Evaluation experiments on the affinity between pedestrians and personal mobility vehicles using personal space

A vehicle for the individual usage called a personal mobility vehicle (PMV) is investigated in terms of its affinity with pedestrians. A PMV sometimes share the space with pedestrians. Therefore, it is very important to ensure the safety and comfort of pedestrians and PMVs in the space. In this investigation, we evaluate the affinity between pedestrians and PMVs using the personal space. The personal space is the space which causes the psychological strain by the approach of others. By using the personal space, the psychological strains of the pedestrians and the PMVs are measured by physical distances. It is shown that the personal space of the two-wheeled dynamically stabilized vehicle has higher affinity with pedestrians than that of the bicycle, which has 2.0 to 2.3 times larger personal spaces for the front, back and side. It is also found that for a pedestrian, the approach of the dynamically stabilized vehicle for the front does not have high impact ; however the passing of the vehicle side to the pedestrian causes more discomfort and fear. Finally, the experiments using multiple pedestrian were carried out and the discomfort and fear level of the pedestrians were confirmed.