Horizon CDT Year 1

当人们步入老年时，他们会经历各种身体上的困难，并表现出认知能力下降的迹象，这可能会发展成像痴呆症这样的神经退行性疾病。通过各种方式驾驶和通勤是人们在生活中走动和感觉独立的一种方式。然而，由于老龄化带来的挣扎，可能有必要取消驾驶特权，这进一步导致一个人的健康状况下降，并可能对他们的照顾者产生连锁反应。因此，在看到认知能力下降的早期迹象后，在讨论停止驾驶之前讨论个人的驾驶安全可能是有益的。随着技术的进步，我们将看到更多无需人工干预就能在道路上安全行驶的车辆。这些车辆中先进的人机界面（hmi）可以弥补与年龄相关的影响驾驶的衰退。因此，这些技术带来了让驾驶和通勤变得方便的潜力，这可能在研究和设计中被忽视了。这位博士希望探索如何在高度自动化的车辆中使用人机界面，让那些仍在开车但因记忆力减退、认知能力下降或早期痴呆而挣扎的老年人更容易驾驶。这项研究并不着眼于开发这样一种技术，而是为它的制作提供信息——探索它的潜力，并揭示需要考虑的影响和问题。因此，博士将寻求解决以下研究问题。对于仍然开车的老年人来说，他们经历了什么样的挣扎，是由记忆丧失、认知能力下降或早期痴呆引起的？自动驾驶汽车技术中的人机界面如何弥补这些困难，使驾驶/通勤更方便？在为这个目的探索这项技术的过程中，负责任的研究需要关注哪些问题？为了评估该技术的使用，需要重新审视哪些政策或进行哪些更改？本文作者是由诺丁汉大学博士培养地平线中心(UKRI资助号：EP / S023305/1)。

s people approach old age, they experience various physical difficulties and show signs of cognitive decline which may progress into a neurodegenerative condition like dementia. Driving and commuting by various means is a way for people to move about and feel independent in their lives. However, due to the struggles that come with ageing, it may become necessary to withhold driving privileges, which further causes a decline in a person's health and a possible ripple effect on their caregivers. It is hence seen that it may be good to debate the driving safety of an individual before discussions of driving cessation, on seeing early signs of cognitive decline. With the progress in technology, we will see the coming of more vehicles that are able to safely operate on the roads without the need for human intervention. Advanced human-machine interfaces (HMIs) in these vehicles can compensate for age-related declines that affect driving. Hence, these technologies bring with them the potential to make driving and commuting accessible to a population that may have been overlooked in the research and design of it.The PhD hopes to explore how to make use of HMIs in highly automated vehicles to make driving better accessible to the older population that still drives but struggles with it owing to signs of memory loss, cognitive decline, or early-stage dementia. The research will not look to develop such a technology but rather inform the making of it - exploring its potential and bringing to light the implications and concerns that need to be thought of. The PhD will hence look to solve the following research questions.For the older population that still drives, what are the struggles they experience with it that are caused by memory loss, cognitive decline, or early-stage dementia? How can human-machine interfaces in automated vehicle technologies compensate for these struggles, to make driving/commute better accessible? What are some of the concerns of responsible research that come with exploring this technology for this purpose? What are the policies that need to be revisited or changes made to evaluate the use of this technology for this purpose? This author is supported by the Horizon Centre for Doctoral Training at the University of Nottingham (UKRI Grant No. EP/S023305/1).