Empirical assessment of ChatGPT's answering capabilities in natural science and engineering.

ChatGPT is a powerful language model from OpenAI that is arguably able to comprehend and generate text. ChatGPT is expected to greatly impact society, research, and education. An essential step to understand ChatGPT's expected impact is to study its domain-specific answering capabilities. Here, we perform a systematic empirical assessment of its abilities to answer questions across the natural science and engineering domains. We collected 594 questions on natural science and engineering topics from 198 faculty members across five faculties at Delft University of Technology. After collecting the answers from ChatGPT, the participants assessed the quality of the answers using a systematic scheme. Our results show that the answers from ChatGPT are, on average, perceived as "mostly correct". Two major trends are that the rating of the ChatGPT answers significantly decreases (i) as the educational level of the question increases and (ii) as we evaluate skills beyond scientific knowledge, e.g., critical attitude.

How age and health status impact attitudes towards aging and technologies in care: a quantitative analysis.

BACKGROUND: Increasing proportions of geriatric patients pose tremendous challenges for our society. Developments in assistive technologies have the potential to support older and frail people in aging and care. To reach a sustainable adoption of these technologies, the perceptions and wishes of future users must be understood. In particular, the relationships between individual health-related factors, and the perceptions of aging and using assistive technologies in severe health situations must be empirically examined. METHODS: Addressing this research gap, our quantitative study (N = 570) investigates the impact of diverse future users' age and health status on their a) perceptions of aging, b) perceptions and acceptance of using assistive technologies in aging and care, as well as c) end-of-life decisions regarding technology usage. For this, four groups were segmented for the comparison of younger (< 50 years) healthy, younger chronically ill, older (50 + years) healthy, and older chronically ill participants. RESULTS: The results revealed that health status is more decisive for age-related perceptions compared to age. The technology-related perceptions were slightly impacted by either chronological age or health status. The end-of-life decisions showed the most striking differences in the willingness to use assistive technologies, revealing older chronically ill participants to have more restrained attitudes towards technology usage than older healthy as well as all younger participants. CONCLUSIONS: The findings suggest that the benefits of assistive technologies in private or professional care contexts should be communicated and implemented tailored to the respective user group's needs. Moreover, the results allow us to derive practical implications within the geriatric care context.

Telemedicine in nursing homes: Insights on the social acceptance and ethical acceptability of telemedical consultations.

Introduction: The increasing number of older adults in need of care, the resulting rise in demand for care services and the shortage of nursing staff are major challenges for society. In these situations, the use of telemedicine seems promising - especially in nursing homes when the focus is on rapid support in acute medical cases. However, in addition to the medical and technical potential, the acceptability and usability of the use of telemedical consultations are crucial for a sustainable implementation and acceptance. Our research aims at a holistic identification of socially and ethically relevant parameters for the evaluation of telemedical consultations in nursing homes. Methods: Presentation of the empirical approach of an interdisciplinary cooperation that combines social and ethical research perspectives during an entire research project. Qualitative analysis of social and ethical aspects based on an interview study with care personnel (N = 14) who have experiences with telemedical consultations in nursing homes, as an example of this interdisciplinary collaboration and to show first insights. Results: The results of the interview study show a slightly positive evaluation of the use of telemedical consultations in nursing homes. Six main categories were identified to capture and differentiate ethically and socially relevant perceived benefits and barriers (contact with physicians, general, personnel-related, residents-related, technical, and organizational aspects). Conclusion: The study results allow initial recommendations for the implementation of telemedicine consultations in nursing homes considering socially and ethically relevant aspects. These recommendations can be used to inform medical and technical experts in the field of telemedicine. In addition, the presentation of the interdisciplinary collaboration shows that the close integration of social and ethical aspects in research enables a holistic dimension of the use of telemedicine.

Everybody hurts sometimes: perceptions of benefits and barriers in telemedical consultations.

