Principal Investigator Kent Larson
Project Website http://www.media.mit.edu/projects/hmi/overview/
How can we facilitate co-existence, trust-building and, collaboration between people and the machine, especially in pedestrianized areas?
As new modes of 21st century urban transportation become increasingly lightweight, electrified, connected, shared-use and autonomous, how humans and machines will co-exist and operate safely and pleasantly in close proximity becomes an urgent question. Transforming the scale and technology of the vehicle therefore necessitates a certain redefinition of the communication between human and the machine in order to enable a new form of human-machine co-existence, trust, and collaboration.
The human-machine cooperation research builds upon the platform of the PEV and uses bike lanes, pedestrianized streets and public spaces as direct context. The goals of intervention focus on enabling the following:
(1) Intuitive and effective two-way communication between the vehicle and pedestrians; (2) Street safety and traffic-yielding mechanisms; (3) Behavior change related to the adoption of active mobility mode.