Background
As the technology related to self-driving cars develops, new perspectives on how people acquire information and formulate decisions are becoming more critical to design the new infotainment system. This study aims to identify the information that passengers will require in vehicles with the level 4 or 5 stages of self-driving that have not yet been commercialized. Also, this study examines system designs that help passengers to make decisions through experiments.
Methods
This study investigates the types of information required by passengers of self- driving cars and user behavior changes in the interior space of automobiles. We conducted a preliminary survey to investigate the type of information required. Based on the result of the first study, we drew a scenario by deriving the structure and concept of the new infotainment system. The system was designed to provide information through windshields, touchscreen displays, and interactive agents that explore the system-user interactions in autonomous vehicles through user observation experiments.
Results
We identified through preliminary research that nearby restaurants are preferred for passengers of level 4 or 5 self-driving cars. Looking at the preference of information provision methods by passenger group when there are one, two, and three passengers, we found that the preference for interactive agents was lowered in driving situations with others. In groups of three, the interactive agent is less frequently answered to preemptive utterances, but they tend to order agents after having their own conversation. Windshield displays, which allow passengers to share and communicate information together, have also been evaluated to help with quick choices and decisions.
Conclusions
The preference for preemptive utterance or recommendation of interactive agents varies depending on the passenger group type. Also, passengers prefer a windshield display type that allows them to make decisions while looking at information. The results suggest that different interactions should be applied when designing future infotainment systems.
Keywords
Autonomous Vehicle, Autonomous System Design, Infotainment System, Information Display, Decision Support