Project Grant 2239642

This $258,089 five-year Project Grant from the National Science Foundation's Computer and Information Science and Engineering program aims to advance understanding of how older adults leverage crystallized decision-making abilities when interacting with automation. The principal investigator at Purdue University will identify indicators for when older adults apply prior knowledge to decide whether to use automation in uncertain situations. A multimodal adaptive decision support system will also be developed to provide real-time guidance on automation use to maximize safety and performance for older adults. A series of driving experiments and participatory design methods will examine how use of prior knowledge and decision-making strategies change with age. Computational models will predict automation use decisions and trigger customized feedback. Outcomes seek to empower older adults and inform the design of emerging intelligent systems to better align with their mental models through leveraging wisdom gained from life experiences.