Children’s perspectives on autonomous vehicles: A usability and user experience study in a high-fidelity prototype

Driverless or autonomous vehicles (AVs) have the potential to improve the mobility of children and young people without a driver’s license, who are currently dependent on adult drivers in everyday life. An essential prerequisite for offering children and adolescents autonomous rides for unaccompanied transportation in everyday life is that they can operate such an AV without the support of others. We therefore conducted a usability study in which children (supported by their parents) tested the high-fidelity prototype of the family AV “autoELF”. Fifteen parents and seventeen of their 7- to 14-year-old children tested the AV prototype in the laboratory. During an imaginary ride, the children used the safety and entertainment features required to operate the AV during a normal ride. In a post-session interview, the children reported on their experiences as users. Children and parents were asked about their willingness to integrate AV into their family’s mobility. The main findings were that the children were able to transfer their knowledge from their current interaction with cars and technology to the new AV context. Most children were able to use most of the AV’s features without help from their parents and on the first try, when the children were already familiar with the task. Icons and written keywords supported children’s understanding of the vehicle features and their functionality. The study provides practical recommendations for the design of child-friendly user interfaces in AVs.