Improving connectedness between drivers by digital augmentation

The road environment can be seen as a social situation and road user safety can be viewed as not just skills- based and rule-governed. Driver need to coordinate with each other to share the infrastructure. Lights, horn and speed information are the most frequently used tools to exchange information, limiting both the range and the bandwidth of the connectivity, which may lead to misunderstanding, irresponsibility and social isolation. With everywhere available connectivity and the broad penetration of social network services, the relationship between drivers on the road may gain more transparency, enabling social information to pass through the steel shell of the cars and giving opportunities to reduce anonymity and strengthen empathy. In this study, we utilized the “Four Side” communication model to describe different dimensions of information exchanging between drivers, which would be enhanced by the latest Vehicle to Vehicle communication technology. Under this model, three prototypes on a driving simulator were developed for further exploration to get the insights of social interaction between drivers by digital augmentation.