More and more vehicles will start sharing the road with us.
Researchers are trying to make it clear to pedestrians that they are crossing the street in front of a car that is driving itself, because there will be far more interaction between pedestrians and cars.
The researchers in Japan came up with the idea of giant, googly-eyed robotic eyes attached to the front of golf carts.
Pedestrians don't have an obvious way to interact with a vehicle that is relying on sensors and computers.
Researchers from the University of Tokyo and Kyoto University attached giant, remote controlled eyes to the front of golf carts to see if they could reduce traffic accidents.
They used a camera to film the cart at an intersection.
In an experiment, participants were relived scenarios with the use of a virtual reality headset, and were asked to decide if they would cross the street or not if the golf cart approached them.
Participants were willing to cross the road when the golf cart approached them. The participants said that they were more confident crossing the road when the eyes pointed at them.
The participants were quick to point out that they were scared of the giant eyes used in the experiment.
Giant googly eyes could be a solution for self-driving cars.
The paper shows that the eyes can reduce traffic accidents and that gaze direction can increase pedestrians' feelings of safety and danger.
It's a reminder that not only vehicles will have to adapt to a new reality, but we'll also have to make sure that humans have a chance to do the same.
The originator of self- driving cars says the tech is going nowhere.
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