Acceptance, a Mandatory Requirement for the Transport of the Future

Acceptance is an underestimated element in the adoption of new technologies. User's effective needs become a requirement as far as transport is concerned. The investments in transport from public and private companies/agencies in next-generation tools and infrastructure continues. These, seen as emerging mobility services and automated vehicles (AVs) optimistically expect customer’s adoption. Yet, it is public acceptance that can potentialize the expected benefits of a connected and automated vehicles world. While stakeholders foresee to overcome established premises about traditional public transportation and vehicle ownership, the perceived usability of such advancements are the domain of daily travelers. Consequently, this paper addresses the issue of acceptance of connected automated vehicles by presenting a general view and a practical example from Drive2TheFuture project, where the needs and wants of future “drivers” are mandatory; The findings include relevant risks that affect users’ acceptance and exemplary recommendations to an affective, persuasive, and trusted HMI

Proactive voice assistance in automated vehicles : Understanding when to engage the user

Proactive behaviour of in-vehicle voice assistants is seen as key to develop increasingly intelligent and interactive systems. One of the main questions for proactive voice assistants is when opportune moments for engaging the user are. We present a driving simulator study (N = 32) investigating different situations of proactive interaction during an automated ride. Based on previous findings for opportune moments of interaction during manual driving, the study’s focus is on evaluating the influence of driving situations and the performance of a non-driving related activity (NDRA) on the opportuneness of a proactive interaction. The quantitative and qualitative findings show that most situations do not impact the opportuneness of a proactive interaction during an automated ride. However, an extreme traffic situation with an approaching emergency vehicle is considered as inopportune. Travel time and the current state of the user should also be considered for the selection of an opportune moment. A validation of the results in a real road driving study is planned

Sustainable product development by means of personalization – paradox or solution?

Personalization of products and services entails not only risks but also potentials for sustainability. During the product development process, it is crucial to take into account future usage patterns and their variability. Even if the product itself is not personalized, a user-centered approach during the entire life cycle can unlock many potentials. Avoiding unnecessary functions and tailoring a product precisely to its user’s needs can lead to optimized sustainability performance during its use. Moreover, by developing and offering personalizable products that meet the requirements of the respective user, companies can tap into new market opportunities and increase their competitiveness. As a methodological basis, we introduce a combination of the Stuttgart models of personalization and personalized product development with life cycle thinking aspects and circularity strategies. In an interactive workshop the integrated model is discussed and participants can locate their own work and perspective within the broader personalization scheme. Different opportunities of personalization are highlighted from an environmental point of view

How to Display Vehicle Information to Users of Automated Vehicles When Conducting Non-Driving-Related Activities

Automated vehicles (AVs) are expected to enable users to engage in non-driving-related activities (NDRAs). However, users do not easily trust an automated vehicle which poses new challenges for automotive human-machine interfaces (HMIs). Over-presenting vehicle information can distract users from NDRAs, and under-presentation can impact trust and user experience (UX) negatively. To investigate how to best present vehicle information to foster users' trust and UX while performing NDRAs, we designed two in-vehicle HMI concepts: 1) A colored and animated light bar display around the windshield and 2) a windshield display interface presenting pictograms and numbers. Results from a simulator study ($N=18$) indicate that both concepts contribute to a high trust level and UX while not affecting the NDRA performance compared to the baseline of not showing vehicle information. In addition, the light bar provides better UX than the windshield display and is also preferred by users. With our findings, we contribute to the effective design of presenting vehicle information in automated vehicles

FlexCAR- Die Forschungsplattform von morgen

Das FlexCAR besteht aus einer autonom gesteuerten Fahrzeugplattform für die Mobilität von morgen, welche Use-Case-gesteuert als Forschungsdemonstrator fungiert, um neue technologische Features unmittelbar aus dem Forschungsstadium nach dem Plug-and-Play-Prinzip gezielt zu implementieren. Damit kann eine frühzeitige Validierung im Hinblick auf ein künftiges Anwendungspotenzial ermöglicht werden. Offene Soft- und Hardwareschnittstellen sind hier berücksichtigt oder werden weiterentwickelt

Creating informed public acceptance by a user-centered human-machine interface for all automated transport modes

Increasing automation is ongoing in all areas of transport. This raises new challenges for the design and training of Human-Machine Interfaces (HMI) for different user groups. The EU-project Drive2theFuture investigates the needs and wants of transportation users, operators, passengers and passersby to gain their acceptance and to set the ground for a sustainable market introduction of automated transport. This paper describes how HMI concepts for the transport modes road, rail, maritime and aviation in Drive2theFuture are developed and comparatively assessed in order to be able to support an educated use of automated transport. By relying on a stepwise process, adaptable HMI strategies for different user clusters and levels of automation are defined. As a universal method, a comprehensive HMI development toolkit is developed, which can be adopted as training tool to create realistic expectations and enhance acceptance among users, operators and drivers in light of the deployment of automated vehicles

Creating informed public acceptance by a user-centered human-machine interface for all automated transport modes : Paper presented at the Transport Research Arena (TRA), 27–30 April 2020, Helsinki, Finland

Increasing automation is ongoing in all areas of transport. This raises new challenges for the design and training of Human-Machine Interfaces (HMI) for different user groups. The EU-project Drive2theFuture investigates the needs and wants of transportation users, operators, passengers and passersby to gain their acceptance and to set the ground for a sustainable market introduction of automated transport. This paper describes how HMI concepts for the transport modes road, rail, maritime and aviation in Drive2theFuture are developed and comparatively assessed in order to be able to support an educated use of automated transport. By relying on a stepwise process, adaptable HMI strategies for different user clusters and levels of automation are defined. As a universal method, a comprehensive HMI development toolkit is developed, which can be adopted as training tool to create realistic expectations and enhance acceptance among users, operators and drivers in light of the deployment of automated vehicles