Set-up and real-traffic assessment of a data logger for vulnerable-road-user motion

Abstract: Accounting for over 1.2 million yearly deaths, traffic accidents are the ninth causeof death worldwide. In Europe, over 20 percent of the fatalities are vulnerable roadusers (VRU).The scope of this thesis work was to develop and test a wearable data logging deviceable to acquire VRU and environmental information in real-traffic. Such device maybe employed in the future 1) to better understand VRU behavior, 2) as a loggingtool for naturalistic study on pedestrians, and 3) as a basis for the development ofactive safety systems hosted on VRU portable devices.A first prototype of the device has been implemented in this project. Such prototypeis able to log data from inertial measurement units (IMUs), GPS, force sensors andvideo camera in any configuration. Further, this device is capable of real-time processingand is able to provide visual, acoustic, and haptic feedback to the user. Inaddition, the device is wireless capable, opening for a number of cooperative activesafety applications. The device was successfully tested in real traffic with a simpleactive safety application which warned the user when initiating walking close to azebra crossing without looking left and right first