In level 3 automated vehicles, drivers are not required to pay attention to the road but are still expected to respond quickly to a Take Over Request (TOR) in unexpected conditions. As this...Show moreIn level 3 automated vehicles, drivers are not required to pay attention to the road but are still expected to respond quickly to a Take Over Request (TOR) in unexpected conditions. As this presents a danger to road safety, exploring design solutions for the TOR is imperative. Research has shown that reaction times can be made faster by manipulating the perceived ownership of an avatar by making it glow in synchrony with a participant’s physiology. Interestingly, this effect was increased for those with high empathy. We investigated whether this manipulation could be used to reduce reaction times to a TOR. Furthermore, we investigated whether reaction times would decrease more in those with high empathy and whether the manipulation would increase perceived ownership of the vehicle, as measured by a self-identification questionnaire. Participants were in a driving simulation in virtual reality, where ambient lighting pulsed around them in synchrony with their breathing. Unfortunately, the results found did not support our hypothesis. There was not enough evidence to conclude that visuo-respiratory synchronization facilitates faster responses to a TOR in a Level 3 automated vehicle. In line with these results, we did not find evidence of self-identification with the vehicle after visuo-respiratory synchronization. However, we found promising results about the relationship between empathy and reaction times during visuo-respiratory synchronization. A post hoc analysis revealed a clear negative relationship. As empathy increased, reaction times to the TOR decreased, indicating that the effect of our manipulation increased as empathy got higher.Show less
