A coupled driving simulator to investigate the interaction between bicycles and automated vehicles

In order to investigate the interaction between automated vehicles (AVs) and bicyclists, we present a coupled driving simulator that enables these two traffic participants to interact in a virtual environment. To avoid potentially dangerous situations in road traffic, human perception can be extended by communication between vehicles and their environment. In order to assist the communication process between traffic participants, mobile devices are applied as human-machine interfaces (HMIs). The simulator links the simulation and visualization software with a web application to control the HMIs. The passenger of the AV can change priority rules at conflict situation in the simulation with that application and therefore influence the vehicles behavior via the communication application. To test the coupled simulator, a proof of concept study with 16 simulation runs and two participants each is conducted. The subjects rated the overall simulation impressions tending positive. Based on the evaluation of the study participants, the simulator setup will be further developed.