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  1. We present an analysis of 6 h oscillations in the thermosphere ranging from 150 km to 400 km. The analysis applies 134 days of data from an incoherent scatter radar located at Arecibo Observatory (18.3°N, 66.7°W) from 1984 to 2015. To our knowledge, the climatological and seasonal characteristics of the 6 h oscillations in the thermosphere were investigated for the first time over Arecibo. The climatological mean amplitude of the 6 h oscillation in the thermosphere is about 11 m/s, and it increases slowly with altitude above 225 km. The climatological mean amplitude of the 6 h oscillation is comparable with semidiurnal and terdiurnal tides at Arecibo above 250 km. The climatological mean phase exhibits limited vertical variation. The 6 h oscillation is the most prominent in autumn, with amplitudes reaching around 20 m/s compared to approximately 10 m/s in other seasons. The phase structure in all seasons exhibits weak vertical variations. The responses of the thermospheric 6 h oscillation to solar and geomagnetic activities are also analyzed in this study. Our results indicate that at low latitude, solar activities have a small impact on the variation in the thermospheric 6 h oscillation, while it appears that the amplitude of the 6 h oscillation increases with increasing geomagnetic activity. Above 250 km, the amplitude of the 6 h oscillation reaches ~20 m/s during strong geomagnetic activity, which is almost twice of that occurring during weak geomagnetic activity.

     
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    Free, publicly-accessible full text available November 1, 2024
  2. Objective

    This study investigated the impact of driving styles of drivers and automated vehicles (AVs) on drivers’ perception of automated driving maneuvers and quantified the relationships among drivers’ perception of AV maneuvers, driver trust, and acceptance of AVs.

    Background

    Previous studies on automated driving styles focused on the impact of AV’s global driving style on driver’s attitude and driving performance. However, research on drivers’ perception of automated driving maneuvers at the specific driving style level is still lacking.

    Method

    Sixteen aggressive drivers and sixteen defensive drivers were recruited to experience twelve driving scenarios in either an aggressive AV or a defensive AV on the driving simulator. Their perception of AV maneuvers, trust, and acceptance was measured via questionnaires, and driving performance was collected via the driving simulator.

    Results

    Results revealed that drivers’ trust and acceptance of AVs would decrease significantly if they perceived AVs to have a higher speed, larger deceleration, smaller deceleration, or shorter stopping distance than expected. Moreover, defensive drivers perceived significantly greater inappropriateness of these maneuvers from aggressive AVs than defensive AVs, whereas aggressive drivers didn’t differ significantly in their perceived inappropriateness of these maneuvers with different driving styles.

    Conclusion

    The driving styles of automated vehicles and drivers influenced drivers’ perception of automated driving maneuvers, which influence their trust and acceptance of AVs.

    Application

    This study suggested that the design of AVs should consider drivers’ perceptions of automated driving maneuvers to avoid undermining drivers’ trust and acceptance of AVs.

     
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  3. In highly and fully automated vehicles (AV), drivers could divert their attention to non-driving-related activities. Drivers may also take over AVs if they do not trust the way AVs drive in specific driving scenarios. Existing models have been developed to predict drivers’ takeover performance in responding to takeover requests initiated by AVs in semi-AVs. However, few models predicted driver-initiated takeover behavior in highly and fully AVs. The present study develops an attention-based multiple-input Convolutional Neural Network (CNN) to predict drivers’ takeover intention in fully AVs. The results indicated that the developed model successfully predicted takeover intentions of drivers with a precision of 0.982 and an F1-Score of.989, which were found to be substantially higher than other machine learning algorithms. The developed CNN model could be applied in improving the driving algorithms of the AV by considering drivers’ driving styles to reduce drivers’ unnecessary takeover behaviors. 
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  4. Objective This study investigated drivers’ subjective feelings and decision making in mixed traffic by quantifying driver’s driving style and type of interaction. Background Human-driven vehicles (HVs) will share the road with automated vehicles (AVs) in mixed traffic. Previous studies focused on simulating the impacts of AVs on traffic flow, investigating car-following situations, and using simulation analysis lacking experimental tests of human drivers. Method Thirty-six drivers were classified into three driver groups (aggressive, moderate, and defensive drivers) and experienced HV-AV interaction and HV-HV interaction in a supervised web-based experiment. Drivers’ subjective feelings and decision making were collected via questionnaires. Results Results revealed that aggressive and moderate drivers felt significantly more anxious, less comfortable, and were more likely to behave aggressively in HV-AV interaction than in HV-HV interaction. Aggressive drivers were also more likely to take advantage of AVs on the road. In contrast, no such differences were found for defensive drivers indicating they were not significantly influenced by the type of vehicles with which they were interacting. Conclusion Driving style and type of interaction significantly influenced drivers’ subjective feelings and decision making in mixed traffic. This study brought insights into how human drivers perceive and interact with AVs and HVs on the road and how human drivers take advantage of AVs. Application This study provided a foundation for developing guidelines for mixed transportation systems to improve driver safety and user experience. 
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