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Designing Drone Interfaces to Assist Pedestrians Crossing Non-Signalised Roads

Guixiang Zhang, Yiyuan Wang, Marius Hoggenmueller

TL;DR

This work investigates drone-based interfaces to assist pedestrians crossing non-signalised roads by designing two modalities—in-situ road projections and drone-equipped screens—and evaluating them in a VR simulation built from real urban footage. A within-subject VR experiment (n=18) shows that both drone modalities improve perceived safety and reduce mental workload relative to a baseline without crossing aids, with projections yielding the strongest benefits. While trust differences were not statistically significant, user experience favored the drone-assisted approaches, especially the projection modality, suggesting that drones can function as distributed eHMIs within future V2X-enabled traffic systems. The study provides design recommendations and lays a foundation for integrating mobile drone interfaces into smart-city safety networks to support safe pedestrian crossing on non-signalised roads.

Abstract

Recent research highlights the potential of drones to enhance pedestrian experiences, such as aiding navigation and supporting street-level activities. This paper explores the design of drone interfaces to assist pedestrians crossing dangerous roads without designated crosswalks or traffic lights, leveraging drones' ability to monitor and analyse real-time traffic data. Inspired by existing traffic signal systems, the interface communicates safety information through permissive alerts, prohibitive warnings, directional warnings, and collision emergency warnings. These safety cues were integrated into drone interfaces using in-situ projections and drone-equipped screens through an iterative design process. A mixed-methods, within-subjects VR evaluation (n=18) revealed that drone-assisted systems significantly improved pedestrian safety experiences and reduced mental workload compared to a baseline without any crossing aid, with projections outperforming screens. The findings suggest the potential for drone interfaces to be integrated into connected traffic systems. We also offer design recommendations for developing drone interfaces that support safe pedestrian crossings.

Designing Drone Interfaces to Assist Pedestrians Crossing Non-Signalised Roads

TL;DR

This work investigates drone-based interfaces to assist pedestrians crossing non-signalised roads by designing two modalities—in-situ road projections and drone-equipped screens—and evaluating them in a VR simulation built from real urban footage. A within-subject VR experiment (n=18) shows that both drone modalities improve perceived safety and reduce mental workload relative to a baseline without crossing aids, with projections yielding the strongest benefits. While trust differences were not statistically significant, user experience favored the drone-assisted approaches, especially the projection modality, suggesting that drones can function as distributed eHMIs within future V2X-enabled traffic systems. The study provides design recommendations and lays a foundation for integrating mobile drone interfaces into smart-city safety networks to support safe pedestrian crossing on non-signalised roads.

Abstract

Recent research highlights the potential of drones to enhance pedestrian experiences, such as aiding navigation and supporting street-level activities. This paper explores the design of drone interfaces to assist pedestrians crossing dangerous roads without designated crosswalks or traffic lights, leveraging drones' ability to monitor and analyse real-time traffic data. Inspired by existing traffic signal systems, the interface communicates safety information through permissive alerts, prohibitive warnings, directional warnings, and collision emergency warnings. These safety cues were integrated into drone interfaces using in-situ projections and drone-equipped screens through an iterative design process. A mixed-methods, within-subjects VR evaluation (n=18) revealed that drone-assisted systems significantly improved pedestrian safety experiences and reduced mental workload compared to a baseline without any crossing aid, with projections outperforming screens. The findings suggest the potential for drone interfaces to be integrated into connected traffic systems. We also offer design recommendations for developing drone interfaces that support safe pedestrian crossings.
Paper Structure (33 sections, 8 figures)

This paper contains 33 sections, 8 figures.

Table of Contents

  1. Introduction
  2. Related Work
  3. Pedestrian Road-Crossing Decision and eHMIs
  4. Public Drone Interaction and Pedestrian Safety
  5. Design Process
  6. Situation and Considerations
  7. Initial Design Concept
  8. Design Refinement
  9. User Evaluation
  10. Experiment Design
  11. Procedure
  12. Participants
  13. Data Collection
  14. Data Analysis
  15. Results
  16. ...and 18 more sections

Figures (8)

  • Figure 1: Initial design ideas for safety-cue visualisation.
  • Figure 2: Permissive alerts and directional warnings.
  • Figure 3: Storyboarding for "before-crossing", "crossing", and "crossing-about-to-end".
  • Figure 4: Staged Crossing, a part of the initial design for "crossing".
  • Figure 5: Drone with in-situ projections (top) and drone-equipped screens (bottom) that convey safety information for pedestrian crossing.
  • ...and 3 more figures