Publication

Studies have shown that in order to reap the assumed full benefits of autonomous vehicles (reduced energy use, increased traffic safety, etc.) users must first trust the vehicles.

A number of factors have been shown to influence people's trust in autonomous vehicles.

An experimental study was conducted on the AstaZero test course to investigate how the "driving behaviour" characteristics of autonomous cars affect users' understanding, trust and acceptance of AD. 18 participants, men and women in different ages, experienced two testruns with two different driving behaviours – a ‘Defensive’ and an ‘Aggressive’ driving behaviour - in a vehicle that was controlled by a (to the participant) hidden driver. The ‘Defensive’ driving behaviour was rated higher regarding perceived trust, it as perceived as more predictable since it more clearly showed its intentions. The ‘Aggressive’ driving behaviour was however in some situations assessed as the more effective but in other situations as unpredictable.

Whereas studies of Human-Machine-Interaction (HMI) has most often focused the design of the user interface (information content, modality, etc.) the results from this study demonstrate the importance of considering the vehicle as a whole when designing the HMI.