Enhancing Safety and Efficiency for Vulnerable Road Users: Design and Evaluation of a Mobile User Interface for Cooperative Maneuver Coordination

This thesis explores the design and evaluation of a user interface (UI) for vulnerable road users (VRU) interacting with maneuver coordination messages (MCM) in urban environments within the scope of the PoDIUM project. The primary objective is to enhance the safety and efficiency of VRUs, specifically bicyclists, by developing a mobile interface on an Android smartphone to facilitate effective communication with a multi-access edge computing (MEC) server. The thesis employs a streamlined version of the “goal-directed design process”, incorporating best practices and insights from existing literature on UI design and human-machine interaction (HMI). The resulting UI is then evaluated using the GOMS framework and design grid methodology and compared with the old UI concept of the PoDIUM project. The findings demonstrate significant improvements in task efficiency, visual layout, and user experience. The newly developed UI reduces the number of interactions required, simplifies the visual design, and enhances safety by minimizing distractions. The thesis concludes with recommendations for further refinement and validation methods to ensure that the UI meets the evolving needs of VRUs in dynamic traffic environments, contributing to the broader goal of achieving safer roads in line with the European Union’s “Vision Zero” initiative.