Pedestrian and Passenger Interaction with Autonomous Vehicles: Field Study in a Crosswalk Scenario
This work addresses safety and confidence issues for pedestrians and passengers in autonomous vehicle interactions, but it is incremental as it builds on existing HMI and communication techniques.
The study investigated how pedestrians and passengers interact with an autonomous vehicle using internal and external HMIs combined with braking maneuvers in a crosswalk, finding that external HMI with gentle braking improved pedestrian safety perceptions and effectiveness, while internal HMI with aggressive braking boosted passenger confidence.
This study presents the outcomes of empirical investigations pertaining to human-vehicle interactions involving an autonomous vehicle equipped with both internal and external Human Machine Interfaces (HMIs) within a crosswalk scenario. The internal and external HMIs were integrated with implicit communication techniques, incorporating a combination of gentle and aggressive braking maneuvers within the crosswalk. Data were collected through a combination of questionnaires and quantifiable metrics, including pedestrian decision to cross related to the vehicle distance and speed. The questionnaire responses reveal that pedestrians experience enhanced safety perceptions when the external HMI and gentle braking maneuvers are used in tandem. In contrast, the measured variables demonstrate that the external HMI proves effective when complemented by the gentle braking maneuver. Furthermore, the questionnaire results highlight that the internal HMI enhances passenger confidence only when paired with the aggressive braking maneuver.