Comparing user requirements for automated vehicle interiors in China and Germany

Designing Automated Vehicle Interiors for Different Cultures: Evidence From China, Germany, and the United States

“…In contrast, the suggestions by German experts indicate a stronger tendency toward pragmatic design (Sauer, Mertens, Groß et al, 2019), which is also found by other vehicle design studies (Sudarshan et al, 2015). This is, for example, evident in the minimal and ergonomic design that is called for and the focus on design principles for usability in automated vehicles.…”

“…For the data collection in the United States, we used a qualitative questionnaire identical to the questionnaire used for a prior survey in China and Germany (Sauer, Mertens, Groß et al, 2019). The questionnaire was developed in German and used by the German experts.…”

“…While the strength of cultural differences depends on the user need, indications of cultural-specific preferences have been detected. Viewing the answers from Chinese experts across all needs, a preference for hedonic design of automated vehicles becomes evident (see also Sauer, Mertens, Groß et al, 2019). Chinese experts stress the importance of a comfortable, premium automated vehicle that cocoons the passengers by sealing off any influences from the outside through detailed control of the interior.…”

“…In addition to passenger well-being, we consider the additional user needs trust, usability, and comfort that can contribute to passenger well-being in automated driving (Sauer, Mertens, Heitland et al, 2019) and investigate their requirements and relationship with well-being. To address the raised research questions, we extend the data and analysis from our prior expert survey (Sauer, Mertens, Groß et al, 2019) to include insights from the United States in addition to the former results from China and Germany.…”