Introduction: Shifts in the age structure, rising needs of care and support, and a lack of (in)formal caregivers require innovative solutions to relieve the whole healthcare system. Applying digital approaches, such as telemedicine, has the potential to support people in need of care, to relieve caregivers in families and professional environments, and to assist medical professionals in their working everyday life: e.g., using telemedicine for acute consultations could contribute to avoid hospitalizations of older people, whereas consultations with the general practitioner could reduce efforts and relive medical personnel. Beyond technical opportunities and potential, the acceptance of future users represents a prerequisite for a sustainable adoption of such innovative approaches, especially in sensitive contexts such as life in older age in nursing homes. Methods: This study aimed at collecting users' perceptions and evaluations of telemedicine in nursing homes. Two scenarios of telemedical consultations were applied which were either carried out by an emergency physician in acute situations or by the attending general practitioner. In a first approach, advantages and disadvantages of telemedicine were collected with the help of a qualitative interview study (N = 12) with laypersons and medical staff. The identified acceptance-relevant factors were then quantified in a second study using an online questionnaire (N = 204). Results: Outcomes revealed that both types of telemedicial consultations would be gladly used. However, for telemedical consultations in acute situations, the perceived disadvantages outweighed the advantages; for telemedical consultations with the general practitioner, the advantages outweighed the disadvantages. A prominent barrier in both scenarios was perceived impersonality, which limited the willingness to use. Nevertheless, participants indicated that telemedical consultations can be a support for nursing staff. Discussion: Outcomes may help to derive specific implications and recommendations to develop and realize digital technologies tailored to the requirements, needs, and wishes of diverse stakeholders (i.e., patients, medical professionals) as potential future users.

Eyes on privacy: acceptance of video-based AAL impacted by activities being filmed.

Introduction: The use of video-based ambient assisted living (AAL) technologies represents an innovative approach to supporting older adults living as independently and autonomously as possible in their homes. These visual devices have the potential to increase security, perceived safety, and relief for families and caregivers by detecting, among others, emergencies or serious health situations. Despite these potentials and advantages, using video-based technologies for monitoring different activities in everyday life evokes concerns about privacy intrusion and data security. For a sustainable design and adoption of such technical innovations, a detailed analysis of future users' acceptance, including perceived benefits and barriers is required and possible effects and privacy needs of different activities being filmed should be taken into account. Methods: Therefore, the present study investigated the acceptance and benefit-barrier-perception of using video-based AAL technologies for different activities of daily living based on a scenario-based online survey (N = 146). Results: In the first step, the results identified distinct evaluation patterns for 25 activities of daily living with very high (e.g., changing clothes, showering) and very low privacy needs (e.g., gardening, eating, and drinking). In a second step, three exemplary activity types were compared regarding acceptance, perceived benefits, and barriers. The acceptance and the perceived benefits of using video-based AAL technologies revealed to be higher in household and social activities compared to intimate activities. The strongest barrier perception was found for intimate activities and mainly regarded privacy concerns. Discussion: The results can be used to derive design and information recommendations for the conception, development, and communication of video-based AAL technologies in order to meet the requirements and needs of future users.

Emotions of scepticism, trust, and security within the acceptance of telemedical applications.

BACKGROUND: Addressing demands and shortages in healthcare supply, especially care in nursing homes, applying telemedicine represents a promising approach. However, the patients' acceptance and willingness to use telemedicine are necessary prerequisites for a sustainable integration within the medical supply structure. METHOD: Therefore, this online survey study empirically (N = 203) investigates potential patients' attitudes towards telemedicine and their impact on the acceptance and perception of telemedical consultations being applied in nursing homes. Beyond that, using telemedicine in acute situations and for regular consultations is compared. RESULTS: The results show three different patterns of attitudes towards telemedicine affecting the evaluation of telemedical consultations in both, acute and regular consultations. CONCLUSION: The insights enable concrete recommendations for the integration of telemedicine in healthcare supply adressing the individual needs of potential patients.

Acceptance and Privacy Perceptions Toward Video-based Active and Assisted Living Technologies: Scoping Review.

BACKGROUND: The aging society posits new socioeconomic challenges to which a potential solution is active and assisted living (AAL) technologies. Visual-based sensing systems are technologically among the most advantageous forms of AAL technologies in providing health and social care; however, they come at the risk of violating rights to privacy. With the immersion of video-based technologies, privacy-preserving smart solutions are being developed; however, the user acceptance research about these developments is not yet being systematized. OBJECTIVE: With this scoping review, we aimed to gain an overview of existing studies examining the viewpoints of older adults and/or their caregivers on technology acceptance and privacy perceptions, specifically toward video-based AAL technology. METHODS: A total of 22 studies were identified with a primary focus on user acceptance and privacy attitudes during a literature search of major databases. Methodological quality assessment and thematic analysis of the selected studies were executed and principal findings are summarized. The PRISMA-ScR (Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses Extension for Scoping Reviews) guidelines were followed at every step of this scoping review. RESULTS: Acceptance attitudes toward video-based AAL technologies are rather conditional, and are summarized into five main themes seen from the two end-user perspectives: caregiver and care receiver. With privacy being a major barrier to video-based AAL technologies, security and medical safety were identified as the major benefits across the studies. CONCLUSIONS: This review reveals a very low methodological quality of the empirical studies assessing user acceptance of video-based AAL technologies. We propose that more specific and more end user- and real life-targeting research is needed to assess the acceptance of proposed solutions.

