As we move towards a future with Automated Vehicles (AVs) incorporated in the current traffic system, it is crucial to understand driver-pedestrian interaction, in order to enhance AV design and optimization. Previous research in this area, which has primarily used naturalistic observations or single-actor virtual reality simulations, has been limited by its inability to draw causal conclusions, also due to a lack of real human–human interactions. Our study addresses these limitations by employing a high-fidelity distributed simulation setup that links drivers in a motion-based simulator with pedestrians in a CAVE-based environment. This method allows for the examination of real-time and reciprocal interactions across a range of road-crossing scenarios. Using thirty-two pairs of drivers and pedestrians, we investigated how different factors, such as the presence of zebra crossings and varying time gaps of the approaching vehicle, influence driver behaviour and pedestrian crossing decisions. The effect of drivers’ control of the vehicle during such crossings (e.g., braking behaviour and lateral deviation) on pedestrians’ crossing decisions were also analysed. We found that the distribution of drivers’ average deceleration values were bimodal, where drivers either markedly yielded to pedestrians, or continued in their path, with very few instances of intermediate behaviour. We also found that pedestrian decisions were seemingly influenced by the different braking strategies adopted by the driver, with pedestrians crossing before the vehicles in response to soft and early, or late and hard braking, while late and soft braking often resulted in the vehicle passing first. We also observed a slight lateral movement of the vehicle away from pedestrians when drivers were not yielding, but more of a lateral deviation towards them when yielding. This may be because drivers subconsciously transfer their walking interaction habits to their driving behaviour, to avoid a collision with pedestrians. Finally, our results showed a stronger influence of these kinematic cues on pedestrian crossing decisions, when compared to zebra crossings. As well as highlighting the value of a novel approach for investigating vehicle–pedestrian interactions, this study illustrates how vehicle cues can assist pedestrian decisions, adding new knowledge in the development of human-like behaviour for future AVs.

User comfort in higher-level Automated Vehicles (AVs, SAE Level 4+) is crucial for public acceptance. AV driving styles, characterised by vehicle kinematic and proxemic factors, affect user comfort, with “human-like” driving styles expected to provide natural feelings. We investigated a) how the kinematic and proxemic factors of an AV's driving style affect users' evaluation of comfort and naturalness, and b) how the similarities between automated and users' manual driving styles affect user evaluation. Using a motion-based driving simulator, participants experienced three Level 4 automated driving styles: two human-like (defensive, aggressive) and one machine-like. They also manually drove the same route. Participants rated their comfort and naturalness of each automated controller, across twenty-four varied UK road sections. We calculated maximum absolute values of the kinematic and proxemic factors affecting the AV's driving styles in longitudinal, lateral, and vertical directions, for each road section, to characterise the automated driving styles. The Euclidean distance between AV and manual driving styles, in terms of kinematic and proxemic factors, was calculated to characterise the human-like driving style of the AV. We used mixed-effects models to examine a) the effect of AV's kinematic and proxemic factors on the evaluation of comfort and naturalness, and b) how similarities between manual and automated driving styles affected the evaluation. Results showed significant effects of lateral and rotational kinematic factors on comfort and naturalness, with longitudinal kinematic factors having a less prominent effect. Similarities in vehicle metrics, such as speed, longitudinal jerk, lateral offset, and yaw, between manual and automated driving styles, enhanced user comfort and naturalness. This research facilitates an understanding of how control features of AVs affect user experience, contributing to the design of user-centred controllers and better acceptance of higher-level AVs.

The impact of automated vehicles (AV) on pedestrians’ crossing behavior has been the topic of some recent studies, but findings are still scarce and inconclusive. The aim of this study is to determine whether the drivers’ presence and apparent attentiveness in a vehicle influences pedestrians’ crossing behavior, perceived behavioral control, and perceived risk, in a controlled environment, using a Head-mounted Display in an immersive Virtual Reality study. Twenty participants took part in a road-crossing experiment. The VR environment consisted of a single lane one-way road with car traffic approaching from the right-hand side of the participant which travelled at 30 kmph. Participants were asked to cross the road if they felt safe to do so. The effect of three driver conditions on pedestrians’ crossing behavior were studied: Attentive driver, distracted driver, and no driver present. Two vehicles were employed with a fixed time gap (3.5 s and 5.5 s) between them to study the effects of time gaps on pedestrians’ crossing behavior. The manipulated vehicle yielded to the pedestrians in half of the trials, stopping completely before reaching the pedestrian's position. The crossing decision, time to initiate the crossing, crossing duration, and safety margin were measured. The main findings show that the vehicle's motion cues (i.e. the gap between the vehicles, and the yielding behavior of the vehicle) were the most important factors affecting pedestrians’ crossing behavior. Therefore, future research should focus more on investigating how AVs should behave while interacting with pedestrians. Distracted driver condition leads to shorter crossing initiation time but the effect was small. No driver condition leads to smaller safety margin. Findings also showed that perceived behavioral control was higher and perceived risk was significantly lower when the driver appeared attentive. Given that drivers will be allowed to do other tasks while AVs are operating in the future, whether explicit communication will be needed in this situation should be further investigated.