A User Study of Semi-Autonomous and Autonomous Highway Driving: An Interactive Simulation Study

The aim of this study is to explore user acceptance of semi-autonomous and fully autonomous vehicles on a highway through the use of an interactive simulator. Participants were asked to experience driving modes with three different levels of autonomy and complete questionnaires with items selected from traditional and automotive-specific technology acceptance models. The three levels of automation included manual driving (no-automation as a baseline condition), semi-autonomous driving where drivers were able to indicate lane change decisions, and fully autonomous driving. Results indicate that within the limited experience of the interactive simulation, users grew to like the automated system as much as manual control during later portions of the study. Overall, this work suggests that the driver will quickly grow to like automated driving features and may rapidly become less anxious about the loss of control experienced.