Project within SAFER: Assessment of Passenger Safety in Future Vehicles

The technology for automated vehicles is developing rapidly, turning drivers into passengers, having end users demand a more relaxed seating position. The reclined seating position is one of the most popular expectation among end users, nevertheless, there is a lack of investigations of reclined seating positions in highly automated vehicles in dynamic environments. To ll this gap, the thesis proposes a valid user study methodology to enable assessing the end user preferences and requirements on the reclined seating position, as well as its related Human-Machine Interfaces (HMIs) between active and automated driving mode, and between upright and reclined seating position. Moreover, it evaluates usability problems of the reclined seating position and its related HMIs, based on the seating and HMIs of a prototype vehicle provided by Autoliv. The research approach encompasses methods such as Failure Mode and Effect Analysis, subjective data collection methods and applied meta-methods to develop a valid user study method. Not only did the approach yield useful insights for the development of a user study method of high degree of validity, but it also helped identify ethical aspects to consider when conducting user studies with human subjects. For the evaluation of the reclined seating position and its related HMIs in Autoliv's prototype vehicle, methods such as heuristic evaluation and semi- structured interviews were utilised. This approach generated findings of usability problems of the reclined seating position and HMIs.