Evaluation of Thermotactile and Vibrotactile Cues to Improve Hazard Perception of Older Pedestrians

The aim of the experiment was to investigate how older people perform a task of hazard perception within different dual-task scenarios when being supported by an assistance system. Baseline performance of 27 subjects aged 60+ was compared to the use of a thermotactile, a vibrotactile and an auditory system. Results indicate that all three systems significantly reduce response time, while only the vibration and the auditory system reduce the number of errors. Error reduction only took place when conducting a visual secondary task, but not with a cognitive secondary task. While workload was reduced by all three systems in the visual task condition, that was not the case with the cognitive task. The vibration system was accepted best by the participants, while the thermal system received the least acceptance. Findings suggest the use of an assistance system using vibration cues to remind older pedestrians of potential hazards in traffic.