Human Factors Considerations of Remote Operation Supporting Level 4 Automation

Remote operation is an approach used to aid the deployment of highly automated vehicles (HAVs, SAE Level 4) on public roads. Although there has been substantial technological and legal progress for a human operator to remotely support HAVs, Human Factors research can further enhance its success by helping to enable safe, efficient, and user-friendly remote operation. In a breakout session at ARTS2023, participants discussed the aspects that human factors researchers should consider when contributing to remote HAV operation development. These included safety, training, interface design, tasks, roles, standards, and laws regarding remote operation of HAVs. In addition, this paper provides a short overview of the international efforts currently taking place to standardize and legalize remote operation. The results contribute to an agenda for research and better understanding of the opportunities and challenges of remote operations from a human factors perspective.