Search Results (12)

Transportation is often cited as a significant barrier to healthcare access by Veterans, particularly those from minority groups, who have disabilities, or live in rural areas. Autonomous shuttles (AS) offer a potential solution, yet limited research has explored Veterans’ experiences with this technology. This study qualitatively investigated Veterans’ lived experiences with AS through focus groups, enrolling participants aged 18+ from Gainesville, The Villages, and Lake Nona, Florida. Via a directed content analysis, six key themes were identified: Perceived Benefits, Safety, Experience with Autonomous Vehicles (AV), AS Experience, AV Adoption, and Perception Change. Among 26 participants (aged 30–85; 77% men; 88% urban residents), prominent themes included Safety (n = 161), Perceived Benefits (n = 153), and AS Experience (n = 118), with predominantly positive counts in all themes except AS Experience. Participants acknowledged safety advantages and multitasking potential of AS over human-operated vehicles while recommending improvements to the shuttle’s slow speed, availability and convenience. While the AS ride was positively received overall, some participants noted issues with comfort and braking, emphasizing the need for further technological enhancements. Real-world exposure to AS appeared to influence acceptance positively, offering insights for policymakers and industry stakeholders aiming to optimize AS deployment for mobility-vulnerable Veterans. Full article

Veterans often face transportation barriers, but advances in technology enable real-world testing of shared autonomous electric vehicles as potential energy-efficient solutions. While previous research has assessed civilians’ perceptions of autonomous vehicles (AVs), veterans—due to unique military experiences and health conditions—represent a distinct demographic. This study investigates veterans’ perceptions of autonomous shuttles (ASs) to assess whether these innovations may foster sustainable transportation behaviors. Leveraging data from the Autonomous Vehicle User Perception Survey (AVUPS), this study assessed AS perceptions among 77 veterans across four Florida cities before and after exposure. Results indicated significant increases in intention to use and total acceptance and a decrease in perceived barriers, with no change in well-being. Urban veterans showed improvements across multiple subscales, while rural veterans only showed reduced perceived barriers. Those with initially low total acceptance scores demonstrated greater improvements, particularly in intention to use and perceived barriers. The analysis of survey items showed increased trust, greater willingness to multitask, improved safety perceptions, and reduced concerns about declining driving abilities and hesitations toward AVs, with the latter three items remaining significant after correction. Overall, AS exposure positively influenced veterans’ perceptions, and the results point to the potential of ASs as a sustainable transportation option for veterans. Full article

Veterans face difficulties accessing vital health and community services, especially in rural areas. Autonomous vehicles (AVs) can revolutionize transportation by enhancing access, safety, and efficiency. Yet, there is limited knowledge about how Veterans perceive AVs. This study fills this gap by assessing Veterans’ AV perceptions before and after exposure to an autonomous shuttle (AS). Using a multi-method approach, 23 participants completed pre- and post-AS Autonomous Vehicle User Perception Survey (AVUPS), with 10 participants also taking part in post-AS focus groups. Following exposure to the AS, differences were observed for three out of the four AVUPS domains: an increase in Intention to Use (p < 0.01), a decrease in Perceived Barriers (p < 0.05), and an increase in Total Acceptance (p = 0.01); Well-being remained unchanged (p = 0.81). Feedback from focus groups uncovered six qualitative themes: Perceived Benefits (n = 70), Safety (n = 66), Shuttle Experience (n = 47), AV Adoption (n = 44), Experience with AVs (n = 17), and Perception Change (n = 10). This study underscores AVs’ potential to alleviate transportation challenges faced by Veterans, contributing to more inclusive transportation solutions. The research offers insights for future policies and interventions aimed at integrating AV technology into the transportation system, particularly for mobility-vulnerable Veterans in rural and urban settings. Full article

Shared autonomous vehicles (AVs) will soon be introduced in public transportation as cities and their transportation systems become ‘smarter’. This brings long-term environmental, economic and societal benefits to cities. However, shared AVs will not only need to overcome technological challenges but also prevail against social barriers for successful marketplace penetration. Hence, we proposed and investigated the acceptance of four shared AV service designs for public use in this study, namely, autonomous buses, shuttles, AV rideshares and autonomous or robo-taxis. An online survey conducted in Singapore with 734 adults found the greatest receptiveness toward the introduction of autonomous shuttles, in part due to perceptions that they will perform well and be easy to adopt. This aligns with ongoing shared AV trials where AV shuttles are mostly used. Larger autonomous buses had the second-highest acceptance. AV rideshares and taxis seem to largely appeal to the existing regular users of the conventional counterparts of these services. These results suggest that to encourage a mode switch from public transport to ridesharing and taxis, or vice versa, shared AVs need to appeal to users beyond being an automated version of existing modes. That is, shared AVs need to address an underserved or unmet transportation need or population. Full article

