Blinking, Beeping or Just Driving? Investigating Different Communication Concepts for an Autonomously Parking E-Cargo Bike from a User Perspective

Abstract

While autonomously parking e-cargo bikes offer the potential to enhance users’ comfort and time efficiency at sharing-stations, it is important to ensure a safe and useable interaction. External human machine interfaces (eHMIs) provide a possible solution for highly automated systems to communicate relevant information and to ensure system transparency. We conducted a laboratory study investigating three different communication concepts for autonomously parking e-cargo bikes: (1) a visual eHMI, (2) an auditory eHMI, and (3) a baseline condition. Participants (N = 36) watched videos of an autonomously parking e-cargo prototype and assessed each concept regarding user experience, acceptance, perceived safety, and trust. Results revealed a clear ranking of communication concepts with the visual eHMI rated to be most suitable followed by the auditory eHMI, whereas ratings for the condition without eHMI revealed considerable concerns for all aspects. Our findings suggest important implications for designing user interfaces for self- parking e-cargo bikes.