WEpod WElly in Delft : Pedestrians’ crossing behavior when interacting with automated vehicles using Virtual Reality

Automated vehicles could have many impacts on society [1]. Taking the control of vehicles from human drivers, who by their nature make mistakes, and giving it to automated vehicles (AVs), which are believed to be accurate and reliable, could, in theory, increase safety. However, how non-automated road users will react and interact with driverless AVs is unknown. In particular, cyclists and pedestrians, the vulnerable road users (VRUs), will not be able to rely on eye contact. In addition, they are vulnerable because of a lack of a metal shield to protect them, their low mass, and their many degrees of freedom in movement makes them hard to predict. At this moment, it is unclear how the interactions between AVs and VRUs will be.