Suzan Ayas

My PhD work aims to build in-vehicle systems that detect driver drowsiness and to alert the driver to an attentive state required for driving safely. The Respekt & Wertschätzung Scholarship by DAAD-Stiftung provided me this incredible opportunity to work together with Prof. Martin Baumann to extend my PhD research, which focused on manual driving (i.e., no automated driving), to partially automated driving settings.

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The city of Ulm (photo taken from the bridge across the Danube river)

My research project in Universität Ulm focused on understanding how partially automated driving could lead to driver drowsiness and whether and how driver monitoring systems could mitigate its negative impacts. Partially automated driving is particularly dangerous because drivers do not have to do anything related to driving until they need to navigate a critical situation that the automation cannot handle. Thus, if the driver is drowsy right before an unexpected situation unfolds, they may not be ready to take over vehicle control.

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Around Ulm and Ulmer Münster

With this collaborative project, we wanted to investigate whether engaging drivers in a cognitive task would help them maintain their alertness during partially automated driving. We also wanted to investigate what level of cognitive task would be the best without distracting the driver. Towards this goal, we conducted a driver simulator experiment and recruited 40 participants. We collected physiological (e.g., heart rate, eye metrics) and driving performance data while participants drove with automated driving systems engaged. Our preliminary results showed although eye-closure measure did not show significant change, participants’ perceived drowsiness and observable drowsiness levels decreased under cognitive tasks.

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Test Mercedes made available for research purposes

When I arrived in Ulm, I received great support and a warm welcome from my host supervisor as well as my colleagues. The lab consisted of multiple PhD students with a mix of background, around half were German and the other half were internationals from China, Czech, and Pakistan. I also worked with a master’s student from India during my time. I enjoyed learning about the differences in the lab and work culture and the types of research opportunities exist in Germany in my field.

The exceptional research facilities at the university and support from my colleagues allowed me to conduct a successful experiment during my stay. I am currently working on publishing the results of this experiment to contribute to the understanding of automated vehicles and driver drowsiness. Through this collaboration, I gained experience in a valuable research area of automated driving.

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Enjoying nature

During the summer months, my lab held many social events such as hosting visiting professors from Europe, research workshops, and other outings through which I got to make many connections. I formally presented my previous research projects with other members and introduced a research methodology that I had learned from my home university. Through my host supervisor’s connections, we were able to do test drives with the most advanced vehicles (e.g., BMW 7 series, Mercedes S class) on road today that use partial automation – an opportunity I would not have gotten elsewhere! It was inspiring to see how our research was applied in actual products and how much more research that had to be done.

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On a hike close to Schloß Neuschwanstein

In Ulm, I stayed at a small apartment in Blaustein, a small town right next to Ulm. 15,000 people live in Blaustein, while 129,000 people live in Ulm. Before coming to Ulm, I was a bit worried about how it would be to live in such a small place, since all the cities I lived in before had at least a million people. However, life in both Blaustein and Ulm was very quiet and peaceful, except for Sundays – I had a great time attending festivals almost every Sunday in the summer months. On the other hand, shops being closed on Sundays was also a big culture shock for me despite knowing about it before my arrival. I quickly adapted to it and appreciated having a rest day.

My weekdays would start with taking a regional train from Blaustein for 7 minutes to go to the city followed by a 15 minute S-Bahn ride to reach the university. The connectivity that trains provide in Germany was impressive. I really enjoyed taking the train and going into the lab every day as we met for lunch or coffee during the day. During these times, we shared our research experiences or experiences of being a visiting or international student. Many of the German students had been on an exchange year in Canada, so we had a lot to talk about. On my way back, I also would walk for 30 minutes through a stunning path if the weather was nice. And on days with clear skies, one could even see the Alps.

Over the weekends, I made use of my monthly train ticket and visited nearby cities. Each city has its own history and culture, as well as festivals over the summer. Being on the border of Baden-Württemberg and Bayern, I visited Munich, Stuttgart, Tübingen and completed a few hikes near Bodensee, the Black Forrest, the Neuschwanstein Castle and the German Alps. I was also happy to visit Turkish restaurants and markets in Germany which allowed me to introduce my culture to my host lab through sharing delicious food and desserts. In addition, I was able to improve my German skills while traveling (e.g., asking for directions and listening to announcements) or running errands (e.g., at the post office, or while shopping). I tried out many German dishes and found my favourite ones: Flammkuchen and Spätzle! Because I liked Spätzle so much, a friend gave me a Spätzle maker as a goodbye gift. I brought back with me Kaffee und Kuchen culture to Canada.

Overall, I learned a lot and made great connections during my time in Germany. I am very grateful to Dr. Michael Aven and DAAD-Stiftung for kindly facilitating my stay in Ulm and I look forward to finishing my PhD, hoping to give back similar opportunities to the next generations.