Researchers Present on Technology Adoption, Pedestrian Behavior, New Vehicle Tech at HFES 2025
by Niels Wu
In October, AgeLab researchers presented three papers at the 69th Annual Meeting of the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society (HFES) in Chicago. The mission of HFES is to advance the science and practice of designing for people in systems through knowledge exchange, collaboration, and advocacy.
The first paper, titled “Quantifying the Role of Kinematic and Behavioral Features in Driver-Pedestrian Interaction across Environments: An Inverse Reinforcement Learning Approach,” was authored by a team led by AgeLab postdoctoral researcher Zach Noonan. It evaluated the relative importance of various aspects of interactions between drivers and pedestrians, particularly non-verbal cues such as when pedestrians slow their walking or when drivers and pedestrians look at each other. Data was collected at both designated and undesignated crossings. The findings have the potential to inform the design of automated driving systems and how they might interact with pedestrians on tomorrow’s roads. Pnina Gershon, Bruce Mehler, and Bryan Reimer, leaders of the AgeLab Advanced Vehicle Technology consortium, were credited alongside Josh Domeyer as co-authors of the paper.
Dr. Gershon and Dr. Noonan collaborated on a second paper, titled “The Impact of Electrification and Partial Automation on Driver Speeding Behavior,” with co-author John Lenneman. By collecting naturalistic data spanning almost 40,000 miles of driving, it found that drivers changed their on-road behaviors when operating electric or partially automated vehicles, and that both electrification and automation were associated with increased speeding in some contexts. These findings contribute a fuller picture of how drivers adapt to new vehicle technologies and could help promote safer driving as electric and automat ed vehicles become more widespread.
The final paper, titled “Revisiting Technology Adoption Frameworks: Insights for Smart Home Systems,” was authored by AgeLab researcher Dr. Shabnam FakhrHosseini. It posits that traditional technology adoption models were designed with simple workplace technologies in mind, and are increasingly outdated for explaining how users adopt modern smart systems. Through interviews and a review of seven major existing frameworks, Dr. FakhrHosseini identified four new factors shaping adoption—perceived cost, maintenance, reliability, and risk—that could inform the design of smart home solutions for consumers.
In addition to presenting his research, Dr. Reimer was also awarded the A.R. Lauer Safety Award, presented to an HFES member that has made outstanding contributions in the area of safety to human factors research and programs. Reimer said he felt the award “represents a deeper recognition of the collective impact” of his decades-long research on human behavior and its implications for technology and safety. Find the full story about Dr. Reimer’s award here.
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