Simultaneous Remote Monitoring of Multiple Automated Vehicles

As vehicle automation continues to become a more prevalent part of everyday life, remote operators may be able to contribute to making this technology safer and more efficient. Such operators could be expected to monitor vehicles until it is necessary for them to intervene. In recent years several countries have passed legislation mandating the implementation of remote operation, making it a plausible scenario. For many practical reasons, operators may monitor more than one vehicle. This study provides an initial look into how remote operators might perform when asked to attend to multiple concurrent displays using simulated automated vehicles. The initial results indicate that participants retained a comparable level of accuracy in detecting failures in automation as the number of vehicles they monitored rose from one to two, albeit with a higher workload. The results and the methodology provide insights into potential task designs for remote operators of automated vehicles.