Self-driving vehicles are gaining traction as a sustainable mobility solution, offering benefits like reduced carbon emissions and increased efficiency. But the road to widespread adoption still has its bumps, especially when it comes to passenger experience. Without a human driver, who do passengers turn to for assistance or reassurance?
This is where social robots come in. By acting as onboard guides or helpers, they could fill the gap in supervision and communication, boosting both the perceived safety and appealing of autonomous public transport.
The Integrated Transport Research Lab (ITRL) at KTH Royal Institute of Technology in Stockholm is a multidisciplinary research hub focused on advancing sustainable and intelligent transport systems. Bringing together experts from academia, industry, and government, ITRL tackles real-world challenges through collaboration and experimentation. Their mission is to generate practical solutions and policy recommendations that support a smarter, greener transport system for all.
While social robots are already having an impact in settings such as healthcare, their use in public transport is still largely unexplored. This project investigates how Furhat, with its lifelike facial expressions, natural gaze, and conversational abilities, can act as a friendly interface between passengers and autonomous systems.
The research involves identifying the types of assistance passengers find most valuable, designing interactions that match these needs, and evaluating user experiences in increasingly complex environments. Initial tests are being conducted in controlled settings, allowing for continuous refinement of the robot’s behavior based on user feedback. The ultimate aim is to deploy Furhat in real-world driverless buses, enhancing the travel experience, increasing trust, and encouraging broader adoption of autonomous mobility.
de Graaf, Maartje M. A., et al. Robots in Autonomous Buses: Who Hosts When No Human Is There? Proceedings of the 2024 ACM/IEEE International Conference on Human-Robot Interaction (HRI '24), ACM, 2024. https://kth.diva-portal.org/smash/record.jsf?pid=diva2%3A1847617&dswid=-2285
