As self-driving cars have grown in sophistication and ability they have been deployed on the road, both in localised tests and in commercial deployments. In this paper we draw upon publically available videos of autonomous and assisted driving (specifically the Tesla autopilot and Google self-driving car) to explore how road users and drivers are interacting with. and make sense of, the actions of these cars. This data provides a early perspective on human interaction with new forms of driving –the interaction between assisted-car drivers, autonomous vehicles and other road users. Our focus is the ‘sociality’ of the road, and how drivers communicate through, and interpret the movement of cars and bodies, and the problems this can produce for driving technology.
Barry is a Professor at Stockholm University, and research director at Mobile Life. He was previously an associate professor at the University of California, a research fellow at the University of Glasgow and a research scientist at Hewlett-Packard’s research labs in Bristol. His recent work has focused on the sociology and design of leisure technologies - computer systems for leisure and pleasure. Recent publications span top forums in both social and technology fields, and include studies of activities as diverse as games, tourism, museum visiting, the use of maps, television watching and sport spectating. He has a book forthcoming with MIT press titled "enjoying machines", and he has edited books on music consumption and mobile phone use. His qualifications include a degree in computer science from the University of Edinburgh, and a PhD in sociology from the University of Surrey.
University of Nottingham School of Computer Science Nottingham, NG8 1BB
email: mrl@cs.nott.ac.uk