Human-vehicle interaction for autonomous vehicles in crosswalk scenarios: Field experiments with pedestrians and passengers

TL;DR

This study evaluates how different human-machine interfaces and braking behaviors in autonomous vehicles affect pedestrian and passenger perceptions and safety in crosswalk scenarios through real-world experiments.

Contribution

It provides empirical insights into the effectiveness of internal and external HMIs combined with braking maneuvers in enhancing safety and confidence during autonomous vehicle interactions.

Findings

External HMI increases pedestrian safety perception when combined with gentle braking.

Internal HMI boosts passenger confidence with aggressive braking.

Gentle braking and external HMI together improve pedestrian crossing decisions.

Abstract

This paper presents the results of real-world testing of human-vehicle interactions with an autonomous vehicle equipped with internal and external Human Machine Interfaces (HMIs) in a crosswalk scenario. The internal and external HMIs were combined with implicit communication techniques using gentle and aggressive braking maneuvers in the crosswalk. Results have been collected in the form of questionnaires and measurable variables such as distance or speed when the pedestrian decides to cross. The questionnaires show that pedestrians feel safer when the external HMI or the gentle braking maneuver is used interchangeably, while the measured variables show that external HMI only helps in combination with the gentle braking maneuver. The questionnaires also show that internal HMI only improves passenger confidence in combination with the aggressive braking maneuver.