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Citizen Perception of Future Street Scenarios

Last registered on September 08, 2022

Pre-Trial

Trial Information

General Information

Title
Citizen Perception of Future Street Scenarios
RCT ID
AEARCTR-0010003
Initial registration date
August 31, 2022

Initial registration date is when the trial was registered.

It corresponds to when the registration was submitted to the Registry to be reviewed for publication.

First published
September 08, 2022, 11:43 AM EDT

First published corresponds to when the trial was first made public on the Registry after being reviewed.

Locations

Region

Primary Investigator

Affiliation
ETH Zurich

Other Primary Investigator(s)

PI Affiliation
ETH Zurich
PI Affiliation
ETH Zurich

Additional Trial Information

Status
In development
Start date
2022-09-05
End date
2022-09-09
Secondary IDs
Prior work
This trial does not extend or rely on any prior RCTs.
Abstract
Road infrastructures have limited capacity and need to be used more sustainably in the future, satisfying diverse and variable demands. We, therefore, explore the concept of adaptive infrastructures and flexible usage patterns of roads. For this purpose, we have created various scenarios in computer simulations, which have then been explored by experimental subjects in a three-dimensional virtual reality setting using VR glasses. Based on their feedback, we assess what scenarios are more or less promising for the future organisation of urban mobility.
External Link(s)

Registration Citation

Citation
Argota Sanchez-Vaquerizo, Javier , Carina I. Hausladen and Carina Ines Hausladen. 2022. "Citizen Perception of Future Street Scenarios." AEA RCT Registry. September 08. https://doi.org/10.1257/rct.10003-2.0
Sponsors & Partners

Sponsors

Experimental Details

Interventions

Intervention(s)
Our independent variable is an information treatment: Group *information* will watch videos from a birdseye perspective for every scenario (basic/flexible/laneless). Subsequently, the participant has to cross the street. Group *efficacy* first watches the videos in the same order as group information. Additionally, they will watch the same videos on a split-screen to compare the differences (in efficacy) across scenarios and situations. Hence, they additionally get qualitative information about the efficacy of a traffic scenario.
Intervention Start Date
2022-09-05
Intervention End Date
2022-09-09

Primary Outcomes

Primary Outcomes (end points)
The experiment tests whether the user’s information about the scenario influences stress, perceived safety, willingness to cross and share the street, and physiological parameters.
Primary Outcomes (explanation)
Stress, perceived safety, and willingness to cross and share the street are self-reported. Stress is measured via the Short Stress State Questionnaire. Physiological parameters are measured via the Garmin HRM-Pro breast strap, and the Empatica embrace two wristband:
1. Heart rate sensor: To measure the heart rate and the heart rate variation (HRV). HRV characteristics describe stress, ease, engagement, and any imbalance within the autonomous nervous system.
2. Electrodermal activity (EDA) sensor: To understand the changes in skin electrical conductance in response to sweat secretion. It has been found that EDA has a strong association with emotional arousal
3. Inertial sensors: Combination of sensors like accelerometer, gyroscope, and magnetometer to identify the body position, acceleration, and orientation. The data could provide valuable insights into different stimuli that affect body movements.

Secondary Outcomes

Secondary Outcomes (end points)
Secondary Outcomes (explanation)

Experimental Design

Experimental Design
After entering the lab, participants take a seat at a computer. The session has five steps:
1. Before each experimental session, participants will be given an information sheet and asked to complete an informed
consent form.
2. Next, participants complete the pre-test questions from the SSSQ.
3. Participants watch videos (22”) through VR glasses, depending on their treatment group.
4. Next, participants stand up and get verbal instructions on how to
wear the VR glasses (see appendix). Then they try the
functionality of the headset and the controllers in an abstract VR environment. Steps 4 and 5 are supervised 1:1 by the experimenter.
5. Then they repeat the following steps three times in three different traffic sessions:
a. First, they watch (through an oculus quest 2) a traffic scenario in which they are asked to cross the street. Participants will have small breaks between replays.
b. They return to the computer and answer the post-test questions from SSSQ, perceived level of safety, willingness to cross and the walkable street survey.
6. Finally, participants complete socio-demographic and open-ended questions. Participants will read a debriefing on the exact data that has been collected. More precisely, they will be informed that we evaluate heart rate variability, skin conductance, stride length, walking cadence, vertical ratio, ground contact time, and respiration rate to quantify the difference in reaction to the different scenarios.
Experimental Design Details
Randomization Method
Participants are handled 1:1; therefore, treatment condition alternate, e.g. the first participant is in treatment *information*, the second in *efficacy*, and the third in *information*.
Randomization Unit
Randomization takes part on the participant level.
Was the treatment clustered?
No

Experiment Characteristics

Sample size: planned number of clusters
Twenty participants in each treatment group.
Sample size: planned number of observations
40 participants.
Sample size (or number of clusters) by treatment arms
40 participants.
Minimum detectable effect size for main outcomes (accounting for sample design and clustering)
IRB

Institutional Review Boards (IRBs)

IRB Name
Ethics Commission of ETH Zurich
IRB Approval Date
2021-01-28
IRB Approval Number
EK 2020-N-183

Post-Trial

Post Trial Information

Study Withdrawal

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Intervention

Is the intervention completed?
Yes
Intervention Completion Date
September 08, 2022, 12:00 +00:00
Data Collection Complete
Yes
Data Collection Completion Date
September 08, 2022, 12:00 +00:00
Final Sample Size: Number of Clusters (Unit of Randomization)
2 information treatments (between subjects)
3 scenarios (within-subject)
Was attrition correlated with treatment status?
No
Final Sample Size: Total Number of Observations
43 people
Final Sample Size (or Number of Clusters) by Treatment Arms
(2 lighting conditions (not randomized) summing up as follows:) 42 (21+21) observations for information treatment "Sequential" and scenario "Status-quo" 47 (24+23) observations for information treatment "Sequential" and scenario "inLED" 42 (21+21) observations for information treatment "Sequential" and scenario "Curbless" 44 (22+22) observations for information treatment "Parallel" and scenario "Status-quo" 48 (24+24) observations for information treatment "Parallel" and scenario "inLED" 43 (22+21) observations for information treatment "Parallel" and scenario "Curbless"
Data Publication

Data Publication

Is public data available?
Yes

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Program Files

Program Files
No
Reports, Papers & Other Materials

Relevant Paper(s)

Reports & Other Materials

Description
Results reports. Final publication
Citation
Argota Sánchez-Vaquerizo, J., Hausladen, C.I., Mahajan, S. et al. A virtual reality experiment to study pedestrian perception of future street scenarios. Sci Rep 14, 4571 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-024-55073-x