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Main Authors: Luo, Yue, Yu, Xinyan, Tran, Tram Thi Minh, Hoggenmueller, Marius
Format: Preprint
Published: 2025
Subjects:
Online Access:https://arxiv.org/abs/2507.18836
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author Luo, Yue
Yu, Xinyan
Tran, Tram Thi Minh
Hoggenmueller, Marius
author_facet Luo, Yue
Yu, Xinyan
Tran, Tram Thi Minh
Hoggenmueller, Marius
contents Uncertainty is an inherent aspect of autonomous vehicle (AV) decision-making, yet it is rarely communicated to pedestrians, which hinders transparency. This study investigates how AV uncertainty can be conveyed through two approaches: explicit communication (confidence percentage displays) and implicit communication (vehicle motion cues), across different confidence levels (high and low). Through a within-subject VR experiment (N=26), we evaluated these approaches in a crossing scenario, assessing interface qualities (visibility and intuitiveness), how well the information conveyed the vehicle's level of confidence, and their impact on participants' perceived safety, trust, and user experience. Our results show that explicit communication is more effective and preferred for conveying uncertainty, enhancing safety, trust, and user experience. Conversely, implicit communication introduces ambiguity, especially when AV confidence is low. This research provides empirical insights into how uncertainty communication shapes pedestrian interpretation of AV behaviour and offer design guidance for external interfaces that integrate uncertainty as a communicative element.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2507_18836
institution arXiv
publishDate 2025
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle Uncertainty on Display: The Effects of Communicating Confidence Cues in Autonomous Vehicle-Pedestrian Interactions
Luo, Yue
Yu, Xinyan
Tran, Tram Thi Minh
Hoggenmueller, Marius
Human-Computer Interaction
Uncertainty is an inherent aspect of autonomous vehicle (AV) decision-making, yet it is rarely communicated to pedestrians, which hinders transparency. This study investigates how AV uncertainty can be conveyed through two approaches: explicit communication (confidence percentage displays) and implicit communication (vehicle motion cues), across different confidence levels (high and low). Through a within-subject VR experiment (N=26), we evaluated these approaches in a crossing scenario, assessing interface qualities (visibility and intuitiveness), how well the information conveyed the vehicle's level of confidence, and their impact on participants' perceived safety, trust, and user experience. Our results show that explicit communication is more effective and preferred for conveying uncertainty, enhancing safety, trust, and user experience. Conversely, implicit communication introduces ambiguity, especially when AV confidence is low. This research provides empirical insights into how uncertainty communication shapes pedestrian interpretation of AV behaviour and offer design guidance for external interfaces that integrate uncertainty as a communicative element.
title Uncertainty on Display: The Effects of Communicating Confidence Cues in Autonomous Vehicle-Pedestrian Interactions
topic Human-Computer Interaction
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2507.18836