A VRU-simulator for the evaluation of pedestrian- and cyclist-vehicle interaction – Design criteria and implementation

Abstract

The closer investigation of road user interaction and individual behavior aspects of vulnerable road users requires human-in-the-loop simulator studies in order to achieve systematic results without bringing the test subjects in real danger. So far, there are only a limited number of pedestrian or bicycle simulators, so the main challenge is to define appropriate criteria for respective simulator environments and to build them accordingly. This paper explains an approach for this design process and describes the resulting simulators, recently brought into operation. First study results already give a hint about their effectiveness.