This thesis had been conducted in order to create design concepts for a trustworthy transition of control between the driver of a car and the automated driving mode in Congested Driving Scenario. The starting point was understanding the interaction of humans with automated systems. Due to the historical background, the initial research had been conducted in the aviation domain. The following issues were identified: Automation irony: Technology is advanced enough to put the user out of the loop, yet still too primitive to handle alone all unexpected events. Automation is not a problem, lack of feedback is: The most dangerous situations occur when the user is not updated on the current automation state. The lack of shared mental model creates out-of the loop situations. What can be automated vs what should be automated: The mere fact that technology allows us to automate almost all aspects of driving a car should not be the main factor. The user needs, emotions and values should be given priority. Automation is based on models, life is not; This finding was exactly paraphrased by Stanis?aw Lem in his book “The Magellanic Cloud”: “Machines are perfect and limited, humans are imperfect and unlimited”. Total or absolute freedom is not possible yet: Therefore, until we are able to provide the automation with the cognitive abilities of simple animals or insects, the human agent will be still indispensable, even for the highly automated systems. Flying is less complicated than driving: Paradoxically, the pilots of enormous Airbuses or Boeings have more freedom and wider safety margins in case of system malfunction than a driver of a middle class sedan on a busy highway. Taking the above mentioned insights into consideration, the concept development had been focused on creating a strategic basis for the automated driving experience based on the proper balance between automation possibilities and human cognition limitations. The proposed solution - ACDS – the Automated Congestion Driving Scenario - exploits the characteristics of human nature and cognition. The outcome of the thesis are three interface concepts: The Stick, The Steering Wheel and The Co-Pilot. Each of them was meant to incorporate the findings related to the human-machine interaction: The Systems should be designed to extend the driver’s abilities instead of replacing them. Optimal, and not minimal, mental workload should be the desired state for designing HMI. Instead of asking “Who does what?”, the users should ask “How do we get along?” (with automation). The first concept: The Stick - was based on extensive usage of skeuomorph as a factor increasing innovation acceptance. The device to initiate a user-generated transition is the stick of an automatic gearbox. In the presented model, the driver changes gears by tilting the stick in a desired mode: Reverse, Neutral, Drive or Braking, subsequently the stick comes back to the initial position. The old device with a new functionality improves organization and creates a feeling that, although the ACDS is a complex system, it is possible to be controlled with a single lever. This simplicity “gives user feeling of control and knowledge, which can be directly linked to notion of comfort”. This, in turn, is crucial for generating trust and, eventually, an emotional bond with the ACDS. The second concept, the Steering Wheel, exploits the same principle of skeuomorph and implements new functions to the existing device. The Steering wheel is a fundamental means of interaction with a car. In contrast to the gearshift stick, it had survived in almost unchanged form since the very beginning of the automotive industry. At the same time in modern cars the stick became obsolete, mainly because of switching to automated or CVS transmissions. Central sticks became more of the entertainment hubs than primary device areas. Therefore this concept anticipates an ongoing trend and uses only the steering wheel to conduct the transition. 4 / 122 Like in the “Stick” concept, there is no need for additional elements in the car’s cockpit, the tool used for transition is implemented into the zone of primary devices, restricted only to these responsible for steering the car. This emphasizes the function of the ACDS as another type of drive mode, which literally takes over the control from the driver’s hands. In contrast to two previous designs, the Co-pilot explores some aspects of anthropomorphism, allowing the driver to clearly see the elements of the ACDS technology, personified as a small helping agent – the Co-pilot. As people prefer receiving orders from other people as opposed to machines, the design of the L.I.D.A.R gave cues for a design which could resemble the face of a team member. Indication of human factors in the design ensures easier triggering of the affective trust, using human’s natural tendency to tame the abstract and not fully understood ideas by treating them as human beings. The Co-pilot has a distinctive and unique design, it is used only for one purpose and its shape is easily recognizable among all the other switches and buttons and it can not be confused with any other device in the cockpit. It states clearly its usage restrictions and status by rotating according to the selected mode. The reference to the appearance of such highly complex and technologically advanced device as L.I.D.A.R helps to create appropriate mapping of functions. Another aspect is simplicity and uniqueness on form level. As mentioned before, there are no other buttons or devices similar in shape, therefore it is easy to label it and create function mapping. Due to the limited resources, this thesis does not include assessment stage of the concepts. It was not feasible, in the given time, to investigate a new domain, create concepts and finally test them with the appropriate number of participants. That does not mean, however, that the assessment part has been neglected. As users’ perception and acceptance of a new concept is crucial for its successful market introduction, a proper research plan and experiment set-up were created. Both of them were based on the Kansei Engineering method and simulator studies. A combination of cognition oriented approach with objective data from simulators should indicate such a design concept, which possesses the highest potential to gain users’ acceptance.