Dialog with trucks - A driving simulator study exploring situationally-aware conversational agents

Abstract

Current AI-based conversational agents (CAs) largely lack situational awareness, limiting their ability to understand driving context, driver state, and immediate driver needs. Consequently, the use of CA may increase drivers’ cognitive load and impair safety and user experience. This study investigates the role of situationally aware CA in long-haul trucks and how such CA should be designed to support drivers in an efficient way. The insights were gathered through a Wizard-of-Oz driving simulator study exploring two CA concepts. The results show that CA are well-suited for strategic tasks, could be useful for some tactical tasks depending on the cognitive load, and are generally inappropriate at the operational level, where they interfere with core driving actions. Effective CA design must prioritize driving as the primary task, adapt interaction timing to drivers’ cognitive load, and ensure transparency and predictability to build trust.