Meaningful Human Control over Automated Driving Systems

Abstract

Human Factors issues with automated driving systems (ADS) are becoming more apparent with the increasing prevalence of automated vehicles on the public roads. As automated driving demands increased performance of supervisory skills of the driver, rather than vehicle handling skills, a mismatch occurs between the demand and supply of the drivers’ skillset. Therefore, it has been suggested that drivers should at all times have meaningful human control (MHC) over ADS. The basic idea behind MHC is derived from the debate on autonomous weapon systems, and entails three essential components: human operators are (1) making informed, conscious decisions, (2) sufficiently informed about lawfulness of an action and its context, and (3) properly trained, to ensure effective control over the use of ADS. This paper presents definitions, components and potential human roles within ADS, from an interdisciplinary and a MHC perspective. The ideas presented in this paper are valuable to both designers, manufacturers, and road operators, as well as policy makers, driving licensing bodies, and lawyers and insurers, and our future research into these topics will deliver usable results for all stakeholders.