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Cyriel works with the IMDC's multi-disciplinary team to lead research at the intersection of people, mobility and technology within a complex and changing urban and global environment.

Cyriel has a background in psychology and been working in the field of automotive and transport human factors and design in both academia and industry. 

Following his PhD at Loughborough University into human factors aspects of interaction with virtual and simulated environments, he worked as a research scientist and consultant at the Transport Research Laboratory (TRL) in the areas of simulation technology, driver behaviour, and Human Machine Interactions. He subsequently joined the Jaguar Land Rover research department and developing automotive HMI concepts and empirical product evaluation methods.

In 2012 he returned to academia and joined the automotive and transport design program at Coventry University focusing on human-centred design of future vehicles with a particular interest in understanding the passenger experience in future vehicles. In 2017 he was appointed as the Academic Director of the National Transport Design Centre (NTDC) establishing a portfolio of design-led projects promoting the uptake and acceptance of sustainable mobility solutions across transport modes. 

In 2018 he joined the RCA’s Intelligent Mobility Design Centre as Deputy Director. His research is funded by a wide range of organisations including Innovate-UK, European Commission, UK research councils, OEMs and Tier 1 suppliers.

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  • SIMUSAFE: Simulator of  Behavioural Aspects for  Safer Transport (funded by the EU)
  • DOMUS: Design and OptiMisation for efficient EVs based on a USer-centric approach (funded by the EU)
  • UK CITE – HMI development and evaluation for connected vehicles (funded by Innovate-UK)
  • Impact of seating appearance on comfort perception (sponsored by a major Tier 1 supplier)   
  • HMI design for highly and fully automated vehicles (sponsored by a major vehicle manufacturer)
  • Motion sickness in automated vehicles: Review and recommendations (sponsored by a major vehicle manufacturer)
  • Motion sickness: Usefulness of motion cues based on results from an empirical study (sponsored by a major vehicle manufacturer)
  • Evaluation of HGV Safety Technology (sponsored by a major automotive R&D consultancy company)
  • Motion sickness in automated vehicles (sponsored by a major Tier 1 supplier)

Salter, S., Diels, C., Herriotts, P., Kanarachos, S., Thake, D. (accepted). Motion Sickness in Automated Vehicles with Forward and Rearward Facing Seating Orientations. Applied Ergonomics.

Kuiper, O.X., Bos, J.E., Diels, C., Cammaerts, K. (accepted). Moving Base Driving Simulators’ Potential for Actual Carsickness Research. Human Factors.

Payre, W., Diels, C., (accepted). Designing warning signs for in-vehicle information: Is the best the enemy of good? Applied Ergonomics.

Kuiper, O.X., Bos, J.E., Diels, C. (in press). Vection does not necessitate visually induced motion sickness. Displays.

Wasser, J., Diels, C., Baxendale, A., Tovey, M., (2018). Ergonomic evaluation of a driverless pod design, Proceedings of the International meeting Human Factors and Ergonomics Society (HFES), October 1–5, 2018, Philadelphia, US.

Erol, T., Diels, C., Shippen, J., Richards, D. (2018). Dimensions of holistic automotive seat comfort experience: a card sorting approach, Proceedings of the International meeting Human Factors and Ergonomics Society, October 1–5, 2018, Philadelphia, US.

Kuiper, O.X., Bos, J.E., Diels, C. (2018). Looking forward: In-vehicle auxiliary display positioning affects carsickness. Applied Ergonomics, Volume 68, April 2018, Pages 169–175.

Payre, W., Diels, C., 2017. Human-Machine Interface Design Development for Connected and Cooperative Vehicle Features. 8th International Conference on Applied Human Factors and Ergonomics (AHFE 2017), 17-21 July, Los Angeles, CA, US.

Diels, C. Thompson, S., 2017. Information expectations in highly and fully automated vehicles. 8th International Conference on Applied Human Factors and Ergonomics (AHFE 2017), 17-21 July, Los Angeles, CA, US.

Wasser, J., Diels, C., Baxendale, A., Tovey, M., 2017. Driverless Pods: from Technology Demonstrators to De-sirable Mobility Solutions. 8th International Conference on Applied Human Factors and Ergonomics (AHFE 2017), 17-21 July, Los Angeles, CA, US.

Diels, C., Erol, T., Kukova, M., Wasser, J., Cieslak, M., Payre, W., Miglani, A., Mansfield, N., Hodder, S., Bos, J. (2017). Designing for Comfort in Shared and Automated Vehicles (SAV): a Conceptual Framework. Proceedings of the 1st International Comfort Congress (ICC), 7-8 June 2017, Salerno, Italy.

