Being watched over by a conversation robot may enhance safety in simulated driving.

Journal: Journal of safety research
Published Date: Nov 21, 2019

Abstract

INTRODUCTION: In an aging society that is more and more information-oriented, being able to replace human passengers' protective effects on vehicle drivers with those of social robots is both essential and promising. However, the effects of a social robot's presence on drivers have not yet been fully explored. Thus, using a driving simulator and a conversation robot, this experimental study had two main goals: (a) to find out whether social robots' anthropomorphic qualities (i.e., not the practical information the robot provides drivers) have protective effects by promoting attentive driving and alleviating crash risks; and (b) by what psychological processes such effects emerge.

Authors

  • Yoshinori Nakagawa
    Department of Management, Kochi University of Technology, 185 Miyanokuchi, Kami City, Kochi Prefecture, Japan. Electronic address: nakagawa.yoshinori@kochi-tech.ac.jp.
  • Kaechang Park
    Research Organization for Regional Alliance, Kochi University of Technology, 185 Miyanokuchi, Kami City, Kochi Prefecture, Japan.
  • Hirotada Ueda
    Research Organization for Regional Alliance, Kochi University of Technology, 185 Miyanokuchi, Kami City, Kochi Prefecture, Japan.
  • Hiroshi Ono
    Honda Motor Co., Ltd., 1-10-1 Shin Sayama, Sayama City, Saitama Prefecture, Japan.
  • Hiroki Miyake
    Nissho Electronics Corporation, 3-5, Nibancho, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo, Japan.

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