The initial hype around Automated Vehicle (AV) technologies has subsided, and it is now being realized that near-term deployment of AV technologies will be in the form of low-speed shared automated shuttles in geofenced districts with a high density of trip demand. A concept labeled ‘Automated Mobility Districts’ (AMD) has been coined to define such deployments. A modeling and simulation toolkit that can act as a decision support tool for early-stage AMD deployments is desired for answering the questions such as (i) for a series of given conditions, such as the amount of travel demand and automated shuttle fleet configuration, what is the expected mode split for shared automated vehicle (SAV) services? (ii) for that mode share of SAVs, what level-of-service and network performance can be anticipated? To answer these research questions, an innovative and integrated framework of multi-mode choice and microscopic traffic simulation model is presented to obtain the equilibrium of mode split for various modes in AMDs, based on real-time traffic simulation data. The proposed framework was tested using travel demand and road network data from Greenville, South Carolina, considering a car, walk, and two SAV on-demand ridesharing modes in a proposed AMD. Results from the study demonstrated the efficacy of the proposed framework for solving the mode split equilibrium in an AMD. In addition, sensitivity analyses were conducted to understand the impact of factors such as waiting times and fleet resources on mode share equilibrium for SAVs. Full article

Environmental awareness and technological advancements for self-driving cars are close to making autonomous vehicles (AV) a reality in everyday scenarios and a part of smart cities’ transportation systems. The perception of safety and trust towards AVs of passengers and other agents in the urban scenario, being pedestrians, cyclists, scooter drivers or car drivers, is of primary importance and the theme of investigation of many research groups. Driver-to-driver communication channels as much as car-to-driver human–machine interfaces (HMI) are well established and part of normal training and experience. The situation is different when users must cope with driverless and autonomous vehicles, both as passengers and as agents sharing the same urban domain. This research focuses on the new challenges of connected driverless vehicles, investigating an emerging topic, namely the language of driving (LoD) between these machines and humans participating in traffic scenarios. This work presents the results of a field study conducted at Tallinn University Technology campus with the ISEAUTO autonomous driving shuttle, including interviews with 176 subjects communicating using LoD. Furthermore, this study combines expert focus group interviews to build a joint base of needs and requirements for AVs in public spaces. Based on previous studies and questionnaire results, we established the hypotheses that we can enhance physical survey results using experimental scenarios with VR/AR tools to allow the fast prototyping of different external and internal HMIs, facilitating the assessment of communication efficacy, evaluation of usability, and impact on the users. The aim is to point out how we can enhance AV design and LoD communications using XR tools. The scenarios were chosen to be inclusive and support the needs of different demographics while at the same time determining the limitations of surveys and real-world experimental scenarios in LoD testing and design for future pilots. Full article

Automated vehicle (AV) minibuses, i.e., AV shuttles, are gaining popularity in the testing of new types of transportation services in real traffic conditions. AV shuttles have moved from closed test areas to low-traffic public sites such as local residential areas, technology parks, university campuses, etc. These types of vehicles are usually low-speed and rely on a lidar-camera sensor set and a self-driving software stack. These new use cases are increasing these systems’ safety demands. In addition to functional safety, many other aspects need to be considered. In this study, a risk analysis model is developed, combining the fuzzy analytical hierarchy process and the Technique for Order of Preference by Similarity to Ideal Solution method. The proposed model is utilized to prioritize risks corresponding to the particular case study, based on real AV shuttle bus development, and focuses on the low-level hardware/software safety issues and improvements. Full article

Several mobility-related issues persist in and around urban areas. Autonomous vehicles promise substantial environmental, safety, and economic benefits but may also cause unintended adverse effects that stem from single-passenger mobility becoming more affordable and accessible. While using them for public transport (i.e., autonomous shuttles) can help avoid such downsides, there are many challenges to their adoption, particularly ones that are related to citizen acceptance and economic aspects. Based on a novel survey of Brussels’ citizens, we provide insights from user opinions on last-mile autonomous shuttle services and analyze the effect of various attitudinal and socio-demographic factors affecting such acceptance. Our respondents exhibit an overall positive acceptance albeit with a limited willingness to pay for it. In addition, based on expert interviews, we provide a discussion on appropriate business models and policy recommendations to help ensure the timely adoption of AVs in Belgium that adapts to mobility needs and policy goals. Full article