Löcken, A., Borojeni, S.S., Müller, H., Gable, T.M., Triberti, S., Diels, C., Glatz, C., Alvarez, I., Chuang, L., Boll, S. (2017). Towards Adaptive Ambient In-Vehicle Displays and Interactions: Insights and Design Guidelines from the 2015 AutomotiveUI Dedicated Workshop. In: Automotive User Interfaces: Creating Interactive Experiences in the Car. Editors: Gerrit Meixner, Christian Müller. Springer Verlag.

Miglani, A., Diels, C., Terken, J.A.M. (2016). Compatibility between Trust and Non Driving Related Tasks in UI Design for Highly and Fully Automated Driving. Proceedings of the 8th International Conference on Automotive User Interfaces and Interactive Vehicular Applications, 2016.

Kukova, M., Diels, C. Jordan, P., Franco-Jorge, M., Anderson, J., Kharouf, H. (2016). Do we really know which vehicle attributes are important for customers? Proceedings of the 10th Design and Emotion conference, Amsterdam, 27-30 October 2016.

Erol, T., Diels, C., Shippen, J., Richards, D., (2016). How does car seat appearance influence perceived comfort. Proceedings of the 10th Design and Emotion conference, Amsterdam, 27-30 October 2016.

Diels, C., Bos, J. E., Hottelart, K. and Reilhac, P. (2016).Motion Sickness in Automated Vehicles: The Elephant in the Room. In: Gereon Meyer and Sven Beiker (Eds). Road Vehicle Automation 3 (pp: 121-129). Switzerland: Springer International Publishing

Diels, C. Bos, J.E., Hottelart, K., Reilhac, P. (2016). The impact of display position on motion sickness in automated vehicles: an on-road study. Automated Vehicles Symposium, 18-21 July 2016, San Francisco, USA.

Diels, C. Bos, J.E. (2016). Self-Driving Carsickness. Applied Ergonomics, (53) Part B, pp. 374-382. DOI information: 10.1016/j.apergo.2015.09.009

Diels, C. Bos, J.E. (2015). User Interface Considerations to prevent Self-Driving Carsickness. Adjunct Proceedings of the 7th International Conference on Automotive User Interfaces and Interactive Vehicular Applications, 2015.

Diels, C. Bos, J.E. (2015). Design guidelines to minimise self-driving carsickness. Poster presented at the Automated Vehicles Symposium, Ann Arbor, 2015.

Diels, C., Ghassan, A. (2015). On the appropriateness of appropriate judgements in design evaluation. Proceedings of the international conference on Engineering and Product Design Education (E&PDE), Loughborough University, UK,3- 4 September, 2015.

Ghassan, A., Diels, C., Barratt, A. (2014). Demonstration and evaluation in design: Debating the use of the master-apprentice model in Virtual Learning Environments. Proceedings of the international conference on engineering and product design education, University of Twente, the Netherlands, 4-5 September, 2014.

Erol, T., Diels, C., Shippen, J., Richards, D., Johnson, C. (2014). Effects of Appearance on the Perceived Comfort of Automotive Seats. Proceedings of the 5th International Conference on Applied Human Factors and Ergonomics AHFE 2014, Kraków, Poland 19-23 July 2014.

Diels, C. (2014). Will autonomous vehicles make us sick? In S. Sharples & S. Shorrock (Eds.), Contemporary Ergonomics and Human Factors (pp. 301-307). Taylor & Francis.

Burnett, G., Diels, C. (2014). Driver Acceptance of In-vehicle Information and Assistance Systems: An overview. In: M. Regan, T. Horberry, A. Stevens (Eds.) Driver Acceptance of New Technology: Theory, Measurement and Optimisation. Farnham: Ashgate

Diels, C. Siamatas, A., Johnson, C. (2013). Designing for the new vehicle DNA: Evaluation of the MAYA principle for the rapid adoption of sustainable vehicles. Proceedings of the 5th IASDR World Conference on Design Research, Tokyo, Japan, on August 26 – 30, 2013. (http://design-cu.jp/iasdr2013/timetable.html)

Gouy, M., Diels, C., Reed, N., Stevens, A. & Burnett, G. (2013). Do drivers reduce their headway to a lead vehicle due to the presence of platoons in traffic? A conformity study conducted within a simulator. IET Intelligent Transport Systems, 7(2), p. 230-235. (DOI: 10.1049/iet-its.2012.0156)

Diels, C. Howarth, P.A. (2013). Frequency Characteristics of Visually Induced Motion Sickness. Human Factors, 55(3), 595-604. doi:10.1177/0018720812469046

Gouy, M., Diels, C., Reed, N., Stevens, A., Burnett, G. (2012). Preferred time headway assessment with the method of limits. In P.V. Mora, J.-F. Pace and L. Mendoza (Eds), Proceedings of European Conference on Human Centred Design for Intelligent Transport Systems (pp. 87-93). HUMANIST Publications.

