Author Affiliation

Department of Computational Modeling and simulation Engineering, Old Dominion University

Publication Date

2022

Conference Title

Modeling, Simulation and Visualization Student Capstone Conference 2022

Conference Track

Virtual Environments

Document Type

Paper

Abstract

The deployment of autonomous vehicles (AVs) has been expected to significantly reshape traffic safety on roads. However, there is still a relatively long journey to achieve high-level autonomy and the safety level of interaction between AVs and vulnerable road users (e.g., pedestrians, cyclists, or passengers) is still unclear due to very limited data and field tests. The main objective of this paper is to propose a high-fidelity human-in-the-loop simulation that is capable of supporting AV-pedestrian interactions by coupling an advanced AV simulator with virtual reality technology. The prototype of the extended simulation framework has been developed and demonstrated with experimental scenarios. The inclusion of real-world humans offers extensive opportunities for understanding the safety of AVs co-existing with vulnerable road users.

Keywords:

Pedestrians, Autonomous vehicles, Virtual reality, Human-in-the-loop, Simulation

Start Date

4-14-2022

End Date

4-14-2022

DOI

10.25776/1d09-t669

Share

COinS
 
Apr 14th, 12:00 AM Apr 14th, 12:00 AM

Implementing Virtual Reality Technology for Supporting Autonomous Vehicle-Pedestrian Behavioral and Interaction Research

The deployment of autonomous vehicles (AVs) has been expected to significantly reshape traffic safety on roads. However, there is still a relatively long journey to achieve high-level autonomy and the safety level of interaction between AVs and vulnerable road users (e.g., pedestrians, cyclists, or passengers) is still unclear due to very limited data and field tests. The main objective of this paper is to propose a high-fidelity human-in-the-loop simulation that is capable of supporting AV-pedestrian interactions by coupling an advanced AV simulator with virtual reality technology. The prototype of the extended simulation framework has been developed and demonstrated with experimental scenarios. The inclusion of real-world humans offers extensive opportunities for understanding the safety of AVs co-existing with vulnerable road users.