Supplementary data for the paper 'What attracts the driver’s eye? Attention as a function of task and events'

This study explores how drivers of an automated vehicle distribute their attention as a function of environmental events and driving task instructions. Twenty participants were asked to monitor pre-recorded videos of a simulated driving trip while their eye movements were recorded using an eye-tracker. The results showed that eye movements are strongly situation-dependent, with areas of interest (windshield, mirrors, and dashboard) attracting attention when events (e.g., passing vehicles) occurred in those areas. Furthermore, the task instructions provided to participants (i.e., speed monitoring or hazard monitoring) affected their attention distribution in an interpretable manner. It is concluded that eye movements while supervising an automated vehicle are strongly ‘top-down’, i.e., based on an expected value. The results are discussed in the context of the development of driver availability monitoring systems.

本研究探讨了自动驾驶车辆（automated vehicle）驾驶员的注意力分配如何随环境事件及驾驶任务指令动态变化。本研究共招募20名参与者，要求其观看预先录制的模拟驾驶行程视频，同时使用眼动仪（eye-tracker）记录其眼动数据。结果显示，眼动行为具有显著的情境依赖性：当事件（如超车车辆）出现在特定区域时，驾驶员会将注意力投向对应的感兴趣区域（areas of interest），即挡风玻璃、后视镜与仪表盘。此外，向参与者下达的任务指令（即车速监控或危险态势监控）也会以可解释的方式影响其注意力分配模式。综上，在监管自动驾驶车辆过程中，驾驶员的眼动行为具有显著的“自上而下”特征，即基于预期价值进行注意力分配。本研究结果结合驾驶员可用性监控系统的开发背景展开讨论。