Motoyuki Akamatsu

National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology · Automotive Human Factors Research Center

Although Human Factors and Ergonomics （HFE） is regarded an academic discipline to understand interaction between human and system, a theory for understanding the interaction has not yet been established. For the aim of understanding interaction in terms of task demand and performance, we examined concepts developed in related disciplines, and tried...

The definition of ergonomics was adopted by the IEA. It is, in short, “the scientific discipline concerned with the understanding of the interactions, and the profession to design a system that optimizes well-being and system performance.” There is no objection to this content, but it is not necessarily obvious that ergonomics, which has contribute...

This study explores the potentials of utilizing GPS data for Activity-Based Models, under the condition that no additional information, such as travel diaries, is required. To extract activity details, we first developed a Time-Spatial Centroid-based Clustering algorithm to identify activity locations and times. Then a Home Detection algorithm was...

Background Motorized transport access and out-of-home activities are two potential correlates of Life-space mobility (LSM), a common research topic in mobility studies of older adults. These correlates remain mostly unexplored in previous literature and relating them with LSM can reveal directions for improving the LSM of older adults. Methods The...

Activity-Based Models (ABMs) have become popular in travel behavior analysis. This study is concerned with utilizing Conditional Random Fields (CRFs), a popular classifier in machine learning, for analyzing activity sequences which is a crucial part of ABMs. Using a dataset collected in a large household survey in Japan, 2020, we postulated three m...

This paper describes an investigation of the relationships among drivers’ demographic characteristics, their driving style, and their workload sensitivity using questionnaire surveys. The driver’s demographic characteristics included age, gender, driving experience, annual mileage, driving frequency, and region. The driving style was assessed using...

Understanding factors regarding individual variability in human mobility during the COVID-19 pandemic would help inform future political and medical decisions. Particularly, understanding environmental factors would provide effective evidence for future urban development and the construction of a mobility service. Given the limited related evidence...

For automated driving at SAE level 3 or lower, driver performance in responding to takeover requests (TORs) is decisive in providing system safety. A driver state monitoring system that can predict a driver’s performance in a TOR event will facilitate a safer control transition from vehicle to driver. This experimental study investigated whether dr...

A one-pedal system for operating an electric vehicle allows drivers to flexibly accelerate and decelerate (and even stop) by using just an accelerator pedal. Based on previous findings, one-pedal operation is considered to have the potential to increase positive emotions and decrease cognitive workload. To test this possibility, the present study c...

Although automated driving systems can perform dynamic driving tasks, at its lower levels, human drivers must still take over control of the vehicle whenever a Take Over Request (TOR) is issued. Human factors such as drowsiness may affect driver performance in responding to TOR. Results of research on the effects of different drowsiness levels on d...

This paper describes an investigation of evaluation indices for assessing driver conditions when using an automated driving system. We focused on a driver drowsiness in the automated mode. A driving simulator experiment was conducted to identify evaluation indices which were sensitive to the subjective evaluation of the driver’s drowsiness. The fol...

The Japan Human Factors and Ergonomics Society(JES) conducted an online survey including the full members of JES who are working at educational institutions, to collect information on their response status during the COVID-19 crisis. The results revealed that less than 40% of the respondents were aware of the appropriate human factors and ergonomic...

The present study investigated effects of cognitive and visual loads on driving performance after takeover request (TOR) in an automated driving task. Participants completed automated driving in a driving simulator without a non-driving related task, with an easy non-driving related task, and with a difficult non-driving related task. The primary t...

This paper describes a validation study of evaluation metrics of driver states while using an automated driving system and driving behaviors after the transition to manual driving. We conducted a driving simulator experiment with 28 participants and a test course experiment with 13 participants. In both experiments, we used a mind-off-road state as...

Although automated driving systems can perform dynamic driving tasks, at its lower levels, human drivers must still take over control of the vehicle whenever a Take Over Request (TOR) is issued. Human factors such as drowsiness may affect driver performance in responding to TOR. Results of research on the effects of different drowsiness levels on d...

Various data related to driving of older drivers were collected in this research to construct database, called Data Repository for Human Life-Driving Anatomy (Dahlia). The database includes visual functions, cognitive performance, driving aptitude tests, and questionnaires about driving attitudes and belief obtained from approximate 300 drivers. Fu...

Introduction: During SAE level 3 automated driving, the driver's role changes from active driver to fallback-ready driver. Drowsiness is one of the factors that may degrade driver's takeover performance. This study aimed to investigate effects of non-driving related tasks (NDRTs) to counter driver's drowsiness with a Level 3 system activated and t...

During automated driving at SAE level 2 or level 3, the driver's role changes from an active driver to a fallback-ready driver, whose mental state must still be prepared for a takeover request (TOR) when prompted. This preliminary study investigates the sensitivity of eye-movement measures in assessing the mental state of fallback-ready drivers in...

