Are We Ready to Ride Autonomous Vehicles? A Pilot Study on Austrian Consumers’ Perspective

Abstract

Automotive manufacturers are competing to be the first to introduce customer-ready autonomous vehicles. Some manufacturers are claiming to launch their first self-driving cars as early as 2020. Which all sounds very good and futuristic; however, the question arises, are customers even ready to adopt this new technological advancement? Therefore, this pilot study is aimed at finding out the answer to this question in the Austrian market. This study discovers the standpoint of Austrian consumers concerning the acceptance of self-driving cars for daily usage and gives an overview of the current point of view regarding autonomous vehicles (AVs). The data for this study was collected using an online, user-friendly, Likert scale survey. The collected data were processed and analyzed for empirical significance in SPSS using Spearman’s rank correlation and the Mann–Whitney U test supported by descriptive analysis. The results of the study indicate that Austrian consumers are well aware of autonomous vehicles and their technology. However, they have specific concerns about reliability, cybersecurity, and futuristic car-sharing models. Therefore, these concerns about AVs should be addressed by auto manufactures in order to gain consumers’ trust and sell them a new form of mobility.

Potential applications of unmanned ground and aerial vehicles to mitigate challenges of transport and logistics-related critical success factors in the humanitarian supply chain

“…In the present decade, the potential applications of UGVs commonly referred to as autonomous vehicles or self-driving cars/trucks are under discussion in commercial settings, and several researchers have highlighted that these vehicles have the potential of significantly reducing the transport and logistics-related challenges in complex urban environments. For instance, the benefits of using UGVs in urban or commercial settings include but are not limited to, increased safety, reduced congestion, better fuel consumption, reduced emissions, reduced costs of ownership, elimination of drive time restrictions and transporting disabled or older people (Azmat et al 2019b;Gkartzonikas and Gkritza 2019;Wintersberger et al 2019;Azmat et al 2018;Milakis et al 2017;Mahmassani 2016;Litman 2015;Kyriakidis et al 2015;Bierstedt et al 2014). Even though researchers have highlighted the potential use case scenarios of UGVs in a complex environment, not many researchers have talked about exploring the potential of these advanced vehicles in humanitarian settings.…”

Scope of Using Autonomous Trucks and Lorries for Parcel Deliveries in Urban Settings

“…However, there is not much research about the demand and openness of customers in the context of autonomous vans, which represents a considerable gap. The paper of Wintersberger et al [51] examines the general attitude of consumers towards the daily and private usage of autonomous cars. Similar research could be undertaken to analyze the concerns of customers regarding autonomous vans and their overall willingness to change the process of urban delivery.…”

Implementation of Detection System for Drowsy Driving Prevention Using Image Recognition and IoT

“…As a solution to resolve these problems, it is possible to reduce the mortality rate of such traffic accidents by detecting and preventing drivers from driving while drowsy. Therefore, studies aimed at detecting and preventing this kind of driving have been actively researched in the academic field [2,3]. In this study, a device for preventing drowsy driving was selected, and interviews and surveys were conducted with operators who do a large amount of driving.…”