Characterisation of driver behaviour during car following using quantum optical flow theory

Abstract

This study characterises driver behaviour during car following using a quantum optical-flow-based model. Car following is deemed the outcome of the intuitive response of a driver to instantaneous optical stimuli in the visual field driven by changes in the surrounding traffic environments. Such optical stimuli are transformed into psychophysical momentums in the quantum optical field using quantum mechanics, and then used to approximate the driver speed adjustment in the optical-flow-induced stimulus-response process. Preliminary test results using video-based data reveal the potential of the proposed model's applicability in characterising driver decisions to adjust speed in response to changes in surrounding traffic situations perceived in the visual field. Generalisations of analytical results also infer that under a plausible condition that a following driver fully focused on the front vehicle's behaviour, the proposed model permits reproducing car-following behaviour similar to that generated by existing models.