Pedestrian and Passenger Interaction with Autonomous Vehicles: Field Study in a Crosswalk Scenario

Izquierdo, Rubén; Alonso, Javier; Benderius, Ola; Sotelo, Miguel Ángel; Fernández Llorca, David · 2024 · Crossref

DOI: 10.1080/10447318.2024.2426856

archive: archived pipeline: cataloged verified

Get this paper ↗ (DOI — opens at the source; we link to it, we don't host it)

Summary

This study investigates human-vehicle interactions in autonomous driving (AD) contexts, specifically focusing on how pedestrians and passengers perceive safety and confidence when interacting with an autonomous vehicle (AV) at a crosswalk. The research addresses a gap in existing literature, which often studies pedestrians and passengers separately or relies on simulated environments that lack ecological validity. The authors aim to determine how explicit communication via Human-Machine Interfaces (HMIs) and implicit communication via vehicle dynamics (braking maneuvers) influence user trust and behavior in a real-world setting. The researchers conducted a field study using a Level 4 automated vehicle equipped with an external HMI (eHMI) consisting of RGB LED lights and an internal HMI (iHMI) featuring a dashboard screen with audio-visual feedback. The experimental design involved 32 participants who acted as both pedestrians and passengers in pairs. The study evaluated four primary test conditions combining two braking profiles—gentle (early, smooth deceleration) and aggressive (late, strong deceleration)—with the presence or absence of HMIs. A control test where the vehicle did not stop was also included. Data were collected through questionnaires measuring subjective perceptions of safety and confidence, as well as objective metrics such as the pedestrian’s decision to cross relative to the vehicle’s distance and speed. The results indicate that the combination of communication methods significantly impacts user perception. Questionnaire responses revealed that pedestrians felt enhanced safety when the eHMI was used in conjunction with gentle braking maneuvers. Objective behavioral data supported this, showing that the eHMI was effective in facilitating interaction when paired with gentle braking. Conversely, for passengers, the iHMI only increased confidence when paired with aggressive braking maneuvers. The study highlights that implicit communication through vehicle dynamics plays a crucial role, with smoother braking generally imparting greater confidence to both user groups, though the effectiveness of explicit HMIs depends on the specific user group and the accompanying vehicle behavior. The significance of this work lies in its holistic approach to human-AV interaction, providing empirical evidence from a real-world scenario rather than simulations. The findings suggest that AV communication strategies must be tailored to different user groups; for instance, gentle braking combined with external signals benefits pedestrians, while passengers may require different cues depending on the vehicle's dynamic behavior. This research contributes to the development of more trustworthy and safe autonomous systems by demonstrating the importance of integrating explicit and implicit communication channels to mitigate the "sim-to-reality" gap and address the distinct needs of both in-cabin and external road users.

Provenance

The full processing record for this entry. Every stage of this paper's journey through the pipeline is logged — what ran, with which tool and model, how many attempts it took, and when it last completed.

Summary generated by qwen3.6-27b-prismaquant on 2026-06-26; verification: verified.

Topics

Ranked by relevance to this paper. Hover a topic for its definition.

• ehmi external hmi
• vru facing ehmi
• pedestrian behavior perception
• driver vru interaction
• acceptance adoption
• automation