MAD-IVE: Multi-Agent Distributed Immersive Virtual Environments for Vulnerable Road User Research—Potential, Challenges, and Requirements
Sepehr Sabeti, Arash Tavakoli, Arsalan Heydarian, Omidreza Shoghli · 2024
The number of fatalities involving vulnerable road users (VRUs) has reached record highs in recent years. Due to the complex and costly process of naturalistic studies, there is a lack of understanding on the behavior of road users when they interact with each other in different environments. However, advancements in virtual reality have made it possible to conduct distributed simulations, enabling multiple users to participate in a virtual re-creation of an entire system. This development has promising applications in human-factor research, especially in evaluating behavioral responses in complex environments. This paper presents a roadmap outlining major technical challenges and requirements for real-time distributed and multi-user simulation in the context of road users’ safety along with a case study of distributed multi-agent VR. This paper contributes to the field by providing feasibility benchmarks and research details on low-cost distributed technology for simulating VRU interactions.