A new computational perceived risk model for automated vehicles based on potential collision avoidance difficulty (PCAD)

Perceived risk is crucial in designing trustworthy and acceptable vehicle automation systems. However, our understanding of its dynamics is limited, and models for perceived risk dynamics are scarce in the literature. This study formulates a new computational perceived risk model based on potential collision avoidance difficulty (PCAD) for drivers of SAE level 2 driving automation. PCAD uses the 2D safe velocity gap as the potential collision avoidance difficulty, and takes into account collision severity. The safe velocity gap is defined as the 2D gap between the current velocity and the safe velocity region, and represents the amount of braking and steering needed, considering behavioural uncertainty of neighbouring vehicles and imprecise control of the subject vehicle. The PCAD predicts perceived risk both in continuous time and per event. We compare the PCAD model with three state-of-the-art models and analyse the models both theoretically and empirically with two unique datasets: Dataset Merging and Dataset Obstacle Avoidance. The PCAD model generally outperforms the other models in terms of model error, detection rate, and the ability to accurately capture the tendencies of human drivers' perceived risk, albeit at a longer computation time. Additionally, the study shows that the perceived risk is not static and varies with the surrounding traffic conditions. This research advances our understanding of perceived risk in automated driving and paves the way for improved safety and acceptance of driving automation systems.