Audio Tones Can Help Automated Vehicles Communicate with Pedestrians | Newswise

Using custom tones, the research team explored how sound could be used to communicate vehicle intent in participant trials.

To study these purpose-built audio tones, pedestrians participated in 200 jaywalking scenarios and 160 crosswalk scenarios.

Pedestrians crossing Klauer said ensuring the safety benefits of automated vehicles extends beyond riders and drivers to pedestrians and is a crucial aspect of their development.

Upon interacting with the vehicle, pedestrians were given methods to communicate a change in their intent to cross.

The crosswalk scenarios, which used audio tones to communicate that the vehicle would wait for the pedestrian, showed more mixed results.