Driver’s Pedal Control for Detecting Pedal Misapplication

Drivers sometimes operate the accelerator pedal instead of the brake pedal due to driver error, potentially resulting in serious accidents. Acceleration Control for Pedal Error (ACPE) has been developed, a system that detects such errors and controls vehicle acceleration to prevent these incidents. The United Nations is already considering regulations for this technology. If ACPE can detect errors based on the operations of the accelerator pedal at various driving speeds, the system will be even more effective in terms of safety. The purpose of this study is to investigate the operation characteristics of the accelerator pedal and brake pedal, focusing on the pedal operation characteristics of pedal stroke speed and pedal force speed used as thresholds for the operation of ACPE. We believe that if there is a significant difference in the operations of the accelerator pedal and brake pedals while driving, it can be used as a threshold for judging misstep. In this study, we utilized a driving simulator to conduct driving experiments that simulated urban and highway environments. This enabled us to collect data on drivers' operations of the accelerator and brake pedals, including metrics like pedal stroke speed and pedal force speed. The scenario of the experiment was a scene in which the driver follows a car ahead that repeatedly accelerates and decelerates in both urban and highway areas. The results of the analysis of the pedal stroke speed and the pedal force speed showed that the brake pedal was operated faster than the accelerator pedal, with a significant difference confirmed.