Jaguar Land Rover has introduced ‘virtual eyes’ on autonomous pods to better understand human trust in self-driving technology. This initiative comes in response to research indicating that 63 per cent of pedestrians are concerned about the safety of crossing roads in the future.
The friendly-faced ‘eye pods’ aim to determine how much information self-driving cars should convey to users and pedestrians to foster trust in the technology. As part of the project, a team of cognitive psychologists has been enlisted to study how vehicle behaviour impacts human confidence in automated systems. This initiative is a segment of a larger government-supported study in the UK focusing on future mobility solutions.
The pods autonomously operate on a fabricated street scene in Coventry, analysing pedestrian behaviour as they wait to cross the road. The ‘eyes,’ developed by a team of advanced engineers, ‘look’ directly at pedestrians, indicating that the vehicle has recognised them and will take necessary action to avoid them. Engineers measure trust levels in the pedestrians before and after the pod establishes ‘eye contact’ to determine if this interaction bolsters their confidence in the vehicle’s ability to stop.
Pete Bennett, future mobility research manager, stated, ‘It’s second-nature to glance at the driver of the approaching vehicle before stepping into the road. Understanding how this translates in tomorrow’s more automated world is important. We want to know if it is beneficial to provide humans with information about a vehicle’s intentions or whether simply letting a pedestrian know it has been recognised is enough to improve confidence.’
The trials are a small part of a broader investigation into how future connected and autonomous vehicles can mimic human behaviour and reactions when driving. Over 500 test subjects have interacted with the self-driving pods. These pods are designed by a project partner, and their interactions are meticulously studied to gauge the impact on trust and confidence among pedestrians.
This pioneering research highlights the intricate relationship between human behaviour and the burgeoning field of autonomous vehicles. Understanding and enhancing human trust in self-driving technology is crucial for its successful integration into everyday life.