Driverless cars: Researcher disguises himself as car seat in study

A study to test people’s reactions to driverless cars has used a “ghost driver” to record their responses.

The work, by the University of Nottingham, found that, in the absence of someone in the driving seat, pedestrians trust certain visual prompts more than others when deciding whether to cross the road.

As part of the study, a car was driven around the university’s campus over several days with its driver – research fellow David R. Large – concealed in the driver’s seat.

Mr Large, senior research fellow with the Human Factors Research Group at the university, said: “We wanted to explore how pedestrians would interact with a driverless car and developed this unique methodology to explore their reactions.”

Video journalist: Alex Thorp

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