Because current automated vehicles have operational limitations, it is important to ensure that the fallback-ready driver is able to perform appropriately when required to take over control of the vehicle. However, time-related increase in driver drowsiness is well-known, and drowsy driving can affect response to take-over request (TOR). It was pre...

In order to safely use autonomous vehicle technologies, it is important to understand the state of drivers’ attention as they ride in Level 3 self-driving vehicles, because they might be required to take manual control of the vehicle in certain situations. We assumed that the attentional state of a driver who has perfect confidence in a self-drivin...

Synthetic-type research is conducted by private companies, public institutes, and universities to realize societal value by scientific and technological methods. Synthesiology is a scientific journal that enables authors to describe the processes and results of this kind of research. Editors specifically request authors to describe their scenario f...

Synthetic-type research is conducted by private companies, public institutes, and universities to realize societal value by scientific and technological methods. Synthesiology is a scientific journal that enables authors to describe the processes and results of this kind of research. Editors specifically request authors to describe their scenario f...

We developed head-up display (HUD) in the AIST driving simulator. The information on the HUD is displayed on the front screen using an additional projector that is mounted on the roof of the vehicle cabin. The projection range covers the entire windshield. We evaluated driver's acceptance of the HUD that is presented around a location of a leading...

In this paper, we describe a longitudinal study of driving behaviors of elderly drivers which have been conducted in real road environments. The longitudinal measurement of the driving behaviors on actual roads is expected to clarify the compensatory behaviors and potentially risky behaviors. We compared the driving behaviors of three elderly drive...

In this study, we aimed to obtain some guides to design a support system for handing-over at a health care service by analyzing some contents in a handing-over notebook which employees engaging in a health care service use in everyday work to tell information concerning their work. Therefore, we conducted a qualitative study for employees engaging...

This paper reviews the history of automotive technology development and human factors research, largely by decade, since the inception of the automobile. The human factors aspects were classified into primary driving task aspects (controls, displays, and visibility), driver workspace (seating and packaging, vibration, comfort, and climate), driver'...

This paper reviews the history of automotive technology development and human factors research, largely by decade, since the inception of the automobile. The human factors aspects were classified into primary driving task aspects (controls, displays, and visibility), driver workspace (seating and packaging, vibration, comfort, and climate), driver'...

We investigated the impact of deregulating the presence of stop signs at railway crossings on car driver behavior. We estimated the probability that a driver would stop inside the crossing, thereby obstructing the tracks, when a lead vehicle suddenly stopped after the crossing and a stop regulation was eliminated. We proposed a new assessment metho...

The Graduate School of System Design and Management, Keio University was established in 2008. This school aims to create a comprehensive and integrated discipline that offers creative solutions to various issues in our society. Since their way of thinking is instructive for Synthesiology, a journal that seeks synthetic methodology for disseminating...

In the R&D for creating a product or business, the approach is taken where the necessary elemental technologies are integrated to achieve the goal, while many basic researches are driven by intellectual curiosity. On the other hand, in the R&D conducted using public funding, basic and fundamental researches that cannot be done by private companies...

In this research, cooking behaviors in the kitchen are measured using behavior observation methods to achieve improvements in both quality and work efficiency. In the first study, the cooking behaviors of proficient kitchen staff and normal kitchen staff are observed. Corrective strategies are then discussed through analyzing the relationship with...

The methodology of synthesis has been studied by analyzing 70 papers published in the academic journal, Synthesiology, launched in 2008. As a result, it has been found that each technological field has its distinctive features, e.g. there are many break-through type syntheses in biotechnology and nanotechnology, and the strategic selection types ar...

A prediction model based on naturalistic driving on ordinary roads is proposed. Driving behaviour at 69 curves obtained from a Japanese driving database was investigated, and a curve entrance velocity model was obtained as a prediction function of two arguments, the mean curvature radius and the velocity tendency of the curve. Velocity tendency is...

Seat belts for rear passengers are not commonly used, even though they can significantly reduce fatalities. A passenger seat belt reminder (PSBR) is installed in order to encourage seat belt use, but the effectiveness of PSBRs on the rear seat passenger has not yet been proven. We have developed a methodology to assess PSBR effectiveness. There are...

Editor-in-Chief Ono and Senior Editor Akamatsu of Synthesiology visited Mr. Hiroshi Kuwahara, Senior Corporate Adviser of Hitachi-Maxell, Ltd., former Vice-Chairman of Hitachi, Ltd., and former member of the Council for Science and Technology Policy. Mr. Kuwahara is also a member of the Systems Science and Technology Committee headed by Senior Fell...

When technology development is conducted based only on a developer's idea, we face difficulties in realizing products and services that will be well accepted by people. This is because it is difficult for a developer to know precisely how various users think and feel while using products or receiving services under real life situations. In order to...

This study investigated elderly drivers' strategic use of compensatory behaviours based on their sensitivities to driving workload. We conducted a questionnaire survey of 159 drivers including 83 elderly drivers (65 or more years old) and 76 non-elderly drivers (from 25 to 49 years old). The questionnaire included the compensatory behaviours of eld...

