As the world embraces a future of autonomous driving, questions are being raised about the safety of this mode of transportation. In fact, Tesla’s system has already run into regulators, unconvinced that it works. Many critics argue that with these vehicles, drivers become mere passengers who do not participate in the driving and do not pay as much attention to the road. But equally, it’s hard for pedestrians crossing the street to tell if an autonomous car has seen them, without the usual eye contact or hand movement we’re used to.
What is the solution? Put googly eyes on the car, according to scientists.
A pair of eyes wide open. Yes, two large remote controlled robotic eyes. It is what researchers at the University of Tokyo want to include in autonomous vehicles to make them safer. They reached this conclusion after conducting an experiment in which, simulating an experience through virtual reality, the participants had to decide whether to cross the street in front of an oncoming vehicle.
The researchers recorded their choices and measured their error rates—that is, how often they chose to stop when they could have crossed and how often they crossed when they should have waited. When the car was equipped with robotic eyes, either focused on the pedestrian or looking away, the subjects made better decisions.
The images show a participant crossing. In (a) the car is paying attention to the participant (safe to cross); in (b) the car is not paying attention to the participant (it is not safe to cross); and in (c) and (d) the participant does not know.
Results. The male participants in the experiment made far more dangerous decisions when crossing the street (choosing to cross when the vehicle was not stopping), than their female counterparts. But these errors were reduced thanks to the “look” of the car. Female participants made more inefficient decisions (choosing not to cross when the vehicle intended to stop) but these errors were also reduced by the same “gaze.” In other words, in both cases, the eyes resulted in a smoother and safer crossing for everyone.
Why? Mainly because of how those eyes made pedestrians feel. A way to warn that there is life in that car that crosses. That it is not simply an artificial intelligence algorithm to blindly trust. Some thought they were pretty, others that they were terrifying. For many men, when their eyes looked away, they felt that the situation was more dangerous. For women, when eyes were focused on them, they felt more secure.
However, the idea of installing this type of device in cars is quite remote. The switch to autonomous driving is an important step and people still have to get used to it. Whether they are robotic eyes or similar systems, they could help us adapt to various scenarios. And, although their design would obviously be different, the researchers hope that this study will inspire others to create similar concepts that improve the interaction between autonomous vehicles and pedestrians. In the end, the debate is always the same: that the machine be less of a machine.
Image: University of Tokyo
