Understanding the Users’ Understanding of Automated Vehicles

As vehicles get more automated it also becomes harder for the users to fully understand them. Previous research has shown that the users’ understanding affects acceptance and trust in automated vehicle systems. Furthermore, it has also been identified that the users’ conceptual model of automated vehicle systems did not match the designers’ conceptual model of the system. Therefore, it is important to understand the users’ understanding of automated vehicles in order to design the systems. This paper presents a PhD project with the aim to create further knowledge about the development of users’ mental models, and how the design of the interaction between users and vehicle affects this process. The paper first describes an initial experimental study, investigating users’ interpretation of an automated vehicle, and the initial results. Afterwards, the future directions and possible barriers are discussed.