Research on Self-Driving Cars
What the Dutch Public Really Think of Self-Driving Cars - Research
Wittenborg MBA graduate Jude Niranjan's thesis on self-driving vehicles in the Netherlands was so impressive that it will be presented as a paper at the 2018 European Conference on Cognitive Ergonomics (ECCE) in Utrecht on 5 September.
The paper was co-authored by Wittenborg MBA lecturer, Dr Geert de Haan, who proudly made the announcement at Wittenborg's 2018 Summer Graduation Ceremony in mid-July. De Haan - a keen academic researcher who teaches ICT-related courses such as database systems, business statistics and information management - was Niranjan's tutor.
Niranjan, from Sri Lanka, plans to stay on in the Netherlands now that he has graduated and look for a job. He says he chose to study here because it is a peaceful country. "Wittenborg is a fast-growing university and its entry dates are flexible to international students. I would advise students who study here to learn Dutch as soon as possible, as it is important if you want to find a job."
In the paper Niranjan and De Haan note how self-driving vehicles, especially Google's self-driving car, have become popular in the media and are the focus of many reviews. "This study investigates public opinion about self-driving vehicles, and it attempts to identify the main factors affecting opinions about self-driving vehicles."
Among other questions, the duo ponder the advantages and disadvantages of self-driving and the principal factors affecting public opinion on the matter, such as performance expectancy, usefulness and ease of use.
Their research found that about a third of respondents (31%) were excited about self-driving cars, while 38% found it interesting. About 13% of participants had concerns. Interestingly enough, more people (31%) prefer the current manually controlled vehicles than those who prefer self-driving vehicles (27%).
The researchers said that they adopted a new approach in their study, which was to design a questionnaire on the basis of different theories of acceptance of new technology in organisations and society, in combination with additional questions about specific factors such as the economic implications of self-driving vehicle services.
WUP 6/8/2018
by Anesca Smith
©WUAS Press