# Interface Design for Responsible Remote Driving: A Study on Technological Mediation
## 4 Interface Design Analysis
### Sight: Video Feedback
#### 4.1.1 Monitors  
The real-time footage captured by cameras and communicated to the control station is usually displayed on monitor setups varying in number, kind, size, and resolution. Traditional LCD screens are commonly used due to their affordability, reliability, and availability in various sizes and resolutions. However, the compression of video feeds on monitors that are not wide enough might result in geometric distortions [16; 41]. To cope with this issue, configurations combining three (or more) monitors, as shown, e.g., in Figure 3, are widespread, offering an affordable solution to ensure a FOV up to 180 degrees without the need to compress the video information. However, it is fundamental to position the screens without gaps and with a correct FOV calculation, as an incorrect setting might negatively affect ROs' driving performance. Curved ultra-wide screen panels are also becoming increasingly popular. Offering a FOV akin to the regular one, these screens allow visual information displayed at sides to maintain a consistent distance from the ROs' eyes compared to the center of the screen, which is not always the case with multiple screens, while also minimizing visual artefacts such as glares or image distortions and calibrating performances to offer realistic feedback. However, a single curved monitor currently costs significantly more than a three-screen configuration providing the same FOV. Moreover, when video feeds incoming from different camera sensors are to be displayed on one single curve screen, high-quality video stitching--a rather expensive technique--becomes necessary to provide a comprehensive view of the surroundings. In fact, poor-quality stitching can increase ROs' cognitive load, making it more challenging for them to process visual information [7]. The mediation of visual information through monitors exhibits relevant reductions. Although it amplifies the reach of ROs' vision, the translation of a three-dimensional  
Figure 3: Example of a 3-monitor visual interface prototype for RD. environment into a two-dimensional screen also reduces many aspects of unmediated visual perception [7; 16; 41]. For example, the sense of depth is importantly reduced. With depth perception being essential for understanding spatial relationships and making accurate driving judgments, this poses significant challenges to the exercise of responsibility. The lack of many depth cues blurs the distinction between near and far objects, potentially resulting in maneuvering and navigation difficulties. Width perception is similarly reduced, with ROs encountering difficulties in, e.g., estimating vehicle width, which complicates even ordinary maneuvers such as completing turns without bumping into obstacles or drifting into another lane. Peripheral vision--essential for safety-critical driving tasks such as lane keeping and lateral control--is also reduced. In fact, ROs tend to fix their attention on the central view and neglect information displayed on the sides (an instance of attentional tunnelling--cf. [13], pp. 31-33), particularly in cases where side images are rendered with lower resolution than those shown in the center. In addition to reductions in visual perception, HMI setups constituted exclusively by monitors would reduce the full-fledged sensory experience of driving to a mono-sensory experience of vision-based remote control. As mediation theory suggests, however, the elements of the driving experience that are reduced through visual HMIs do not necessarily coincide with irrelevant elements. Therefore, it is important to move beyond this interface selectivity and assess whether something important has been left out. Indeed, the sensory reduction of sounds and physical forces here involved poses noteworthy risks in terms of responsible RD. These forms of informational feedback greatly contribute to the awareness of critical aspects of the driving experience such as speed, acceleration, braking, and centrifugal forces in turning.