Ambient Lighting for Improving Passengers' Acceptance of Driverless Buses: Combining the Evaluation in Virtual and Real Environment

To address traffic issues, the integration of autonomous vehicles, which operate without an onboard driver, is highly anticipated. However, the social acceptance of driverless vehicles is hindered by passengers' apprehension. Various strategies have been explored to alleviate passenger's concern, such as Head-Up Displays (HUDs) that relay information about the vehicle's behavior and status, which generally used the central field of view. In contrast, our research introduces an ambient lighting system that utilizes peripheral vision, liberating passengers from the necessity of focusing their central vison on this information provision and allowing them to seamlessly receive information while engaged in other activities. Our proposed system aims to diminish passengers' anxiety in autonomous buses by delivering crucial information about the vehicle's behavior and status through ambient lighting, which taps into their peripheral vision. This approach enables passengers to stay informed without disrupting their ongoing tasks. To validate the effectiveness of our system, we are conducting experiments in both Virtual Reality (VR) and Real Space, ensuring a comprehensive evaluation. The outcomes of these experiments, combined with relevant research findings, will contribute to the assessment of our proposed ambient lighting system's viability.