Why Researchers Dressed as a Car Seat to Teach Self-Driving Vehicles to Talk

Last month, Northern Virginia residents were startled to see a grey Ford Transit Connect van motoring around their neighborhood--without a driver inside. OK, not quite: Further inspection revealed that there was a driver inside but that he was concealed inside a costume that made him look like an empty car seat. Virginia Tech Transportation Institute took credit--nay, responsibility--for car seat man but wouldn't reveal more. Today, we know the truth. Car seat man was part of a Ford-funded study by researchers at the Virginia Tech Transportation Institute into how autonomous vehicles will interact with humans on the road.