Shapes of You? Investigating the Acceptance of Video-Based AAL Technologies Applying Different Visualization Modes.

An aged population, increasing care needs, and a lack of (in)formal caregivers represent major challenges for our society today. Addressing these challenges fuels efforts and developments in innovative technologies leading to various existing AAL applications aiming at improving autonomy, independence, and security in older age. Here, the usage of video-based AAL technologies is promising as detailed information can be obtained and analyzed. Simultaneously, this type of technology is strongly connected with privacy concerns due to fears of unauthorized data access or inappropriate use of recorded data potentially resulting in rejection and non-use of the applications. As privacy-preserving visualizations of video data can diminish those concerns, this empirical study examines the acceptance and privacy perceptions of video-based AAL technology applying different visualization modes for privacy preservation (n = 161). These visualization modes differed in their degrees of visibility and identifiability, covering different levels of privacy preservation (low level: "Blurred" mode; medium level: "Pixel" and "Grey" modes; high level: "Avatar" mode) and are specifically evaluated based on realistic video sequences. The results of our study indicate a rather low acceptance of video-based AAL technology in general. From the diverse visualization modes, the "Avatar" mode is most preferred as it is perceived as best suitable to protect and preserve the users' privacy. Beyond that, distinct clusters of future users were identified differing in their technology evaluation as well as in individual characteristics (i.e., privacy perception, technology commitment). The findings support the understanding of potential users' needs for a successful future design, development, and implementation of video-based, but still privacy-preserving AAL technology.

Interdisciplinary perspectives on privacy awareness in lifelogging technology development.

Population aging resulting from demographic changes requires some challenging decisions and necessary steps to be taken by different stakeholders to manage current and future demand for assistance and support. The consequences of population aging can be mitigated to some extent by assisting technologies that can support the autonomous living of older individuals and persons in need of care in their private environments as long as possible. A variety of technical solutions are already available on the market, but privacy protection is a serious, often neglected, issue when using such (assisting) technology. Thus, privacy needs to be thoroughly taken under consideration in this context. In a three-year project PAAL ('Privacy-Aware and Acceptable Lifelogging Services for Older and Frail People'), researchers from different disciplines, such as law, rehabilitation, human-computer interaction, and computer science, investigated the phenomenon of privacy when using assistive lifelogging technologies. In concrete terms, the concept of Privacy by Design was realized using two exemplary lifelogging applications in private and professional environments. A user-centered empirical approach was applied to the lifelogging technologies, investigating the perceptions and attitudes of (older) users with different health-related and biographical profiles. The knowledge gained through the interdisciplinary collaboration can improve the implementation and optimization of assistive applications. In this paper, partners of the PAAL project present insights gained from their cross-national, interdisciplinary work regarding privacy-aware and acceptable lifelogging technologies.

Barriers and facilitators to older adults' acceptance of camera-based active and assisted living technologies: a scoping review protocol.

Objective: To identify and synthesize evidence on the barriers and facilitators to older adults' acceptance of camera-based active and assisted living (AAL) technologies in the home. Introduction: Camera-based AAL technologies have been heralded as an important solution to population ageing. By leveraging state-of-the-art computer vision techniques, camera-based AAL technologies can secure greater levels of safety, health, and independence for older adults whilst benefiting their desires to age-in-place. However, these technologies face widespread rejection and are at present scarcely used. A critical first step toward enhancing older adults' acceptance and uptake of camera-based AAL technologies is to understand the barriers and facilitators to their acceptance of said technology. Inclusion criteria: This review will consider primary studies reporting data on the barriers and facilitators to the acceptance of camera-based AAL technologies among community-dwelling older adults aged 60 and above. No date or language restrictions will be applied. Methods: Following JBI scoping review methodology, key electronic databases ( e.g., MEDLINE, CINAHL, Embase, Web of Science, ACM Digital Library, IEEE Xplore) and the grey literature ( e.g., Google Scholar) will be searched to locate both unpublished and published articles of relevance. Retrieved citations will undergo independent screening against pre-defined eligibility criteria. Data will be independently extracted and mapped to the Theoretical Domains Framework with guidance from a pre-piloted coding manual. Results will be presented in tabular form accompanied by a narrative summary of barriers and facilitators.

Analyzing technology acceptance and perception of privacy in ambient assisted living for using sensor-based technologies.

