Horizon CDT Year 1

当人们接近老年时，他们会经历各种各样的身体困难，并表现出认知能力下降的迹象，这可能会发展成神经退行性疾病，如痴呆症。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，由于老龄化带来的斗争，可能有必要保留驾驶特权，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涟漪反应。因此，可以看出，在讨论停止驾驶之前，在看到认知能力下降的早期迹象时，讨论个人的驾驶安全可能是好的。随着技术的进步，我们将看到更多的车辆能够安全地在道路上行驶，而无需人为干预。这些车辆中的先进人机界面（HMI）可以补偿影响驾驶的年龄相关下降。因此，这些技术有可能使驾驶和通勤成为可能在研究和设计中被忽视的人群。博士希望探索如何在高度自动化的车辆中使用HMI，以使驾驶更好地为老年人所用，这些老年人仍然驾驶，但由于记忆丧失，认知能力下降或早期痴呆症的迹象而与之斗争。这项研究不会开发这样的技术，而是为它的开发提供信息-探索其潜力，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。对于仍在开车的老年人来说，他们所经历的由记忆丧失、认知能力下降或早期痴呆症引起的挣扎是什么？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/通勤更容易？出于这一目的探索这项技术时，负责任的研究会带来哪些担忧？为了评估这项技术的使用情况，需要重新审查哪些政策或进行哪些修改？本文作者得到了诺丁汉大学地平线博士培训中心（UKRI批准号EP/S 023305/1）的支持。

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).