Supporting User Experience of Shared Automated Mobility On-Demand through Novel Virtual Infrastructure: Making the Case for Virtual Stops

Abstract

Sustainable and connected mobility concepts for the future are increasingly sought-after. Among many factors, providing high service quality is key to their commercial success. In pick-up scenarios of shared automated mobility on-demand (SAMOD), the new concept of virtual stops (vStop) improves control and planning, and the human-machine interface (HMI) associated with it aims to increase usability for users. This paper elaborates on the new concept in-depth and presents two user-centered online-interview studies. The objectives were 1) capturing users’ information requirements when using SAMOD, and 2) evaluating an early-stage vStop HMI prototype in terms of user experience. Results show that the HMI prototype’s high pragmatic quality corresponds to the user’s desire for distinctive information. This aspect becomes especially valuable to users when picked up at unfamiliar traffic locations. Conclusions from both studies lead to initial design guidelines for a vStop HMI, which could be implemented using mobile augmented reality. This work is a starting point for user-centered HMI development for vStops. It contributes to widespread deployment of SAMOD in the future and fosters the change towards more sustainable mobility solutions.