  The Thinking Wave is an ongoing development of visualization concepts showing
the real-time effort and confidence of semi-autonomous vehicle (AV) systems.
Offering drivers access to this information can inform their decision making,
and enable them to handle the situation accordingly and takeover when
necessary. Two different visualizations have been designed, Concept one, Tidal,
demonstrates the AV systems effort through intensified activity of a simple
graphic which fluctuates in speed and frequency. Concept two, Tandem, displays
the effort of the AV system as well as the handling dynamic and shared
responsibility between the driver and the vehicle system. Working
collaboratively with mobility research teams at the University of Tokyo, we are
prototyping and refining the Thinking Wave and its embodiments as we work
towards building a testable version integrated into a driving simulator. The
development of the thinking wave aims to calibrate trust by increasing the
drivers knowledge and understanding of vehicle handling capacity. By enabling
transparent communication of the AV systems capacity, we hope to empower
AV-skeptic drivers and keep over-trusting drivers on alert in the case of an
emergency takeover situation, in order to create a safer autonomous driving
experience.