This study investigates the perceived safety of passengers while being on board of a driverless shuttle without a steward present. The aim of the study is to draw conclusions on factors that influence and contribute to perceived safety of passengers in driverless shuttles. For this, four different test rides were conducted, representing aspects that might challenge passengers’ perceived safety once driverless shuttles become part of public transport: passengers had to ride the shuttle on their own (without a steward present), had to interact with another passenger, and had to react to two different unexpected technical difficulties. Passengers were then asked what had influenced their perceived safety and what would contribute to it. Results show that perceived safety of passengers was high across all different test rides. The most important factors influencing the perceived safety of passengers were the shuttle’s driving style and passengers’ trust in the technology. The driving style was increasingly less important as the passengers gained experience with the driverless shuttle. Readily available contact with someone in a control room would significantly contribute to an increase in perceived safety while riding a driverless shuttle. For researchers, as well as technicians in the field of autonomous driving, our findings could inform the design and set-up of driverless shuttles in order to increase perceived safety; for example, how to signal passengers that there is always the possibility of contact to someone in a control room. Reacting to these concerns and challenges will further help to foster acceptance of AVs in society. Future research should explore our findings in an even more natural setting, e.g., a controlled mixed traffic environment. Full article

Autonomous vehicles (AVs) are already operating on the streets of many countries around the globe. Contemporary concerns about AVs do not relate to the implementation of fundamental technologies, as they are already in use, but are rather increasingly centered on the way that such technologies will affect emerging transportation systems, our social environment, and the people living inside it. Many concerns also focus on whether such systems should be fully automated or still be partially controlled by humans. This work aims to address the new reality that is formed in autonomous shuttles mobility infrastructures as a result of the absence of the bus driver and the increased threat from terrorism in European cities. Typically, drivers are trained to handle incidents of passengers’ abnormal behavior, incidents of petty crimes, and other abnormal events, according to standard procedures adopted by the transport operator. Surveillance using camera sensors as well as smart software in the bus will maximize the feeling and the actual level of security. In this paper, an online, end-to-end solution is introduced based on deep learning techniques for the timely, accurate, robust, and automatic detection of various petty crime types. The proposed system can identify abnormal passenger behavior such as vandalism and accidents but can also enhance passenger security via petty crimes detection such as aggression, bag-snatching, and vandalism. The solution achieves excellent results across different use cases and environmental conditions. Full article

The rapid evolution of autonomous technology in the field of automotive and information technology (IT) has made it possible to implement autonomous vehicles (AVs) for public passenger transport. Although the shuttle bus transport capacities currently in use are low (maximum 15 people), the use of these transport units in large urban agglomerations is beneficial for society. The current paper is written to review the current AV implementation with respect to shuttle buses with its direct implications in their scientific evolution, with direct links to the legal and social aspects of public transportation all over the world. A critical aspect that is presented in the paper is the legal framework of autonomous driving, which is extremely uneven around the globe, with the direct impact of autonomous shuttle bus exploitation. As the legislation on AVs presents some shortcomings in the approval, registration, and public road implementation of these vehicles, many of the world’s major cities have found ways to integrate them into testing programs, establishing the basis for future comprehensive legislative measures in this highly dynamic scientific domain. The current technological solutions adopted by several autonomous shuttle bus producers will be presented with an exhaustive overview of each major component. The aspects of the control algorithm, with its complicated layers of security and perturbance factors, will be explained in detail. Thus, in some countries/cities, autonomous shuttle buses have been implemented on less-traveled routes where they can travel at speeds up to 25 km/h without hindering the public’s circulation, such as university campuses, industrial areas, airports, and sports bases. Some countries/cities use autonomous shuttle buses for pilot programs related to passenger transport, while others use them in postal transport and others for scientific purposes. In all of these situations, the first step in autonomous driving has been taken. The paper also makes an evaluation of the social factors that are a consequence of the mass introduction of autonomous driving as a means of public transportation. Autonomous shuttle buses are becoming a part of everyday life in big cities. Their acceptance as a strategic means of transport depends on their efficiency in daily services; through its efficiency, this means of transport will become a game-changer once its benefits become not only known but experienced by a large number of users. Full article

With the rise of a consciousness in warehousing sustainability, an increasing number of autonomous vehicle storage and retrieval systems (AVS/RS) is diffusing among automated warehouses. Moreover, manufacturers are offering the option of equipping machines with energy recovery systems. This study analyzed a deep-lane AVS/RS provided with an energy recovery system in order to make an energy evaluation for such a system. A simulator able to emulate the operation of the warehouse has been developed, including a travel-time and an energy model to consider the real operating characteristics of lifts, shuttles and satellites. Referring to a single command cycle with a basic storing and picking algorithm for multiple-depth channels, energy balance and recovery measurements have been presented and compared to those of a traditional crane-based system. Results show significant savings in energy consumption with the use of a deep-lane AVS/RS. Full article