Quantitative study of vehicle-pedestrian interactions: Towards pedestrian-adapted lighting communication functions for autonomous vehicles

Zang, Guoqin; Azouigui, Shéhérazade; Saudrais, Sébastien; Peyricot, Olivier; Hebert, Mathieu · 2021 · Crossref

DOI: 10.2352/issn.2470-1173.2021.17.avm-172

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Summary

This study addresses the communication gap between autonomous vehicles (AVs) and pedestrians, a critical safety issue arising because AVs lack human drivers to perform conventional non-verbal interactions like eye contact or gestures. To design effective lighting-based communication functions for AVs, the authors conducted a quantitative field observation of vehicle-pedestrian interactions at urban crosswalks. The goal was to characterize the behavioral sequences and spatial distributions of these interactions to determine how AV lighting systems should adapt to natural pedestrian behaviors. The researchers collected approximately 26 hours of video footage over two weeks at two sites in the Paris Region, resulting in 187 interaction samples. They labeled six typical behaviors: pedestrian gaze, waiting, and crossing; and vehicle keeping driving, slowing down, and stopping. These were categorized into eight distinct interaction scenarios. For 62 exploitable samples, the authors extracted the precise positions of pedestrians and vehicles relative to each other at the moment of significant behaviors. They quantified the interaction using Vehicle-to-Pedestrian (V2P) distance and angle, identifying two key pedestrian gaze behaviors: a "tentative gaze" (early assessment) and a "confirmative gaze" (final verification of intent). The results revealed distinct spatial patterns for these behaviors. In scenarios where vehicles slowed to yield, tentative gazes occurred frequently at distances beyond 20 meters, while confirmative gazes peaked between 10 and 20 meters. Vehicle slowing-down behavior showed a high probability density around 14 meters and a 16° V2P angle, closely overlapping with the zone of confirmative gazes. This superposition suggests that pedestrians confirm a vehicle’s yielding intention when the vehicle slows down within this specific spatial range. In contrast, when vehicles kept driving, confirmative gazes were distributed more uniformly across distances, with no clear angular pattern. The study concludes that AV lighting communication functions should be designed to align with these natural behavioral zones. Specifically, AVs should signal awareness of pedestrians using long-range technologies, such as LED light strips, corresponding to the tentative gaze zone (>20 m). For closer interactions, displays or light projections should communicate yielding intentions within the 10–20 meter range, matching the confirmative gaze zone. This approach aims to recreate the intuitive negotiation of right-of-way currently handled by human drivers, thereby reducing ambiguity and enhancing safety for vulnerable road users.

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Topics

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• ehmi external hmi
• vru facing ehmi
• pedestrian behavior perception
• driver vru interaction
• vru conspicuity
• signaling behavior