Bicyclist biomotion visibility aids: a 3D eye-tracking analysis

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to investigate the effectiveness of biomotion visibility aids for nighttime bicyclists compared to other configurations via 3D eye-tracking technology in a blind between-subjects experiment. Design/methodology/approach: A total of 40 participants were randomly assigned one of four visibility aid conditions in the form of videos: biomotion (retroreflective knee and ankle bands), non-biomotion (retroreflective vest configuration), pseudo-biomotion (vertical retroreflective stripes on the back of the legs), and control (all-black clothing). Gaze fixations on a screen were measured with a 3D eye-tracking system; coordinate data for each condition were analyzed via one-way ANOVA and Tukey’s post-hoc analyses with supplementary heatmaps. Post-experimental questionnaires addressed participants’ qualitative assessments. Findings: Significant differences in eye gaze location were found between the four reflective clothing design conditions in X-coordinate values (p<0.01) and Y-coordinate values (p<0.05). Practical implications: This research has the potential to further inform clothing designers and manufacturers on how to incorporate biomotion to increase bicyclist visibility and safety. Social implications: This research has the potential to benefit both drivers and nighttime bicyclists through a better understanding of how biomotion can increase visibility and safety. Originality/value: There is lack of literature addressing the issue of the commonly administered experimental task of recognizing bicyclists and its potential bias on participants’ attention and natural driving state. Eye-tracking has the potential to implicitly determine attention and visibility, devoid of biases to attention. A new retroreflective visibility aid design, pseudo-biomotion, was also introduced in this experiment.