Abstract

In-vehicle measurement of emotions to account for the emotional effects on drivers of traffic conditions is crucial for enhancing human-vehicle interaction. Recent research has shown that drivers' emotions influence risk perception and driving performance. For example, fear has been found to correlate with more moderate and slower driving, while anger boosts a more risk-taking behavior. Therefore, there exist the need for a continuous assessment of the driver's emotional status, especially those emotions related to negative valence. The paper analyzes psychophysiological signals to obtain markers that allow a more precise distinction between negative valence and high arousal emotional reactions. This is done through a driving study in a simulator, in which 37 certified drivers of passenger buses were subjected to incidences on the route of either danger, difficulty, or neutrality. Results show that the induced emotional response leads different features derived from the psychophysiological signals to change after the threats significantly.