Sohn, GunhoHassan, Ali2023-12-082023-12-082023-12-08https://hdl.handle.net/10315/41776In the evolving urban landscape, the surge of Sidewalk Autonomous Delivery Robots (SADRs) calls for insights into their pedestrian interactions. This thesis explores these dynamics and presents a novel web-based simulator, "TwinWalk", to emulate such interactions. Rooted in a GIS-enhanced digital twin of a campus-like urban setting, TwinWalk employs agent-based modeling, steering behaviours, and the Predictive Avoidance Model (PAM) to illustrate collision scenarios and human-robot interactions. Experiments reveal that while SADRs maintain safety buffers, they pose collision risks. Notably, pedestrians often breach safety distances, implicating them in proximity issues. This emphasizes the need for further research and specialized safety measures. The simulator aids urban planners and researchers in assessing design interventions and policies. The study suggests that enlarged safety zones around robots can reduce collisions and enhance pedestrian flow, promoting harmonious robot-human urban coexistence.Author owns copyright, except where explicitly noted. Please contact the author directly with licensing requests.Urban planningRoboticsTransportation planningElectronic Thesis or Dissertation2023-12-08Sidewalk Autonomous Delivery RobotsSADRsSmart citiesPedestrian interactionsSimulationGIS-enhanced digital twinUrban planningRobot-human coexistenceCollision avoidancePredictive Avoidance ModelPAMAgent-based modelingSteering behavioursSafety buffersSidewalk congestionProximity infringementsUrban environmentsMulti-agent systemsSafety protocolsDesign interventionsPolicy implicationsCollision risksPedestrian movementUrban policymakersEvidence-based learning