A second pair of eyes: Evaluating a helmet-integrated multimodal HMI for proactive urban motorcyclist safety

Van Heuvelen, T., Bazilinskyy, P.

Submitted for publication.

ABSTRACT Motorcyclists are among the most vulnerable road users, frequently hindered by late detection of hazards in complex urban traffic. We evaluated MOTEX, a helmet-integrated HMI delivering proactive directional cues through peripheral visual, auditory, and multimodal feedback. In a within-subject simulator study (N=13) in 16 scenarios derived from common accident typologies, no statistically significant effects were found for reaction time (p=0.33) or safety margins (p=0.42). However, visual and multimodal cues yielded numerically faster responses (574ms; SD=317 and 570ms; SD=360) compared to the control (747ms; SD=445). Approximately 70% of the participants reported increased situation awareness, alongside low cognitive workload and moderate trust - suggesting the system functions as a supportive "second pair of eyes" for spatial confirmation rather than prescriptive warning. These findings demonstrate the feasibility of non-intrusive, decoupled helmet-integrated safety systems as modular retrofits bridging human perception and automated hazard detection.