Bike to the Future – using VR to analyse perceptions of safety

With virtual reality (VR), it is possible to research, from various perspectives, how road users perceive scheduled infrastructure changes, and how they behave in response. While designing roads, for example, VR can be used to investigate the perceptions and traffic behaviour of drivers and cyclists as well as pedestrians.

This is a project conducted by the Future Cities Laboratory within the Singapore ETH Centre. The FHNW School of Applied Psychology is supporting the project in analysing perceptions of safety and traffic behaviour.

At the heart of this project is the VR bicycle simulator which is being developed in collaboration with the FHNW Institute of 4D Technologies at the Future Cities Laboratory in Singapore. Initially, the project will be investigating the validity of such a simulator for measuring cyclists’ behavioural responses.
The next step will be to test the simulator as an infrastructure development tool, allowing transport engineers and designers to assess the effects of their plans on traffic behaviour before the infrastructure is actually built. The new findings can therefore be brought in early, during the design and further planning stages.

Project Dates