IMPROVING SAFETY AND MOBILITY OF VULNERABLE ROAD USERS THROUGH NEUROPHYSIOLOGICAL METHODS AND VIRTUAL REALITY TECHNIQUES (VULNEUREA)

The project addresses a pending area of research related to modelling the behavior of VRUs (pedestrians, cyclists, and users of E-Powered Personal Mobility Vehicles e-PMVs) in potentially risky situations in urban traffic scenarios, incorporating their neurophysiological and behavioral exploration in Virtual Reality (VR) environments under both normal conditions and alcohol intake. Distraction and alcohol consumption in VRUs, linked to the behavior of other people involved, is one of the most recurrent factors in traffic accidents in this group, and there is few to no evidence that this factor has been already studied regarding the behavioral changes of vulnerable road users in traffic situations. The influence of the interaction between different VRUs in a co-occupied VR environment on VRUs behavior will also be analyzed as a new research topic. The assessment results of risk perception and decision-making of VRUs will be implemented in Road Safety Education (RSE) resources in the field of protection for the most vulnerable groups on the road. To this end, the project will develop a road education programme targeting young students (e.g. high school grade/first and second cycles at university) based on a VR environment.

IP VULNEUREA: Francisco Javier Paez Ayuso (UPM-INSIA)

Responsable UCM: Carlos de Aldama