affected their lightness perception. The effect of image segmentation on perceived lightness was highly correlated with the fixation strategy and was strongly affected when we manipulated it using a gaze-contingent display. Finally, we disrupted the segmentation process showing that it causally drives the selection strategy. Selection through eye fixations can so serve as a simple heuristic to estimate the target reflectance.

scholarly journals Refixation control in free viewing: a specialized mechanism divulged by eye-movement-related brain activity

2018 ◽  
Vol 120 (5) ◽  
pp. 2311-2324 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andrey R. Nikolaev ◽  
Radha Nila Meghanathan ◽  
Cees van Leeuwen
Keyword(s):  
Eye Movement ◽  
Visual Information ◽  
Direct Evidence ◽  
Search Task ◽  
Visual Search Task ◽  
Brain Activity ◽  
Movement Control ◽  
Planning Stage ◽  
Eye Fixations ◽  
Free Viewing

In free viewing, the eyes return to previously visited locations rather frequently, even though the attentional and memory-related processes controlling eye-movement show a strong antirefixation bias. To overcome this bias, a special refixation triggering mechanism may have to be recruited. We probed the neural evidence for such a mechanism by combining eye tracking with EEG recording. A distinctive signal associated with refixation planning was observed in the EEG during the presaccadic interval: the presaccadic potential was reduced in amplitude before a refixation compared with normal fixations. The result offers direct evidence for a special refixation mechanism that operates in the saccade planning stage of eye movement control. Once the eyes have landed on the revisited location, acquisition of visual information proceeds indistinguishably from ordinary fixations. NEW & NOTEWORTHY A substantial proportion of eye fixations in human natural viewing behavior are revisits of recently visited locations, i.e., refixations. Our recently developed methods enabled us to study refixations in a free viewing visual search task, using combined eye movement and EEG recording. We identified in the EEG a distinctive refixation-related signal, signifying a control mechanism specific to refixations as opposed to ordinary eye fixations.

Viewing Ground-Mounted Diagrammatic Guide Signs Before Entrance Ramps at Night: Driver Eye Scanning Behavior

2003 ◽  
Vol 1843 (1) ◽  
pp. 61-69 ◽  
Author(s):  
Helmut T. Zwahlen ◽  
Andrew Russ ◽  
Thomas Schnell
Keyword(s):  
Information Acquisition ◽  
Department Of Transportation ◽  
Eye Fixations ◽  
Entrance Ramps ◽  
Ohio Department Of Transportation ◽  
Scanning Behavior ◽  
Excessive Number ◽  
Gain Access

The driver eye scanning study is part of a larger study conducted for the Ohio Department of Transportation to evaluate the effectiveness of ground-mounted diagrammatic guide signs placed before entrance ramps at highway freeway interchanges. This nighttime study investigated driver eye scanning behavior while approaching ground-mounted diagrammatic guide signs placed before entrance ramps. Six highway-freeway interchanges were selected in the Greater Columbus, Ohio, area for placement of the diagrammatic signs in the field. Subjects were six unfamiliar drivers, between the ages of 22 to 42. Two diagrammatic signs were located at each of the six interchanges, .5 mi (805 m) and .25 mi (402 m) before the last point of the gore, where a driver can still gain access to the correct freeway entrance ramp. Driver eye scanning behavior measurements were recorded at night to determine if the presence of the diagrammatic signs elicited an excessive number of eye fixations or was visually distracting to the drivers or both. The results indicate that the diagrammatic signs are not looked at excessively often or excessively long. The average look numbers and average look duration times indicate a normal and reasonable level of information acquisition processing employed by the drivers. These values agree with those previously obtained for regular traffic signing determined in previous eye scanning studies. Ground-mounted diagrammatic signs on multilane arterials in advance of highway freeway interchanges were not demonstrated to unduly distract drivers and detrimentally affect a driver’s looking behavior.

Automotive Headlighting: Effect of Foreground Illumination

1983 ◽  
Vol 57 (3_suppl) ◽  
pp. 1036-1038 ◽  
Author(s):  
Paul L. Olson ◽  
Michael Sivak
Keyword(s):  
Target Identification ◽  
Eye Fixation ◽  
Fixation Pattern ◽  
Eye Fixations ◽  
The Relationship

Described are studies of the relationship between the level of foreground illumination provided by automotive headlamps and the driver's eye-fixation pattern and ability to identify objects ahead of the car. Analysis indicates that the driver's eye fixations tended to move further from the car at high levels of foreground illumination. There were no differences in distance of target identification as a function of level of foreground illumination.

Catching feelings: Exploring commitment (un)readiness in emerging adulthood

2019 ◽  
Vol 37 (1) ◽  
pp. 143-162 ◽  
Author(s):  
Leah E. LeFebvre ◽  
Heather J. Carmack
Keyword(s):  
Emerging Adults ◽  
Stages Of Change ◽  
Exploratory Study ◽  
Behavior Changes ◽  
Change Model ◽  
Focus Group Interviews ◽  
Face To Face ◽  
Decision Making Processes ◽  
Group Interviews ◽  
And Behavior

This exploratory study investigates how emerging adults (EAs) experience catching feelings. Applying the Stages of Change Model and Relational Receptivity Theory, this study investigates how EAs understand the cognitive and behavior changes leading up to commitment and how they process precontemplation surrounding catching feelings. Using focus group interviews, collegiate EAs ( N = 17) define catching feelings as the unintentional, unexpected, and surprisingly desirable development of romantic feelings for another person (commonly beginning face-to-face). When confronted with catching feelings, EAs must delineate their preconditions for catching feelings and work through decision-making processes. Implications for relationship readiness, communication, and commitment are discussed.

Comparison of Visual Information Processing between Preservice Students and Experienced Physical Education Teachers

1996 ◽  
Vol 16 (1) ◽  
pp. 79-87 ◽  
Author(s):  
Daniel Behets
Keyword(s):  
Physical Education ◽  
Student Teachers ◽  
Visual Information ◽  
Experienced Teachers ◽  
Inservice Teachers ◽  
Physical Education Teachers ◽  
First Year ◽  
Critical Events ◽  
First Year Students ◽  
Eye Fixations

In this study, experienced physical education teachers’ observation skills in teaching situations are compared to that of first- and last-year student teachers. The 56 participants were shown 12 slides from a gymnastics lesson, and after viewing it for 4 s, they were asked to report what they had seen. The number of items and critical events reported were analyzed. No significant differences were found between the three groups on the number of events reported or for the number and duration of the eye fixations. Significant differences were found for the number of critical events reported and fixated. Last-year students and experienced teachers correctly reported more critical events on the slide scenes than first year students, but there were no significant differences in observational capacities between last year students and experienced teachers. This study demonstrated the need for observational training, not only during preservice, but also for inservice teachers.

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