Building an understanding of how drivers interact with emerging vehicle technologies | MIT News

As the global conversation around assisted and automated vehicles (AVs) evolves, the MIT Advanced Vehicle Technology (AVT) Consortium continues to lead cutting-edge research aimed at understanding how drivers interact with emerging vehicle technologies. 

Since its launch in 2015, the AVT Consortium — a global academic-industry collaboration on developing a data-driven understanding of how drivers respond to commercially available vehicle technologies — has developed a data-driven approach to studying consumer attitudes and driving behavior across diverse populations, creating unique, multifaceted, and world-leading datasets to enable a diverse set of research applications. This research offers critical insights into consumer behaviors, system performance, and how technology impacts real-world driving, helping to shape the future of transportation.

“Cultivating public trust in AI will be the most significant factor for the future of assisted and automated vehicles,” says Bryan Reimer, AVT Consortium founder and a research engineer at the MIT AgeLab within the MIT Center for Transportation and Logistics (CTL). “Without trust, technology adoption will never reach its potential, and may stall. Our research aims to bridge this gap by understanding driver behavior and translating those insights into safer, more intuitive systems that enable safer, convenient, comfortable, sustainable and economical mobility.”

New insights from the J.D. Power Mobility Confidence Index Study

A recent Mobility Confidence Index Study, conducted in collaboration with J.D. Power, indicated that public readiness for autonomous vehicles has increased modestly after a two-year decline. While this shift is important for the broader adoption of AV technology, it is just one element of the ongoing research within the AVT Consortium, which is currently co-directed by Reimer, Bruce Mehler, and Pnina Gershon. The study, which surveys consumer attitudes toward autonomous vehicles, reflects a growing interest in the technology — but consumer perceptions are only part of the complex equation that AVT researchers are working to solve.

“The modest increase in AV readiness is encouraging,” Reimer notes. “But building lasting trust requires us to go deeper, examining how drivers interact with these systems in practice. Trust isn’t built on interest alone; it’s about creating a reliable and understandable user experience that people feel safe engaging with over time. Trust can be eroded quickly.”

Building a data-driven understanding of driving behavior

The AVT Consortium’s approach involves gathering extensive real-world data on driver interactions across age groups, experience levels, and vehicles. These data form one of the largest datasets of its kind, enabling researchers to study system performance, driver behavior, and attitudes toward assistive and automated technologies. AVT research aims to compare and contrast the benefits of various manufacturers’ embodiments of technologies. The vision for AVT research is that identifying the most promising attributes of various manufactured systems makes it easier and faster for new designs to evolve from the power of the positive.

“The work of the AVT Consortium exemplifies MIT’s commitment to understanding the human side of technology,” says Yossi Sheffi, director of the CTL. “By diving deep into driver behavior and attitudes toward assisted and automated systems, the AVT Consortium is laying the groundwork for a future where these technologies are both trusted and widely adopted. This research is essential for creating a transportation landscape that is safe, efficient, and adaptable to real-world human needs.”

The AVT Consortium’s insights have proven valuable in helping to shape vehicle design to meet the needs of real-world drivers. By understanding how drivers respond to these technologies, the consortium’s work supports the development of AI systems that feel trustworthy and intuitive, addressing drivers’ concerns and fostering confidence in the technology.

“We’re not just interested in whether people are open to using assistive and automated vehicle technologies,” adds Reimer. “We’re digging into how they use these technologies, what challenges they encounter, and how we can improve system design to make these technologies safer and more intuitive for all drivers.”

An interdisciplinary approach to vehicle technology

The AVT Consortium is not just a research effort — it is a community that brings together academic researchers, industry partners, and consumer organizations. By working with stakeholders from across the automotive, technology, and insurance industries, the AVT team can explore the full range of challenges and opportunities presented by emerging vehicle technologies to ensure a comprehensive, practical, and multi-stakeholder approach in the rapidly evolving mobility landscape. The interdisciplinary framework is also crucial to understanding how AI-driven systems can support humans beyond the car.

“As vehicle technologies evolve, it’s crucial to understand how they intersect with the everyday experiences of drivers across all ages,” says Joe Coughlin, director of the MIT AgeLab. “The AVT Consortium’s approach, focusing on both data and human-centered insights, reflects a profound commitment to creating mobility systems that genuinely serve people. The AgeLab is proud to support this work, which is instrumental in making future vehicle systems intuitive, safe, and empowering for everyone.”

“The future of mobility relies on our ability to build systems that drivers can trust and feel comfortable using,” says Reimer. “Our mission at AVT is not only to develop a data-driven understanding of how drivers across the lifespan use and respond to various vehicle technologies, but also to provide actionable insights into consumer attitudes to enhance safety and usability.”

Shaping the future of mobility

As assistive and automated vehicles become more common on our roads, the work of the AVT Consortium will continue to play a critical role in shaping the future of transportation. By prioritizing data-driven insights and human-centered design, the AVT Consortium is helping to lay the foundation for a safer, smarter, and more trusted mobility future.

MIT CTL is a world leader in supply chain management research and education, with over 50 years of expertise. The center’s work spans industry partnerships, cutting-edge research, and the advancement of sustainable supply chain practices.