Effect of Robo-Taxi User Experience on User Acceptance: Field Test Data Analysis

Abstract

With the advancement of self-driving technology, the commercialization of robot taxi (Robo-taxi) services is expected. However, there is some skepticism as to whether such taxi services will be successfully accepted by real customers because of perceived safety-related concerns; therefore, studies focused on user experience have become more crucial. Although many studies statistically analyze user experience data obtained by surveying individuals’ perceptions of Robo-taxis or indirectly through simulators, there is a lack of research that statistically analyzes data obtained directly from actual Robo-taxi service experiences. Accordingly, based on the user experience data obtained by implementing a Robo-taxi service in the downtown of Seoul and Daejeon in South Korea, this study quantitatively analyzes the effect of user experience on user acceptance through structural equation modeling and path analysis. Balanced and highly valid insights were also obtained by re-analyzing meaningful relationships obtained through statistical models based on the results of in-depth interviews. The results revealed that the experience of the traveling stage had the greatest effect on user acceptance, and the cutting-edge nature of the service and apprehension of technology were emotions that had a significant effect on user acceptance. Based on these findings, guidelines are suggested for the design and marketing of future Robo-taxi services.

IoT Board Education Design and Analysis for Elementary School Students

“…Test Method [11][12][13][14][15][16][17][18][19]. Questions on the questionnaire that will be shared with users are questions based on research from Pal et al [20] as shown in Table 4.…”

A Context-Aware, Computer-Vision-Based Approach for the Detection of Taxi Street-Hailing Scenes from Video Streams

“…The Chinese DeepRoute.ai is planning to start the mass production of Level 4 autonomous taxis in 2024, to be available for consumer purchase afterwards [ 9 ]. In academia, recent research works have concluded that, besides the safety issue, the acceptance of Robotaxis by users is hugely affected by the user experience [ 10 , 11 , 12 ]. Researchers have identified different autonomous taxi service stages, mainly calling, pick-up, traveling and drop-off stages, and have conducted experiments to study the user experience during these different stages.…”

“…Participants also requested more flexibility with respect to the communication of the pick-up and drop-off locations to autonomous taxis. The current practice is to select pick-up and drop-off locations from a fixed list of stands, but users have the perception that taxis can be everywhere [ 10 ], and they expect autonomous taxis to be like traditional manned taxis in this respect [ 11 ].…”