An Empirical Study on the Structural Assurance Mechanism for Trust Building in Autonomous Vehicles Based on the Trust-in-Automation Three-Factor Model

The development of the Autonomous vehicle industry contributes to achieving the environmental, economic, and social sustainability goals. Autonomous vehicles (AVs) involve highly autonomous and complex intelligent driving technology, and their large-scale commercial application depends on the level of public trust in their safety and reliability. Therefore, how to establish and enhance public trust in AVs has become the key to the development of the AV industry. This study discusses the impact of technical structural assurance, social structural assurance, and individual cognitive factors on trust in AVs. This study uses a structural equation model to analyze a valid sample of 548 participants from China. The results show that autonomy has a negative impact on trust, and currently, personal cognitive factors exert a greater influence on trust compared to technical and social structural assurance factors in China. In theory, this study combines the trust-in-automation three-factor model with the concept of structural assurance to reveal subjective controllable factors that can promote public trust. In practice, this study reveals the important role of structural assurance factors in enhancing trust before fully automatic driving technology is officially launched.