The study used a fake autonomous car, with a concealed human driver, equipped with animated display panels on its front that pedestrians could see.

Designs were shown on the displays to inform pedestrians of the car’s behaviour and intention “including expressive eyes and a face, accompanied by short text-based language such as ‘I have seen you’ or ‘I am giving way’ “, according to the university…

Behaviour judged to be relevant included: how long it took people to cross, how long they looked at the car, the number of times they glanced at the vehicle and the number of times they gestured at the vehicle…

A recommendation from the study is that human response to autonomous vehicles is studied long-term to record how it changes over time.

Future plans include studying interaction with other vulnerable road users such as cyclists and e-scooter riders users.