Evaluation of the Effects of a Personal Mobility Vehicle on Multiple Pedestrians Using Personal Space

Personal mobility vehicles (PMVs) have increasingly attracted research interest as new individual transportation vehicles that are environmentally friendly, compact, and convenient to use. It is important to ensure the safety and comfort of pedestrians sharing space with PMVs. In this paper, we developed a simulation model considering the interaction between a PMV and pedestrians, and investigated the effects of a PMV in pedestrian flows using the concept of personal space (PS), which is the space in which invasion by others induces a psychological strain. To estimate the mutual effects of a PMV and nearby pedestrians, the invasion ratio and crossing time are introduced as indexes. Furthermore, to ensure pedestrians are comfortable in the presence of a PMV, we proposed an assistance system for a PMV. Simulation results revealed that the invasion of PS increases with increasing pedestrian density. Additionally, experimental results showed that the levels of discomfort and fear that pedestrians felt toward a PMV are also affected by pedestrian density. Finally, the effectiveness of the assistance system was confirmed, particularly for low pedestrian densities.