The potential of napping in automated driving and user preferences for wake-up concepts – an online-study

In automated driving, drivers may sleep during rides, making it important to study napping preferences and wake-up scenarios for human-centered system design. We conducted an online study with 280 participants, balanced by age and gender, examin-ing how often, when, and how long individuals would nap if given the opportunity. The study also explored preferred wake-up methods when the vehicle nears the end of its operational design domain. Using a mixed 2x2 design, participants were assigned to one of two travel purposes (“commuting” vs. “holiday trip”) and two minimal risk condi-tions (rest area vs. hard shoulder). Results showed that 40% intended to sleep during automated driving, highlighting strong interest in in-car sleeping. Wake-up preferences varied by travel purpose and minimal risk condition, with many favoring awakening before the drive ended. Participants also anticipated sleep inertia and desired post-wake-up support. The findings allow suggestions for designing wake-up concepts that mitigate sleep inertia.

在自动驾驶场景中，驾驶员可能会在行驶过程中入睡，因此研究车内小憩偏好与唤醒场景，对于以人为中心的系统设计而言至关重要。我们开展了一项涵盖280名参与者的线上研究，该样本在年龄与性别维度均实现均衡分布，旨在考察参与者在获得行车小憩机会时的小憩频率、时机与持续时长。本研究同时探索了当车辆临近其运行设计域（operational design domain）边界时的偏好唤醒方式。本研究采用混合2×2实验设计，将参与者分配至两种出行场景（"通勤"与"假日出行"）以及两类最小风险状态（"休息区"与"硬路肩"）。结果显示，40%的参与者计划在自动驾驶过程中进行小憩，这凸显了用户对车内睡眠的浓厚兴趣。唤醒偏好会因出行目的与最小风险状态的不同而存在差异，多数参与者倾向于在行程结束前完成唤醒。参与者同时也预判到睡眠惰性（sleep inertia）的影响，并期望获得醒后支持服务。本研究结论可为设计能够缓解睡眠惰性的唤醒方案提供参考建议。