Research finds: real versions of the cars with eyes from Pixar movies will save lives

Eyes on robotic cars may prevent traffic deaths, new research from the University of Tokyo suggests.

The study also found a difference between female and male pedestrians

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02/10/2022

Sunday, 02 October 2022, 00:01

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The trailer for the movie "Cars 3" (DISney)

The University of Tokyo has developed an autonomous car in the style of the ones featured in Pixar's "Cars" movie series that can let pedestrians know whether or not they have been seen by the vehicle - thanks to its robotic eyes.

A study carried out with her help found that cars with eyes could prevent road deaths.

In the "Cars" movie series, talking vehicles like Speedy McQueen and his friends don't need drivers because they look where they're going.

Now scientists say robotic eyes on real driverless cars could improve pedestrian safety - by showing whether the car has spotted you.

Volunteers participated in virtual reality scenarios and had to decide whether to cross a road in front of a moving vehicle.

When the vehicles were fitted with robotic eyes that looked at the pedestrian or to the side - the participants could make better choices.

This is how it looks:

For the study, the researchers built a prototype of a real car with robotic eyes, which they called a "looking car".

Based on a study comparing a car with and without eyes in a critical road crossing scenario, there appears to be a gender split in reactions to the car.

The results showed that the eyes can reduce potential traffic accidents for male pedestrians and increase traffic efficiency for female pedestrians.

Project lecturer Chia-Ming Chang, from the University of Tokyo, said: "The results indicated a clear difference between the sexes and this was very surprising. The male participants made many risky decisions about crossing the road, but these errors were reduced by the car's gaze. With However, there was no big difference in safe situations for them (crossing when the car was about to stop)."

She added: "On the other hand, the female participants made more inefficient decisions (not to cross when the car was going to stop) and these errors were reduced by the car's eye gaze. However, there was no big difference in unsafe situations. This shows that different pedestrians may have needs Various".

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This is how the experiment was performed (photo: screenshot, safetywissen.com)

Bottom line, the researchers concluded that the eyes made for a smoother or safer transition for everyone.

Not only in experimental autonomous cars, but also in front of a human driver - it is always recommended to try to make eye contact with the driver and see that he sees the pedestrian and stops before getting off the road.

Such attention can prevent many accidents and save lives.

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• Cars

• pedestrians

• Crosswalk

• Autonomous vehicle

• eyes