The present research explores how autonomous vehicle voice agent (AVVA) design influences autonomous vehicle passenger (AVP) intentions to adopt autonomous vehicles. An online experiment (N = 158) examined the role of gender stereotypes in response to an AVVA with respect to the technology acceptance model. The findings indicate that characteristics of the AVVA that are more consistent with the stereotypical expectation of the social role (informative male AVVA and social female AVVA) foster greater perceived ease of use (PEU) and perceived usefulness (PU) than inconsistent conditions (social male AVVA and informative female AVVA). The study offers theoretical implications regarding the technology acceptance model in the context of autonomous technologies as well as practical implications for the design of autonomous vehicle voice agents.

Upper-limb impairments due to stroke can severely affect the quality of life in patients. Scientific evidence supports that repetitive rehabilitation exercises can improve motor ability in stroke patients. Rehabilitation games gained tremendous interest among researchers and clinicians because of their potential to make the seemingly mundane, enduring rehabilitation therapies more engaging. However, routine and longitudinal use of rehabilitation games in real-world clinical settings has not been investigated in depth. Particularly, we know little about current practices, challenges, and their potential impacts on therapeutic outcomes. To address this gap, we established a partnership with a rehabilitation hospital where game-assisted rehabilitation was routinely employed over a 2-year period. We then conducted an observational study, in which we observed 11 game-assisted therapy sessions and interviewed 15 therapists who moderated the therapy. Significant findings include (1) different engagement patterns of stroke patients in game-assisted therapy, (2) imperative roles of therapists in moderating games and challenges that therapists face during game-assisted therapy, and (3) lack of support for therapists in delivering patient-centered, personalized therapy to individual stroke patients. Furthermore, we discuss design implications for more effective rehabilitation game therapies that take into consideration both patients and therapists and their specific needs.