Fly Away: Evaluating the Impact of Motion Fidelity on Optimized User Interface Design via Bayesian Optimization in Automated Urban Air Mobility Simulations

TL;DR

This study investigates how motion fidelity in VR air taxi simulations affects user trust and interface design, revealing that higher motion cues can decrease trust and emphasizing personalized interfaces for Urban Air Mobility systems.

Contribution

It introduces a Bayesian optimization approach to optimize UAM interface trade-offs considering motion fidelity effects on user trust and acceptance.

Findings

Motion fidelity reduces user trust and acceptance.

Bayesian optimization effectively balances multiple interface objectives.

Personalized interfaces may be necessary for optimal UAM user experience.

Abstract

Automated Urban Air Mobility (UAM) can improve passenger transportation and reduce congestion, but its success depends on passenger trust. While initial research addresses passengers' information needs, questions remain about how to simulate air taxi flights and how these simulations impact users and interface requirements. We conducted a between-subjects study (N=40), examining the influence of motion fidelity in Virtual-Reality-simulated air taxi flights on user effects and interface design. Our study compared simulations with and without motion cues using a 3-Degrees-of-Freedom motion chair. Optimizing the interface design across six objectives, such as trust and mental demand, we used multi-objective Bayesian optimization to determine the most effective design trade-offs. Our results indicate that motion fidelity decreases users' trust, understanding, and acceptance, highlighting the need to consider motion fidelity in future UAM studies to approach realism. However, minimal evidence was found for differences or equality in the optimized interface designs, suggesting personalized interface designs.