Gouy, M., Diels, C., Reed, N., Stevens, A., Burnett, G. (2012). Behavioural adaptation of the unequipped driver to small time headways held by automated vehicles in the traffic. Proceedings of the International Conference on Traffic and Transport Psychology (ICTTP), August 2012, Groningen, Holland.

Gouy, M., Diels, C., Reed, N., Stevens, A., Burnett, G. (2012). The effects of short time headways within automated vehicle platoons on other drivers. In N. Stanton (Ed.), Advances in Human Aspects of Road and Rail Transportation. Boca Raton, FL: CRC press.

Diels C. (2011). Tactile Detection Task as a real time cognitive workload measure. In M. Anderson (Ed.), Contemporary Ergonomics and Human Factors 2011, pp. 183-190, CRC Press.

Diels, C., Howarth, P.A. (2011). Visually induced motion sickness: Single- versus dual-axis motion. Displays, 32(4), p175-180.

Boddington, K., Blakeman, P., Diels, C. (2011). Managing motorways from the roadside: Investigating the feasibility of using verge-mounted variable message signs. Proceedings of the ITS European Congress 2011, Lyon, France.

Diels, C., Robbins, R., Reed, N. (2011) Behavioural validation of the TRL driving simulator DigiCar: Phase 1 – Speed Choice. In L. Dorn (ed.) Driver Behaviour and Training, Vol V, pp. 429-446.

Lang, B., Diels, C., Grueneberg, U., Helmchen, G. (2011). Lessons learned from simulator-based training for bus drivers. In L. Dorn (ed.) Driver Behaviour and Training, Vol V, pp. 251-268.

Skippon, S., Diels, C., Reed, N. (2011). Driving Style as a Fitness Indicator. In L. Dorn (ed.) Driver Behaviour and Training, Vol V, pp. 359-374.

Reed, N., Diels, C. (2011). Emotion in motion: Comparing the effects of a range of everyday life driving conditions on driver behaviour. Proceedings of the Driver Distraction and Inattention conference 2011.

Diels, C., Parkes, A.M. (2010) Geometric Field of View Manipulations Affect Perceived Speed in Driving Simulators. Advances in Transportation Studies – an International Journal, volume 12 (section B), pp 53-64.

Diels, C., Parkes, A.M. (2010). Optimisation of speed perception in virtual environments by manipulation of the geometric field of view. Perception, 39, p.282 (Abstract).

Diels C., Reed, N., Parkes, A.M. (2010) Emotion in motion: Effect of drivers’ mental state on simulated driving performance. (PPR528) Published Project Report. Wokingham, Berkshire: Transport Research Laboratory (TRL).

Diels, C., Helman, S., Parkes, A.M. (2010). Tactile Detection Task as a workload measure in simulated driving. (PPR523) Published Project Report. Wokingham, Berkshire: Transport Research Laboratory (TRL).

Diels, C. Parkes, A.M. (2010). Matching speed production in real and simulated driving environments. (PPR524) Published Project Report. Wokingham, Berkshire: Transport Research Laboratory (TRL).

Diels, C. Parkes, A.M. (2010) Motion sickness in driving simulators: Review and recommendations. (PPR529) Published Project Report. Wokingham, Berkshire: Transport Research Laboratory (TRL).

Helman, S., Diels, C., Reed, N., Chattington, M., Belyavin, A., Dickson, B. (2010) Use of electroencephalography (EEG) and the Tactile Detection Task (TDT) to improve mental workload estimation in the TRL Car Driving Simulator. Published Project Report (PPR 500), Wokingham, Berkshire: Transport Research Laboratory (TRL)

Diels, C., Dale, A., Robbins, R., Rees, T., Summersgill, I. (2010). Full time through junction running with designated green lane simulation study. Published Project Report (PPR 531), Wokingham, Berkshire: Transport Research Laboratory (TRL).

Diels, C., Dale, A., Robbins, R., Rees, T., Summersgill, I. (2010) Full time through junction running simulation study. Published Project Report (PPR 532), Wokingham, Berkshire: Transport Research Laboratory (TRL).

