Over the past three years, FIA Region I contributed to the AUTOPILOT project which aimed to research the potential benefits of using the Internet of Things (IoT) to improve automated driving services.

As the leader of AUTOPILOT’s user acceptance evaluation, FIA Region I coordinated the set-up, implementation and analysis of a multi-country online survey as well as the user evaluation at the five pilot sites in Brainport (Netherlands), Livorno (Italy), Tampere (Finland), Versailles (France) and Vigo (Spain).  Both the online survey and the pilot site evaluation inquired about the expectations, concerns and requirements of users towards the tested services, which included automated valet parking, a highway pilot, a platooning service and an urban pilot.

What are the results in a nutshell?

Users have positive expectations towards the tested services and are willing to use them. However, they are concerned about system failure, unexpected behaviour and an uncomfortable driving style of the automated vehicle. Most importantly, users need clear and easily accessible information to trust the service and highly value the respect of their personal data and liability issues.

FIA Region I also coordinated the dissemination activities of the AUTOPILOT project. This included the design and promotion of an animated project video as well as multiple printed communication and dissemination materials. FIA Region I furthermore promoted the AUTOPILOT project by organising and hosting the project webinars,  representing the project at external meetings, events and conferences.