Human Factors Research Group
 

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David R. Large

Senior Research Fellow in Transport Human Factors, Faculty of Engineering

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Biography

Dr David R. Large is a Senior Research Fellow with the Human Factors Research Group at the University of Nottingham. David studied Mechanical and Manufacturing Engineering at Durham University and worked as a production manager within the food industry for almost 10 years. Returning to academia in 2007, David completed an MSc in Information Technology, followed by a PhD in Human Factors awarded in 2013 (both at the University of Nottingham).

As a post-doctoral researcher, David has been involved in a broad range of industry, UK and Internationally funded projects primarily concerning the design, evaluation and acceptance of novel and emerging in-vehicle human-machine interfaces (HMIs) and systems for both road and rail transport. Since gaining his PhD in 2013, David has authored over 100 peer-reviewed publications in International journals and conference proceedings, and received 6 Best Paper awards and nominations.

David is particularly interested in 'natural' methods of interaction (spoken language, gestures etc.) and the application and appropriation of anthropomorphism in technology design.

Expertise Summary

David excels in driver behaviour and performance measurement, practising a range of techniques, such as driving simulation, visual occlusion, eye-tracking and the collection of subjective and physiological measures to understand driver distraction, trust, acceptance etc. associated with vehicle-based technology and systems. He holds significant experience and expertise in novel, experimental design and collecting/interpreting eye-tracking data.

Teaching Summary

PhD supervision:

  • Emily Shaw: Future Human-Machine Interfaces (HMIs) for Automated Vehicles
  • Sparsh Khandeparker: Acceptance of voice interfaces in cars (2022- )
  • Maxwell Harding: HMI Design Principles and Guidelines to Support Driver Attention Management (2022- )
  • Hannah Parr: Considering the role of the operator in Remote Operation in Autonomous Vehicles from a Human Factors Perspective (2022- )
  • Adil Asmal: Exploring communication and collaboration via the use Extended Reality for social interaction (2022- )

Completed PhDs:

  • Eric T. Bloomquist, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University: Improving Accessibility of Fully Automated Driving Systems for Blind and Low Vision Riders (member of International PhD committee)
  • Vicki Antrobus: Natural Language Interfaces for Vehicle Navigation Systems (2019)
  • Ayse Eren: The Investigation of Interaction Mechanisms with In-Vehicle Infotainment Systems (IVIS) (2019)

Other teaching activities:

  • Supervises MEng, BEng, HF MSc and HCI MSc student projects
  • Lecturing: 'Anthropomorphism and Product Design' - delivered as part of Ergonomics in Design (MM2EID)
  • Supervision and assessment of literature review projects - Contemporary Issues in Human Factors and Interactive Systems (MM4HSD)
  • Project supervision and assessment - Practical Ergonomics Investigation (by distance learning) (MM4ECS)
  • Demonstrating - Simulation and Digital Human Modelling module (MM4SIM)

Research Summary

Current and recent research projects include:

  • In-vehicle Ambient Intelligence (AmI) interface design
  • Driver drowsiness and fatigue monitoring (with BlueSkeye-AI)
  • The Impact of Social Interactions on Handover Behaviour and Performance in Automated Vehicles (sponsored by the RAC Foundation)
  • Evaluating external Human-Machine Interfaces (e-HMIs) for future Autonomous Vehicles ('Ghost Driver')
  • Enhancing the user experience in future AVs in the ServCity project
  • "Chatty Car" - a UKRI Trustworthy Autonomous Systems (TAS) Hub agile project
  • Driver training for future automated vehicles (sponsored by the RAC Foundation)
  • Knowledge Transfer Partnership with Ultraleap
  • Natural language interfaces for autonomous vehicles (sponsored by a major vehicle manufacturer)
  • In-the-air haptic feedback for in-vehicle touchscreens (in collaboration with Ultraleap)
  • Assessing driver behaviour in the prospective use of automated vehicles (sponsored by the RAC Foundation)

Past Research

Previous research projects include:

  • Improving the effectiveness of active vulnerable road user (VRU) safety systems (Proactive Safety for Pedestrians and Cyclists (PROSPECT) funded from the European Community's Eighth Framework Program (Horizon2020) under grant agreement no. 634149)
  • The development of analytical methods to predict the visual demand of different HMIs early in the design process (sponsored by a major vehicle manufacturer)
  • Exploring how drivers interact with natural language HMIs in everyday driving (sponsored by a major vehicle manufacturer)
  • Designing HMIs to support transfer of control in highly automated driving (sponsored by a major vehicle manufacturer)
  • Driver awareness during automated driving (sponsored by a major vehicle manufacturer)
  • NHTSA compliance testing (sponsored by a major vehicle manufacturer)
  • Mirrorless Cars (sponsored by a major vehicle manufacturer)
  • Optimal Networks for Train Integration Management across Europe (ONTIME) (funded by EU FP7, agreement no. 285243)
  • Cultural Human Machine Interfaces in the UK and China (sponsored by a major vehicle manufacturer)
  • StressFree - mobile application to support multi-modal travel across London (funded by Technology Strategy Board)
  • In-Vehicle Smartphone Interfaces (sponsored by a major vehicle manufacturer)

Human Factors Research Group

Faculty of Engineering
The University of Nottingham
University Park, Nottingham
NG7 2RD, UK


Telephone: +44 (0) 115 951 4040
Email: human.factors@nottingham.ac.uk