The methodology of synthesis has been studied by analyzing 70 papers published in the academic journal, Synthesiology, launched in 2008. As a result, it has been found that each technological field has its distinctive features, e.g. there are many break-through type syntheses in biotechnology and nanotechnology, and the strategic selection types ar...

In full-service restaurants, it is important to share customer information among staff members in real time in order to perform complicated operations. Conventional point of sale (POS) systems in restaurants was developed to improve the verification and transmission of order information passed from the dining hall to the kitchen. However, POS syste...

When technology development is conducted based only on a developer's idea, we face difficulties in realizing products and services that will be well accepted by people. This is because it is difficult for a developer to know precisely how various users think and feel while using products or receiving services under real life situations. In order to...

This paper proposes a method to improve the cooking processes and distribution of workload for employees in a restaurant specializing in dinner in order to meet the varying demands of customers' orders. In a restaurant, the total number of dishes differs each day. However, the method of changing the workload distribution among cooking staff accordi...

Patients that have an health service by doctor have to wait long time at many hospitals. The long waiting time is the worst factor of patient's dissatisfaction for hospital service according to questionnaire for patients. The present paper describes an estimation method of the waiting time for each patient without an electronic medical chart system...

This paper describes an investigation of how drivers control task demands while approaching intersections in actual road environments. Field experiments using an AIST instrumented vehicle were conducted on rural roads (Tsukuba area) and urban roads (Tokyo area) to collect data on vehicle status and driver behavior. We collected driver behavior data...

We evaluated the probability of stopping inside a railway crossing due to lead vehicle's sudden stopping when "stop" before entering the railway crossing is deregulated. Road environment of driving along the railway crossing was reproduced in a driving simulator. 30 drivers participating this experiment drove at low speeds or at high speeds while f...

Guidelines for innovative medical devices such as the artificial heart, the artificial materials, equipments for regenerative medicine, DNA-chips for gene analysis, surgical robots and others are discussed and proposed. Those guidelines are terribly useful for industries that would like to propose review process at PMDA (Pharmaceuticals and Medical...

We have just completed the second year of Synthesiology which was launched in 2008. Four issues each of Volumes 1 and 2 were published during the two years, including 49 research papers and 14 articles and interviews. We received various responses from the readers through the questionnaires in each issue. The editors of the journal held a round-tab...

In full-service restaurants, it is important to share customer information among staff members in real time to perform complicated operations. Conventional point of sale (POS) systems in restaurants were developed to improve the verification and transmission of order information passed from the dining hall to the kitchen. However, POS systems have...

This study analyses naturalistic driving behaviour before making turns at intersections. Instrumented vehicles recorded drivers' preparatory behaviour, including moving the right foot to cover the brake pedal and activating the turn-signal, while approaching the turning point on public roads. Data were analysed for relations between driver preparat...

The frequency of drivers' backward glancing during stationary expressway driving was investigated, and a statistical description model was proposed. The result demonstrated that the distribution of backward glancing intervals can be well described as a mixture of two lognormal distributions. Since backward glancing is a subsidiary visual activity f...

日本工学アカデミーには、社会のための工学という立場から、どのような科学技術政策が必要かを分析し、有効な政策提言を行なう政策委員会があります。その政策委員会のもとで、我が国が重視すべき科学技術のあり方に関する提言が行なわれました。この提言のためのタスクフォースの幹事の鈴木浩さんに本誌赤松幹之編集幹事がインタビューして、ここで提唱されている「根本的エンジニンリング」の考えをうかがい、シンセシオロジーとの関連について話し合いました。

In this study, a series of on-road observations were conducted to derive information necessary for safe and enjoyable driving. Four pairs of participants were chosen from among those responding to a Web survey and attending a follow-up interview. Each pair was asked to drive six routes. Three of the routes were familiar to one of the pair and new t...

In this study, a series of on-road observations were conducted to derive information necessary for safe and enjoyable driving. Four pairs of participants were chosen from among those responding to a Web survey and attending a follow-up interview. Each pair was asked to drive six routes. Three of the routes were familiar to one of the pair and new t...

This paper describes a comparison study of driver's car following behavior between Southampton (UK) and Tsukuba (Japan). AIST and TRG have developed instrumented vehicles, and filed experiments for behavioral data collection were conducted in each country. The research focused on the static (distribution of inter-vehicle distances and desired headw...

We evaluate the probability of stopping inside a railway crossing due to lead vehicle's sudden stopping when "stop" before entering the railway crossing is deregulated. Road environment of driving along the railway crossing was reproduced in a driving simulator. 30 drivers participating this experiment drove with various kinds of driving contexts,...

In a full-service restaurant, it is crucial to share order information among staff in the dining room and kitchen. This paper introduces a real-time process management system for restaurants using an advanced point-of-sale (POS) system by which staff can share order information in real time. In this system, kitchen staff can check all customer orde...