People increasingly use various technologies that enable them to ease their everyday lives in different areas. Not only wearable devices are gaining ground, but also sensor-based ambient devices and systems are increasingly perceived as beneficial in supporting users. Especially older and/or frail persons can benefit from the so-called lifelogging technologies assisting the users in different activities and supporting their mobility and autonomy. This paper empirically investigates users' technology acceptance and privacy perceptions related to sensor-based applications implemented in private environments (i.e., passive infrared sensors for presence detection, humidity and temperature sensors for ambient monitoring, magnetic sensors for user-furniture interaction). For this purpose, we designed an online survey entitled "Acceptance and privacy perceptions of sensor-based lifelogging technologies" and collected data from N = 312 German adults. In terms of user acceptance, statistical analyses revealed that participants strongly agree on the benefits of such sensor-based ambient technologies, also perceiving these as useful and easy to use. Nevertheless, their intention to use the sensor-based applications was still rather limited. The evaluation of privacy perceptions showed that participants highly value their privacy and hence require a high degree of protection for their personal data. The potential users assessed the collection of data especially in the most intimate spaces of domestic environments, such as bathrooms and bedrooms, as critical. On the other hand, participants were also willing to provide complete data transparency in case of an acute risk to their health. Our results suggest that users' perceptions of personal privacy largely affect the acceptance and successful adoption of sensor-based lifelogging in home environments.

Applying an Extended UTAUT2 Model to Explain User Acceptance of Lifestyle and Therapy Mobile Health Apps: Survey Study.

BACKGROUND: Mobile health (mHealth) care apps are a promising technology to monitor and control health individually and cost-effectively with a technology that is widely used, affordable, and ubiquitous in many people's lives. Download statistics show that lifestyle apps are widely used by young and healthy users to improve fitness, nutrition, and more. While this is an important aspect for the prevention of future chronic diseases, the burdened health care systems worldwide may directly profit from the use of therapy apps by those patients already in need of medical treatment and monitoring. OBJECTIVE: We aimed to compare the factors influencing the acceptance of lifestyle and therapy apps to better understand what drives and hinders the use of mHealth apps. METHODS: We applied the established unified theory of acceptance and use of technology 2 (UTAUT2) technology acceptance model to evaluate mHealth apps via an online questionnaire with 707 German participants. Moreover, trust and privacy concerns were added to the model and, in a between-subject study design, the influence of these predictors on behavioral intention to use apps was compared between lifestyle and therapy apps. RESULTS: The results show that the model only weakly predicted the intention to use mHealth apps (R2=0.019). Only hedonic motivation was a significant predictor of behavioral intentions regarding both app types, as determined by path coefficients of the model (lifestyle: 0.196, P=.004; therapy: 0.344, P<.001). Habit influenced the behavioral intention to use lifestyle apps (0.272, P<.001), while social influence (0.185, P<.001) and trust (0.273, P<.001) predicted the intention to use therapy apps. A further exploratory correlation analysis of the relationship between user factors on behavioral intention was calculated. Health app familiarity showed the strongest correlation to the intention to use (r=0.469, P<.001), stressing the importance of experience. Also, age (r=-0.15, P=.004), gender (r=-0.075, P=.048), education level (r=0.088, P=.02), app familiarity (r=0.142, P=.007), digital health literacy (r=0.215, P<.001), privacy disposition (r=-0.194, P>.001), and the propensity to trust apps (r=0.191, P>.001) correlated weakly with behavioral intention to use mHealth apps. CONCLUSIONS: The results indicate that, rather than by utilitarian factors like usefulness, mHealth app acceptance is influenced by emotional factors like hedonic motivation and partly by habit, social influence, and trust. Overall, the findings give evidence that for the health care context, new and extended acceptance models need to be developed with an integration of user diversity, especially individuals' prior experience with apps and mHealth.

Acceptance and Preferences of Using Ambient Sensor-Based Lifelogging Technologies in Home Environments.

Diverse sensor-based technologies can be used to track (older and frail) people's movements and behaviors in order to detect anomalies and emergencies. Using several ambient sensors and integrating them into an assisting ambient system allows for the early identification of emergency situations and health-related changes. Typical examples are passive infrared sensors (PIR), humidity and temperature sensors (H&T) as well as magnetic sensors (MAG). So far, it is not known whether and to what extent these three specific sensor types are perceived and accepted differently by future users. Therefore, the present study analyzed the perception of benefits and barriers as well as acceptance of these specific sensor-based technologies using an online survey (reaching N=312 German participants). The results show technology-related differences, especially regarding the perception of benefits. Furthermore, the participants estimated the costs of these sensors to be higher than they are, but at the same time showed a relatively high willingness to pay for the implementation of sensor-based technologies in their home environment. The results enable the derivation of guidelines for both the technical development and the communication and information of assisting sensor-based technologies and systems.

