An Anthropological Study Designed to Understand the Essence of Intention Sharing Between Drivers and Passengers

Abstract

This study focuses on human driving behaviour to identify key non-verbal cues which may inform a passenger of the driver's intentions. An anthropological inquiry, supported by live remote field observations and follow-up interviews, aims to understand a) the nuances and mechanisms, i.e. intention cues, through which human drivers consciously or unconsciously convey their driving intention, b) how passengers recognise and interpret those intention cues, and c) the role that the clarity, ambiguity or absence of these cues may play in passenger comfort or trust. Lastly, this research designs a live remote observation protocol to analyse the exchange of subtle intention cues between driver-passenger pairs during the driving task.