Haptic steering direction guidance for pedestrian-vehicle collision avoidance

This paper discusses an assistance system that add tiny torque to the steering wheel momentarily to help the driver choose the direction for avoiding collision with a pedestrian. In order to investigate the effectiveness of the system, we conducted an experiment with a medium fidelity driving simulator. The results of the experiment showed that there existed situations where the system was effective to enhance driver´s appropriate selection of steering direction. In addition, the system reduced the driver reaction time significantly. However, there were cases in which the drivers completely disagreed with the system´s proposal. In order to make such a system be acceptable to drivers, drivers´ way of choosing a direction should be taken into account.