User experience and usability when the automated driving system fails: Findings from a field experiment

We examined AV and ADS user experience and usability, ADS failures' influence on them, and their influences on re-riding willingness. We conducted a field study using a real AV and a large-scale test track. We invited participants (N = 261) to travel in the AV as passengers in a low-speed environment. Participants were randomly assigned into the normal condition or the fault condition (its participants were exposed to an ADS failure). We measured participants' positive experience (feeling relaxed, safe, and comfortable) and negative experience (feeling tense and risky) while riding in the AV and perceived usability of the ADS based on the System Usability Scale. In both conditions, participants reported moderate positive experience and perceived usability but a relatively high level of willingness to ride in our AV again. The ADS failure reduced positive experience and perceived usability, and it increased negative experience. Positive experience and perceived usability, but not negative experience, influenced re-riding willingness. Compared with male participants, female participants reported less positive experience and lower perceived usability. We discuss implications of our results as well as limitations of this research.PMID:34469855 | DOI:10.1016/j.aap.2021.106383
Source: Accident; Analysis and Prevention. - Category: Accident Prevention Authors: Source Type: research