Consumer interest builds for 'gateway' automated vehicle technologies, says study

Trust in automation technology is very much age dependent, as younger consumers have a notably higher level of confidence in the technology than their older counterparts, according to the J.D. Power 2016 US Tech Choice Study, which says trust in automation technology is a critical step toward the future of automated vehicles. The study was conducted in February through March 2016 and is based on an online survey of more than 7,900 consumers who purchased/leased a new vehicle in the past five years.
April 29, 2016 Read time: 2 mins

Trust in automation technology is very much age dependent, as younger consumers have a notably higher level of confidence in the technology than their older counterparts, according to the J.D. Power 2016 US Tech Choice Study, which says trust in automation technology is a critical step toward the future of automated vehicles.

The study was conducted in February through March 2016 and is based on an online survey of more than 7,900 consumers who purchased/leased a new vehicle in the past five years.

The study finds that customers are most interested in a number of automotive technology features that make use of the underpinnings of fully automated vehicles, such as radar, sensors, light detection and ranging (LIDAR) and cameras. Features with high consumer interest include smart headlights, night vision, lane change assist, traffic jam assist, medical emergency stop, smart intersection and predictive vehicle control.  

However, when it comes to making the leap to fully automated cars, trust in the technology is directly linked to the age of the consumer. More than half of Gen Y (born 1977-1994) and Gen Z (1995-2000) vehicle owners say they trust self-driving technology, compared with 41 per cent of Gen X (1965-1976), 23 per cent of Baby Boomers (1946-1964) and 18 per cent of Pre-Boomers (born before 1946).

The one view all generations share is a concern for technology security, specifically surrounding privacy and the potential for systems to be hacked, hijacked or to crash (either the vehicle or the system itself).

"The level of trust is directly linked to the level of interest in a new technology among automobile buyers," said Kristin Kolodge, executive director of driver interaction and HMI research at J.D. Power. "Acceptance can be increased with exposure over time and experience with automated technologies. But trust is fragile and can be broken if there is an excessive number of incidents with automated vehicles."

Location Based Systems

Related Content

  • Toll performance exceeds expectations, improves travel times
    January 30, 2012
    Jean Harito, Attica Tollway Operations Authority and Steve Morello, Egis Projects describe how looking to exceed contractual obligations makes good operational and business sense. The Attica Tollway is a modern, 65km, access-controlled urban motorway with three lanes in each direction. It constitutes the ring road around the extensive metropolitan area of the Greek capital, Athens, and forms the backbone of the entire road network in the Attica region. By ensuring freeflow operating conditions, the Attica T
    Read More
  • Ultra-light mobile system for automated speed enforcement
    March 6, 2024
    Parifex, a leading solution provider in project management for speed enforcement and smart cities, will be showcasing Compas, the small mobile speed camera that is revolutionising enforcement of road traffic offences.
    Read More
  • Keeping people on track is RATP’s raison d’etre
    June 14, 2018
    In Paris, RATP Group’s autonomous Metro Line 1 is carrying 750,000 people a day across the city. Ben Spencer is invited into the control room to take a look at how the system works Paris is visited by millions of tourists each year, keen to see for themselves stunning attractions such as the Eiffel Tower, Arc de Triomphe, Notre-Dame, the Louvre, the Seine and all the rest. But while the best-known sites of the City of Light tend to be on the surface, there is a lot going on below those iconic grand boule
    Read More
  • ZF and NVIDIA announce AI system for autonomous driving
    January 5, 2017
    German auto supplier ZF is working with NVIDIA to develop artificial intelligence (AI) systems for the transportation industry, including automated and autonomous driving systems for passenger cars, commercial trucks, and industrial applications. Unveiled at CES 2017 in Las Vegas, the ZF ProAI for highway automated driving is ZF’s first system developed using NVIDIA AI technology. It aims to enable vehicles to better understand their environment by using deep learning to process sensor and camera data. I
    Read More

Highlighted Content