# Building Trust in Autonomous Vehicles: Role of Virtual Reality Driving Simulators in HMI Design

arXiv: https://arxiv.org/abs/2007.13371 · HTML: https://mlsanity.com/paper/2007.13371/

## Key facts

- Cited by 10 papers in the map (data through 14 Oct 2026).
- First posted on arXiv 27 Jul 2020.

## Built on by (most cited first, 10 of 10)

- [Advancing Explainable Autonomous Vehicle Systems: A Comprehensive Review and Research Roadmap](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2404.00019/) (2024)
- [Effects of Multimodal Explanations for Autonomous Driving on Driving Performance, Cognitive Load, Expertise, Confidence, and Trust](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2401.04206/) (2024)
- [Comparing State-of-the-Art and Emerging Augmented Reality Interfaces for Autonomous Vehicle-to-Pedestrian Communication](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2102.02783/) (2021)
- [Pedestrian and Passenger Interaction with Autonomous Vehicles: Field Study in a Crosswalk Scenario](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2312.07606/) (2023)
- [Developing Situational Awareness for Joint Action with Autonomous Vehicles](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2404.11800/) (2024)
- [Converging Measures and an Emergent Model: A Meta-Analysis of Human-Automation Trust Questionnaires](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2303.13799/) (2023)
- [Driving Towards Inclusion: A Systematic Review of AI-powered Accessibility Enhancements for People with Disability in Autonomous Vehicles](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2401.14571/) (2024)
- [Analyze Drivers' Intervention Behavior During Autonomous Driving -- A VR-incorporated Approach](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2312.01669/) (2023)
- [Green Robotic Mixed Reality with Gaussian Splatting](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2504.13697/) (2025)
- [Seeing What the Vehicle Sees: Video-Augmented Virtual Reality for Physical Autonomous Vehicles](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2609.13224/) (2026)

## Abstract (arXiv)

The investigation of factors contributing at making humans trust Autonomous Vehicles (AVs) will play a fundamental role in the adoption of such technology. The user's ability to form a mental model of the AV, which is crucial to establish trust, depends on effective user-vehicle communication; thus, the importance of Human-Machine Interaction (HMI) is poised to increase. In this work, we propose a methodology to validate the user experience in AVs based on continuous, objective information gathered from physiological signals, while the user is immersed in a Virtual Reality-based driving simulation. We applied this methodology to the design of a head-up display interface delivering visual cues about the vehicle' sensory and planning systems. Through this approach, we obtained qualitative and quantitative evidence that a complete picture of the vehicle's surrounding, despite the higher cognitive load, is conducive to a less stressful experience. Moreover, after having been exposed to a more informative interface, users involved in the study were also more willing to test a real AV. The proposed methodology could be extended by adjusting the simulation environment, the HMI and/or the vehicle's Artificial Intelligence modules to dig into other aspects of the user experience.