In early August, residents of Arlington, Virginia, spotted an unmarked silver Ford Transit van cruising around town without a human behind the wheel.
Local news publication ARLnow caught the ghostly vehicle on camera and speculated that it was part of Virginia Tech’s autonomous driving research.
A couple of days later, NBC reporter Adam Tuss approached the vehicle on foot and peered inside, only to see hands poking out from the driver’s seat holding the steering wheel.
The “driverless” car had a driver – but he was disguised as a car seat.
The “seat suit” stunt was the brainchild of Ford and Virginia Tech Transportation Institute researchers to explore how self-driving vehicles can communicate their intent to pedestrians, human drivers and cyclists.
There are many subtle cues humans use to communicate with each other on the road that disappear when the driver is removed from the equation: eye contact to show a pedestrian they’ve been noticed; a head nod to let another driver take his or her turn at an intersection; or a hand wave of appreciation when changing lanes in heavy traffic.
To read more of the original article, go to The Guardian.
