Do Augmented Reality Overlays Influence Street-Crossing Decisions for Non-Mobility-Impaired Older and Younger Adults?

Older pedestrians represent a particularly vulnerable group of road users. This paper explores how Augmented Reality (AR) can be used to assist older pedestrians in making safe road-crossing decisions. We simulated AR alerts in a large-screen virtual environment and conducted a between-subjects study with older- and younger-adult participants. The experiment had two conditions: Control (no AR) and AR displaying overlays on the roadway indicating the crossability of gaps between two vehicles. We found that participants were more selective in their crossing decisions and took safer gaps in the AR condition than in the Control condition. Older-adult participants also reported reduced mental and physical demand in the AR condition as compared to Control. Our findings show the potential for using AR for improving pedestrian safety. We provide design considerations for such a system, age-related similarities and differences, and avenues for future work in this area.