Analytical Study on the Exposedness of Potential Positions for External Human-Machine Interfaces

TL;DR

This study uses Unity simulations to identify the most visible exterior vehicle surfaces to pedestrians, informing optimal placement of external communication displays on autonomous vehicles.

Contribution

It provides the first comprehensive analysis of vehicle surface visibility from pedestrian viewpoints, guiding display placement for autonomous vehicle signaling.

Findings

Wheels, front fenders, and headlights are most visible to pedestrians.

Simulation results suggest placing displays on windshield, front fenders, or side mirrors.

The software platform enables future similar visibility studies.

Abstract

As we move towards a future of autonomous vehicles, questions regarding their method of communication have arisen. One of the common questions concerns the placement of the signaling used to communicate with pedestrians and road users, but few works have been fully dedicated to the matter. This paper uses a simulation made in the Unity game engine to record the fifteen different vehicles under fifty-seven different scenarios each for the first time, in order to find how often its forward-facing exterior surfaces can be seen by a pedestrian on the sidewalk. Variables include the vehicle type, position, number of vehicles on the road, camera position and direction, as well as its minimum and maximum distance from the recorded points. It was concluded that the areas of the vehicle most often seen by pedestrians on the sidewalk attempting to cross the road were the wheels, front fenders, and headlights. Based on these results, a suggestion is made to implement displays on at least two of the following regions: windshield, front fenders, side mirrors. These findings are valuable in the future design of signaling for autonomous vehicles in order to ensure pedestrians are able to see them on approaching vehicles. The software used provides a platform for similar works in the future to be conducted.