THE SCHOOL OF INDUSTRIAL DESIGN 

GEORGIA INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY 

Under the provisions of the regulations for the degree 

MASTER OF INDUSTRIAL DESIGN 

on 

Friday, April 18, 2025

12:30 p.m. – 1:30 p.m. EST 

West Architecture 155

Teams Link:

https://teams.microsoft.com/l/meetup-join/19%3ameeting_YWIxNDgwMzktZjk4Yy00MjBjLTg3NTctNjQxNmMwYjU5NmNl%40thread.v2/0?context=%7b%22Tid%22%3a%22482198bb-ae7b-4b25-8b7a-6d7f32faa083%22%2c%22Oid%22%3a%2279a34748-86c5-48f7-90ac-2f1dff777826%22%7d

Huaizhuo Yang

will present a thesis defense entitled,  

"DRIVING LIKE AN EXPERIENCED, WELL-BEHAVED HUMAN DRIVER: DESIGNING AND EVALUATING A SPATIAL SOCIAL AGENT FOR AUTONOMOUS VEHICLES THROUGH CO-DESIGN AND TRUST MEASUREMENT"   

Advisor:  

Dr. Yixiao Wang, Georgia Tech School of Industrial Design  

Committee:  

        Wayne Li, Georgia Tech School of Industrial Design  

        Tim Purdy, Georgia Tech School of Industrial Design 

         Dave Lynn, Georgia Tech School of Industrial Design

       Dr. Mengyao Li,  Georgia Tech School of Psychology

 
  Faculty and students are invited to attend this presentation.  

Abstract  

Start To promote people’s acceptance of Autonomous Vehicle (AV), designers have been trying to calibrate user trust in AV through novel human-AV interaction designs. In this paper, we explore what kind of anthropomorphic AV interface designs may better enhance user trust in AV systems. More specifically, we propose the novel concept of “an AV interface that interacts with people as if an experienced, well-behaved human driver” since people tend to place more trust in experienced, well-behaved human drivers than in autonomous driving systems. We explored this design concept through two sessions of co-design workshops with 12 industrial designers. We employed “Annotated Portfolio” to annotate the graphical design materials collected in the workshop and analyzed these annotations together with the transcripts generated from the workshop through Reflexive Thematic Analysis. The results suggest novel design insights and guidelines for an AV interface that plays the social role of an experienced, well-behaved human driver. The design insights derived from this analysis informed the development of a spatial social agent prototype, which was implemented and tested within a virtual reality (VR) simulation to assess its effectiveness in fostering user trust in AV systems. The final prototype integrates key anthropomorphic elements that emulate the behaviors and communication patterns of an experienced, well-behaved human driver, creating a more relatable and reassuring AV interaction experience. To evaluate its impact, user testing and trust measurement validation were conducted, examining whether the proposed design significantly enhances user trust levels. The findings indicate that incorporating anthropomorphic and social interaction features into AV systems can effectively boost user confidence and acceptance, highlighting the potential of human-centered AV design strategies in addressing trust calibration challenges.