Diels, C., Palmer, M., Sterling, T. & Rillie, I. (2009). Conscpicuity of red lights on Traffic Officer Vehicles. Crowthorne: Transport Research Laboratory.

Diels, C., Reed, N., Weaver, L. (2009) Drivers’ attitudes to distraction and other motorists’ behaviour: a focus group and observational study. (PPR435), Published Project Report. Wokingham, Berkshire: Transport Research Laboratory (TRL).

Diels, C., Reed, N., Walker, R., Robbins, R., Rees, T., Rillie, I., Parkes, A.M. (2009) Dedicated Lane Simulation Study. Published Project Report (PPR 429), Wokingham, Berkshire: Transport Research Laboratory (TRL).

Diels, C., Reed, N., Robbins, R., Rees, T., Rillie, I., Parkes, A.M. (2009) Through Junction Running Simulation Study. Published Project Report (PPR 430), Wokingham, Berkshire: Transport Research Laboratory (TRL).

Diels, C., Parkes, A.M. (2009). Simulator Sickness – TRAINALL Deliverable 3.8 Workpackage 3.

Diels, C., Rees, T., Summersgill, I. (2009) Part Time Through Junction Running Simulation Study. Published Project Report (PPR 431 ), Wokingham, Berkshire: Transport Research Laboratory (TRL).

Diels, C., Parkes, A.M. (2009) Geometric Field of View Manipulations Affect Perceived Speed in Driving Simulators. Proceedings of the International Conference on Road Safety and Simulation (RSS 2009), 5-7 October 2009, Paris, France.

Diels, C., Reed, N., Robbins, R., Rees, T., Summersgill, I., Parkes, A.M. (2009). Emergency Refuge Area Simulation Study. Published Project Report (PPR 428), Wokingham, Berkshire: Transport Research Laboratory (TRL).

Diels C., Howarth, P.A. (2009). The Use of Abstract Stimuli in Visually Induced Motion Sickness Research. Proceedings of the International Symposium on Visual IMage Safety (VIMS2009), June 11-12, 2009, Utrecht, the Netherlands.

Diels, C., Reed, N., Parkes, A.M. (2009). Evaluation of Novel Motorway Designs Using Driving Simulation. Proceedings of the European Transport Conference, 5-7 October, Leeuwenhorst, the Netherlands.

Lang B., Parkes, A., Cotter, S., Robbins, R., Diels, C., Vanhulle P., Turi, G., Bekiaris, E., Panou, M., Kapplusch, J. & Poschadel, S. (2008). Benchmarking and classification of computer-based tools for driver training. TRAINALL Deliverable Workpackage 1

Reed, N., Diels, C., Parkes, A.M. (2008) Simulator Sickness Management: Enhanced Familiarisation and Screening Processes. Proceedings of the 1st International Symposium on Visually Induced Motion Sickness, Fatigue, and Photosensitive Epileptic Seizures (VIMS2007), Hong Kong.

Diels, C., Howarth, P.A. (2008) Visually Induced Motion Sickness during Single and Dual Axis Motion. Proceedings of the 1st International Symposium on Visually Induced Motion Sickness, Fatigue, and Photosensitive Epileptic Seizures (VIMS2007), Hong Kong.

Diels, C., Howarth, P.A., Hodder, S.G. (2008). Misperception of the direction of visually induced illusory self-motion. Perception, 37(2), 308.

Diels, C., Howarth, P.A. (2008). The Role of Ecologically Valid Stimuli in Visually Induced Motion Sickness Research. Proceedings of the 43rd Conference on Human Response to Vibration, Leicester, England.

Diels, C., Parkes, A.M., Weaver, L. (2008). Driving Simulator Technologies: Adverse Events Management Guideline. (PPR369) Published Project Report. Wokingham, Berkshire: Transport Research Laboratory (TRL).

Diels, C., Reed, N. (2008) Inducing Anxiety States – The 7.5% CO2 procedure. (CPR046), Client Project Report. Wokingham, Berkshire: Transport Research Laboratory (TRL).

Diels, C. (2008) Carsickness – Preventative measures. (PPR385), Published Project Report. Wokingham, Berkshire: Transport Research Laboratory (TRL).

Diels, C., Reed, N., Robbins, R., Rees, T., Summersgill, I., Parkes, A.M. (2008). Confirmatory Gantry Simulation Study – Client Project Report (CPR238), Wokingham, Berkshire: Transport Research Laboratory (TRL)

Reed, N., Diels, C., Parkes, A.M. (2008). Validation of participant screening processes for simulator sickness management. Proceedings of the Driving Simulation Conference – Asia Pacific, September 24-26. Seoul, Korea.