ReAR - A Peripheral Indicator for Rear-Approaching Vehicles While Cycling

In this article, we present the ReAR Indicator, a peripheral information delivery approach that enhances awareness of rear-approaching vehicles while preserving forward vision. ReAR uses computer vision applied to a rear-facing RGB-D camera and combines it with data from a head mounted display for real-time vehicle detection and delivers information to the periphery such that the user can simultaneously view forward information but still use cues that provide information about the backward. Results from a virtual reality based experiment with 20 participants showed that the ReAR Indicator helped cyclists maintain a forward focus while still avoiding collisions with rear-approaching vehicles and in some conditions either matched or outperformed 3D arrows and virtual monitors.