Final Event

July 9th, 2025

INNOPORT, Max-Planck-Straße 68/1, 72766 Reutlingen, Germany

The HEIDI project (Holistic and adaptivE Interface Design for human technology Interaction) invites you to its Final Event — a hands-on showcase of innovations that redefine how people and vehicles understand and respond to one another.

Whether you’re a driver behind the wheel, or a pedestrian navigating city streets, HEIDI’s work is about making those interactions safer, smarter, and more intuitive — across automated, autonomous, and manually driven vehicles alike.

At this event, you’ll get to see and experience:

  • Adaptive interfaces facilitating communication between vehicles and pedestrians
  • Driver warning systems that enhance safe and appropriate reactions inside a real vehicle
  • Real-world demonstrators and prototypes that respond dynamically to user behavior

This is more than a presentation — it’s your chance to touch, test, and feel how the future of human-vehicle interaction is being shaped.

Catch the live video demonstrations from our YouTube channel that bring HEIDI’s innovations to life

Witness a real-world external display communicating intent clearly to pedestrians

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See the cooperative logic in action as vehicles intelligently negotiate pedestrian crossings

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Enter a virtual world that tests and refines external interface responses under controlled conditions

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Join us in Reutlingen on July 9th to experience a future where vehicles truly understand people - and vice versa.

Registration

Please, follow this link to register (on-site attendance only)!

Note that, due to organizational constraints, only a limited number of participants can attend on a first-come, first-served basis.

Click Here

Agenda

10:00 – 10:05

Introduction (Paolo Pretto, Virtual Vehicle Research)

10:05 – 10:15

Welcome speech (Hendrik Brumme, Reutlingen University of Applied Science)

10:15 – 10:45

Keynote: Quo vadis ADAS? (Anestis Terzis, Ulm University of Applied Sciences)

10:45 – 12:15

Project presentations

 

  • The problems of interactions among pedestrians and vehicles (Paolo Pretto, Virtual Vehicle Research)
  • Internal interface: design and characteristics (Paolo Pretto, Virtual Vehicle Research)
  • External interface: immersive simulation and design challenges (Cristobal Curio, Reutlingen University of Applied Sciences)
  • The role of AI in pedestrian/driver intention recognition (Miguel Angel Sotelo, University of Alcala)
  • Interactive co-simulation of driver and pedestrian (Anna Sjörs-Dahlman, Swedish National Road and Transport Research Institute)
  • Cooperative system: prediction, optimization & recommendation logics (Thomas Weisswange, Honda Research Institute Europe)
  • Implementation of the internal interface in a real car: challenges and results (Philipp Hoffmann, BMW; Johann Edelbrunner, NISYS)
  • The external interface: design, development and test results (Ernst-Olaf Rosenhahn, Marelli)

12:15 – 13:00

Lunch

13:00 – 14:45

Live demonstrations, two iterated sessions of 50’ each:

  • internal HMI by BMW (outdoor)
  • external HMI by Marelli (indoor)

Participants are split in 2 groups and visit both sessions

14:45 – 15:00

Closing Remarks

Main results of the HEIDI research project

At the final event, after three years runtime, research findings will be presented and prototypes demonstrated to attending experts. The aim is for these insights to feed into proposals for legislative regulations.

Traffic situation in the Motion Capture Laboratory

The positions and speeds of the pedestrian and the experimental vehicle are recorded by the Motion Capture system.

 

(Source: Marelli)

Traffic situation without an active display

Without an active display, it is more difficult for the pedestrian to assess the behavior of the vehicle, causing him to hesitate before crossing the road.

 

(Source: Marelli)

Traffic situation with an active display

With an active display, the vehicle’s intention to let the pedestrian cross is indicated at a distance of 30 meters. The pedestrian crosses quickly and safely. The situation is resolved 3 seconds faster overall.

 

(Source: Marelli)

Messages displayed by the eHMI

Animated downward chevrons indicate intention to slow down.

 

(Source: Marelli)

Development of eHMI Concepts in Simulation

  1. Baseline without eHMI​
  2. Short-Term eHMI concept that considers legal limitations and physical constraints​
  3. Long-Term eHMI concept for interaction with multiple pedestrians and other traffic participants

(Source: RUAS – Reutlingen University of Applied Science)

Evaluation of eHMI Concepts in VR Co-Simulation

  • Pre-studies performed in simulation and later validated in real-world studies​
  • Key findings when using eHMI:​
    • Lower TTR (Time-To-Resolve: combined time for pedestrian and vehicle to complete crossing maneuver), indicating faster crossings
    • Earlier crossing initiation​
    • Higher average car speeds and fewer complete car stops indicating improved traffic flow

(Source: RUAS – Reutlingen University of Applied Science)

Cooperative HMI and Situation Understanding

Scenario: Driver approaches pedestrian who want to cross the road – who goes first?​

Research Question: Coordinating internal and external Human Machine Interfaces (HMI) to efficiently resolve this cooperative driving situation ​

Approach:​

  • Vehicle behavior planning creates multiple feasible plans for different outcomes​
  • Cooperative HMI logic uses planning results to harmonize internal HMI communication with driver, and external HMI communication with pedestrian​

Main result: In large-scale co-simulation (driver and pedestrian share one simulation), pedestrians cross first in 77% of all interactions with cooperative HMI vs. 46 % without cooperative HMI

 

(Source: HRI-EU – Honda Research Institute Europe GmbH)

Interactive co-simulation of driver and pedestrian

Simultaneous evaluation of the HEIDI cooperative HMI (cHMI) from the driver’s and pedestrian’s perspective

 

(Source: VTI – Swedish National Road & Transport Research Institute)