Pedestrian interaction with vehicles : roles of explicit and implicit communication

This paper presents a study that aimed to identify the importance of eye contact and gestures between pedestrians and drivers. A video-based observation and coding was undertaken to categorize the road-crossing and communication behavior of pedestrians and drivers in busy traffic situations where efficient negotiation is necessary. The evidence in the study suggests that eye contact does not play a major role in manual driving, that explicit communication is rare to non-existent, and that motion patterns and behaviors of vehicles play a more significant role for pedestrians in efficient traffic negotiations. \u3cbr/\u3

Evaluating The Role Of Empathy In Crowdsourcing User Interfaces

Empathy induced altruism is believed to motivate people in a crowdsourcing environment to produce better quality work. However, there hasn’t been any considerable investigation regarding how empathy can be effectively\u3cbr/\u3econveyed through user interfaces (UI). We conducted a study to find the effects of introducing empathy in task descriptions, and investigate its effect in workers’\u3cbr/\u3emotivation. We validated that empathy is perceived to have a positive effect for workers. But merely manipulating the task description to express the empathy has produced inconclusive results

The impact of vehicle appearance and vehicle behavior on pedestrian interaction with autonomous vehicles

In this paper, we present the preliminary results of a study that aims to investigate the role of an approaching vehicle’s behavior and outer appearance in determining pedestrians’ decisions while crossing a street. Concerning appearance, some vehicles are designed to look more assertive than others, and it is believed that vehicle appearance may reflect the driver’s social behavior in traffic. In the case of autonomous vehicles, since the human driver no longer controls the vehicle’s action, the question arises whether pedestrians treat autonomous and manually-driven vehicles differently when deciding to cross the street. We devised an experiment to determine the impact of the behavioral and physical attributes of a vehicle on pedestrians’ road-crossing decisions, both for manually-driven and autonomous vehicles. Preliminary results show that in both cases, distance and speed play a dominant role in pedestrians’ decision to cross a road when compared to the vehicle’s size and appearance.\u3cbr/\u3

Pedestrian road-crossing willingness as a function of vehicle automation, external appearance, and driving behaviour

\u3cp\u3eThis paper discusses whether the knowledge of the driving mode of an approaching vehicle (manual vs. automated) influences pedestrians’ decisions while crossing a street. Additionally, the paper explores how different appearances and driving behaviours of vehicles interact with driving mode in affecting pedestrians’ road-crossing behaviours. In a video-based experiment with sixty participants, two vehicles with different appearances (a BMW 3 and a Renault Twizy) were presented as either manually-driven or automated vehicles. Both vehicles displayed either yielding or non-yielding behaviour on a straight road devoid of other traffic. Participants were asked to indicate whether they would cross the street in front of the approaching vehicle, at different distances ranging from 45 m to 1.5 m. The results showed that there was no significant influence of the knowledge of the driving mode (manually-driven vs automated) on pedestrians’ willingness to cross the street at any distance. The vehicle's behaviour (whether it is maintaining speed or yielding) played a dominant role in pedestrians’ decision to cross a road, and this was similar for both modes and both vehicles, at all distances. However, results suggested that in situations and at distances when the intent of the vehicle was not fully clear by the behaviour of the car alone, there were differences between the two vehicles at certain distances, which could be attributed to the differences in their appearance such as size, aggressiveness and novelty. A futuristic-looking vehicle inspired less confidence in road-crossing situations compared to an ordinary-looking vehicle. Additionally, a novel and futuristic-looking vehicle appeared to make it easier for people to believe that it is an automated vehicle. We conclude by discussing design implications for the development of external HMIs automated vehicles.\u3c/p\u3

Interface concepts for intent communication from autonomous vehicles to vulnerable road users

This paper presents six interface concepts for Autonomous Vehicles to communicate their intention to Vulnerable Road Users. The concepts were designed to be scalable and versatile, and attempt to address some of the limitations of existing concepts towards an unambiguous communication. The interfaces exist currently as initial concepts generated from brainstorming sessions and are in the process of being validated through prototype development and controlled studies

Workshop on methodology: evaluating interactions between automated vehicles and other road users - what works in practice?

Methods and metrics for studying interactions between automated vehicles and other road users in their vicinity, such as pedestrians, cyclists and non-automated vehicles, are not established yet. This workshop focuses on identifying the strengths and weaknesses of various methodologies that could potentially be used to study such interactions. The objective lies in determining the proper experimental design, sensitivity of metrics for measuring user behavior, ecological validity, generalizability of findings, extraction of insights regarding how findings can be translated into actionable requirements, and the alternatives for conducting longitudinal field studies. It will be of an interactive nature and involve hands-on activities. The workshop will consolidate existing knowledge, identify recurring issues, and explore the path towards resolving these issues. The outcome will be compiled into a paper to share this valuable knowledge with a broader research community

Feeling-of-safety slider:measuring pedestrian willingness to cross roads in field interactions with vehicles

Can interactions between automated vehicles and pedestrians be evaluated in a quantifiable and standardized way? In order to answer this, we designed an input device in the form of a continuous slider that enables pedestrians to indicate their willingness to cross a road and their feeling of safety in real time in response to an approaching vehicle. In an initial field study, 71% of the participants reported that they were able to use the device naturally and indicate their feeling of safety satisfactorily. The feeling-of-safety slider can consequently be used to evaluate and benchmark interactions between pedestrians and vehicles, and compare communication interfaces for automated vehicles

Wizards of WoZ:using controlled and field studies to evaluate AV-pedestrian interactions

Interactions between autonomous vehicles (AV) and pedestrians remain an ongoing area of research within the AutoUI community and beyond. Given the challenge of conducting studies to understand and prototype these interactions, we propose a combined full-day workshop and tutorial on how to conduct field experiments and controlled experiments using Wizard-of-Oz (WoZ) protocols. We will discuss strengths and weaknesses of these approaches based on practical experiences and describe challenges we have faced. After diving into the intricacies of different experiment designs, we will encourage participants to engage in hands-on exercises that will explore new ways to answer future research questions

Designing for enhancing situational awareness of semi-autonomous driving vehicles

\u3cp\u3eAutonomous driving technology is evolving quickly, and self-driving cars are fast becoming a reality. In the level 2 autonomous driving stage, the system will take full control of the vehicle. The driver must monitor the driving and be prepared to immediately intervene at any time if the automated system fails to respond properly. As a result, the vehicle must be able to share its interpretation of the situation with the driver. In previous research, ambient light was used to delivering driving information. However, most of the studies were conducted on driving simulators. We designed a screen based interface combined with ambient light, which was implemented into a semi-autonomous driving vehicle. Based on this high-fidelity prototype, systematic tests can be conducted for verifying the usability of enhancing drivers' situational awareness by ambient light.\u3c/p\u3