How To Increase Trust Among Users For Autonomous Vehicles

Trust is hard-earned especially when it comes to technology. Waymo has recently begun its driver program in Phoenix to the delight of some early participants. Yet, just because the vehicles are going through a testing phase on the road, doesn’t necessarily mean that the technology is well trusted in the community. In a survey conducted in May 2018 by AAA, 63% of respondents stated they didn’t feel safe being near self-driving cars, while 73% indicated they did not trust the technology enough to ride in it. With so much mistrust among drivers, how do we increase trust for users? The key is in the way the car communicates.

Self-driving cars need to over communicate their actions to other vehicles and pedestrians. This is especially true during the introduction phase of the technology on roads. Since both manual and self-driving cars utilize the streets, the autonomous vehicles need to be careful they explicitly tell other cars what they are doing to avoid confusion. There are a number of different visual methods that the automobile can use. Flashing lights, sounds, or arrows are all different forms of communication the vehicle can demonstrate to other cars on the road and pedestrians what they are doing.

The issue that arises here is that since numerous companies are aiming to be the first to achieve successful implementation of autonomous vehicles on roadways, each is creating its own methods of communicating. Instead, there needs to be standardization among all cars, whether it is through the use of features or certain colors. That way companies and pedestrians understand what technology is being used to achieve unity in the industry.

Not only should the vehicle communicate to other cars and pedestrians, but also to its occupants. Borgward, a Chinese startup, is looking to implement technology that would alert passengers of careless driving committed by other drivers. The technology would flag potential road dangers, predict the actions of other cars, and forecast where collisions could occur. For example, if it senses the possibility that vehicles ahead could collide, it would mark zones as yellow and red to alert you.

Waymo is doing something similar with their technology; the company provides screens on the back of the front seats that face the passengers. The displays illustrate images of people, animals, and other cars as the minivan travels through the city. When the vehicle encounters pedestrians crossing, the screen will flash a message that it’s yielding to let passengers know.

Autonomous vehicles have a lot of ground to make up to foster consumer trust in the technology. Until the only cars on the road are autonomous, self-driving cars need to continue to over communicate with passengers and other vehicles.

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