A new scenario based approach for designing driver support systems applied to the design of a lane change support system

Designing a new driver support system that meets the expectations of drivers is a difficult and time-consuming process. Despite the availability of various types of design support, it has essentially remained a process in which designers are forced to make assumptions about what other people want. This paper presents a new approach for determining users’ preferences and finding the best compromise between those preferences when designing a new driver support system. Using scenarios, virtual reality simulation, and gaming principles, the new approach gives users a pro-active role in the design process. To evaluate the new approach, it was applied to the design of a lane change support system. This resulted in a hierarchy of information that is a detailed, consistent and reliable image of users’ preferences. By combining this hierarchy with a manufacturing and marketing constraint, the design specification of a lane change support system was deduced. One of the many findings was that a lane change support system should be modular and that modules for the left side should be different from modules for the right side of the vehicle. The paper concludes with reasoning why the new approach offers added value for the design of driver support systems.