The Top Citizen Science (TCS) project Gemeinsam Fahren wir Besser – GeFaBe (i.e. together we drive better) aims at closing people’s knowledge gap with regard to advanced driving assistance systems (ADAS). This is achieved by exploring drivers’ everyday experiences with ADAS and deriving appropriate teaching materials and implications for training lessons together with the citizen scientists. The project is an expansion to the MaDSAV project funded by the Austrian Science Fund (FWF) under contract number TCS41.

In modern vehicles the number of Advanced Driving Assistance Systems (ADAS),which are like mediators in the process towards the autonomous vehicle of the future,is increasing. But as research states there is a gap in drivers’ knowledge on how to use these systems. From a user-centered perspective, many questions arise out of this precarious situation:

• What do car drivers know about (their) ADAS?
• How do they deal with these systems?
• How do they perceive their functional range?
• How do they experience the interaction with these systems?
• What could be done to close the existing knowledge gap on ADAS?

The GeFaBe project aims at answering these questions by exploring drivers’ everyday experiences with ADAS and deriving appropriate teaching materials and implications for trainings. Drivers and co-drivers from all across Austria and beyond, from novice drivers to experienced drivers, who frequently interact with and experience ADAS, contribute as citizen scientists to reach these goals. They share their everyday experiences with ADAS by means of the GeFaBe-App and, in cooperation with the CHCI scientists, develop teaching lessons and recommendations for ADAS-relevant trainings in order to make the interaction with the ADAS and the traffic on Austria’s roads safer. The training materials will be made available publicly and will be passed on to driving schools, driver safety training centers, and other relevant stakeholders.

If you want to take part in the project as a citizen scientist go to our project website gefabe.at.

Duration: 11/2017 – 10/2018

Project Website: gefabe.at

Funding: Austrian Science Fund (FWF), contract number TCS41.