Multimodal Mental workload assessment from L0 to L5 automation: Towards a ‎valid assessment method for L5‎

Abstract

Mental workload is an important construct for understanding human cognitive states in conventional, automated, and highly automated ‎vehicles. As vehicle automation progresses, the role of the human changes from active driving to supervision or passive use, which leads ‎to different types of cognitive demands across different levels of automation. Existing approaches for assessing mental workload in ‎automotive contexts have mainly relied on subjective questionnaires and, to a lesser extent, performance-based measures. While these ‎methods have been widely used in conventional and partially automated driving, their suitability for highly automated environments is ‎still under discussion, as the nature of human–vehicle interaction is changing. This workshop focuses on mental workload assessment in ‎conventional, automated, and highly automated vehicles. It brings together researchers and practitioners to critically discuss current ‎measurement approaches and their limitations, and to explore a broader set of assessment methods, including questionnaires, behavioral ‎measures, and neurophysiological techniques. The aim is to create a shared understanding of how mental workload can be assessed across ‎different levels of vehicle automation and to identify directions for improving existing evaluation methods and tools used in this field.