Emotional Driving Experiences: an Opportunity for Future Technology

The paper focuses on the emotional aspect of the driving experience. An experiment studying emotions during interaction between driver and vehicle interface in a natural driving situation was conducted. The aim was to identify aspects that affected the driving experience in a positive or negative manner. A triangulation method comprising interviews, observations and think-aloud protocols were used. Participants were required to drive around a specified route while interacting with the vehicle interface. They were interviewed before and after driving to identify their emotional state. During the drive they were asked to perform particular tasks with the interface as well as conduct a think-aloud protocol about their emotions while performing the tasks. Findings showed that emotions during interaction in low-traffic contexts did not impact the overall experience, while emotions elicited in high-traffic context influenced the overall emotional experience perceived. In addition, drivers in a positive emotional state before driving that experienced challenging interactions in high-traffic context perceived the overall experience as negative. Surprisingly, drivers in a negative emotional state prior to driving that experienced and overcame challenging interactions in high-traffic contexts perceived the overall experience as positive. An additional finding revealed that extended visual interaction with the vehicle interface in high-traffic situations led to negative emotions. The paper concludes by outlining future directions and suggestions as to how current and upcoming technology such as context aware interfaces, digital interfaces, and interfaces utilising smart materials may be applied to vehicle interiors to help support positive (and avoid negative) emotional experiences in a variety of contexts.