Modeling the Interaction with Automated Vehicles in Road Bottleneck Scenarios

Abstract

An important factor for designing the interaction of automated vehicles (AVs) with surrounding road users is the capability of the human communication partner, especially the perception, processing and response. As these processes need time, there is a latest moment the AV has to define its communication strategy. The present work analyzes the situation when an AV negotiates the right of way to a simultaneously oncoming human driver in a road bottleneck scenario. We modeled the sequence of human tasks when perceiving and processing the AV’s information and the time needed to respond to it. The interaction model results in a latest moment after which a comfortable interaction can no longer be initiated. Comparing the model with the data of an underlying study indicates the appropriate modeling of the time required for communication. A later start of communication leads to inefficient traffic flow and worse subjective ratings of the AV’s communication.