Auditory interfaces in automated driving: an international survey
This study investigated peoples’ opinion on auditory interfaces in contemporary cars and their willingness to be exposed to auditory feedback in automated driving. We used an Internet-based survey to collect 1,205 responses from 91 countries. The participants stated their attitudes towards two existing auditory driver assistance systems, a parking assistant (PA) and forward collision warning system (FCWS), as well as towards a futuristic augmented sound system (FS) proposed for fully automated driving. The respondents were positive towards the PA and FCWS, and rated their willingness to have these systems as 3.87 and 3.77, respectively (1 = disagree strongly, 5 = agree strongly). The respondents tolerated the FS. The results showed that a female voice is the most preferred feedback mode for the support of takeover requests in highly automated driving, regardless of whether the respondents’ country is English speaking or not. The present results could be useful for designers of automated vehicles and other stakeholders.