Subjective certainty to increase the acceptance of automated and connected driving

An important factor for the acceptance and thus the spread of automated and connected driving (ACD) is the degree of subjective uncertainty that users experience when interacting with automated vehicles. Subjective uncertainties always occur when people are not able to predict the further course of a situation or future events due to lack of experience or information. If such uncertainties occur during the use of automated vehicles, the development of trust and thus acceptance of this technology is impaired by the negative emotions accompanying subjective uncertainties. Within the AutoAkzept project (which full title translates to: Automation without uncertainty to increase the acceptance of automated and connected driving), solutions for user-focused automation have been developed that put vehicle occupants at the center of system development. User-focused systems take into account two basic human needs in human-machine interaction, the need to understand and the need to be understood. For this purpose, user-focused systems use different sensors to detect subjective uncertainties and their influencing factors in real time, integrate this information with context data and make adjustments that reduce subjective uncertainties. The systemic adaptations of user-focused systems follow a holistic approach that includes the levels of vehicle guidance, interior adaptation and information presentation as well as target guidance are included. By reducing or avoiding subjective uncertainties, the project developments contribute to a positive, comfortable user experience and help to increase the acceptance of ACD. This paper presents research results of AutoAkzept on the topics of user state and activity modelling as well as needs-based adaptation strategies, which represent key components for the implementation of user-focused automation.