Insights Into the Older Adults' World: Concepts of Aging, Care, and Using Assistive Technology in Late Adulthood.

The ongoing demographic change forces different stakeholders to cope with increasing needs in nursing care and the economic costs. Consequences arising from the population aging can be supported by assistive technologies to maintain older individuals' autonomy. However, older adults' opinions on the assistance of health-related technologies and their attitudes toward aging and care largely remain underexplored. This paper provides a geriatric and socio-technical perspective, investigating individual perceptions of (a) aging, (b) nursing care, and (c) the adoption of assistive technologies in a cross-national subject group. For this purpose, N = 384 individuals (60+ years) participated in an online survey. Findings indicate that most older adults are open to assistive technologies and that individual care preferences contribute to a successful adoption of these technologies. Among individual factors, health status, and gender affect respondents' opinions the most. Our findings help to understand older adults' acceptance of assistive technologies and contribute to the research on the nursing care in private and professional environments.

Serious Motion-Based Exercise Games for Older Adults: Evaluation of Usability, Performance, and Pain Mitigation.

BACKGROUND: Many societies are facing demographic changes that challenge the viability of health and welfare systems. Serious games for health care and ambient assisted living (AAL) offer health benefits and support for older adults and may mitigate some of the negative effects of the demographic shift. OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to examine the acceptance of serious games to promote physical health in AAL environments. Since AAL environments are designed specifically to support independent living in older adults, we studied the relationship among age and user diversity, performance in the game, and overall usability and acceptance evaluation. METHODS: We developed a motion-based serious exercise game for prototypical AAL environments. In two evaluations, outside (n=71) and within (n=64) the AAL environment, we investigated the influence of age, gender, self-efficacy in interacting with technology, need for achievement on performance, effect of the game, usability evaluation of the game, and overall acceptance. RESULTS: Both games were evaluated as easy to use and fun to play. Both game interventions had a strong pain-mitigating effect in older adults (game 1: -55%, P=.002; game 2: -66%, P=.01). CONCLUSIONS: Serious exercise games outside and inside AAL environments can contribute to individuals' health and well-being and to the stability of health care systems.

Opinion Formation on the Internet: The Influence of Personality, Network Structure, and Content on Sharing Messages Online.

Today the majority of people uses online social networks not only to stay in contact with friends, but also to find information about relevant topics, or to spread information. While a lot of research has been conducted into opinion formation, only little is known about which factors influence whether a user of online social networks disseminates information or not. To answer this question, we created an agent-based model and simulated message spreading in social networks using a latent-process model. In our model, we varied four different content types, six different network types, and we varied between a model that includes a personality model for its agents and one that did not. We found that the network type has only a weak influence on the distribution of content, whereas the message type has a clear influence on how many users receive a message. Using a personality model helped achieved more realistic outcomes.

Nothing Else Matters! Trade-Offs Between Perceived Benefits and Barriers of AAL Technology Usage.

Ambient assisted living (AAL) technologies present one approach to counter the challenges of demographic change in terms of an aging population, rising care needs, and lacking care personnel by supporting (older) people in need of care and enabling a longer and more independent staying at own home. Although the number of studies focusing on AAL users' acceptance and perception has increased in the last years, trade-off decisions-the weighing of perceived benefits and barriers of technology usage-have not been studied so far. Nevertheless, this is of high relevance: A realistic evaluation of adoption behaviors in different stakeholders (patients, care personnel) requires an understanding of exactly the weighing process of benefits against the barriers in line with the decision of the final willingness to use AAL technology. The current study applied a conjoint analysis approach and investigates people's decision behavior to use an AAL system for a family member in need of care. Study participants (n = 140) had to decide between realistic care scenarios consisting of different options of two benefits (increase in safety, relief of caring burden of relatives) and two barriers (access to personal data and data handling) of technology usage. Results revealed data access and privacy to be most relevant for the decision to use AAL technology at home. However, care experience essentially influenced the decision patterns. For the care experienced group, data access should be limited to most trusted persons and close relatives, rather than to medical professionals. The most important reasons to use AAL are the emotional relief and the felt safety for the person in care. For care novices, in contrast, data access should be in the exclusive responsibility of medical professionals. The reasons that militate in favor of using AAL technology are the increase in process efficiency and medical safety. The results are useful to develop user-tailored technology concepts and derive user-specific communication guidelines within and across clinical and home care contexts.

Bare necessities? How the need for care modulates the acceptance of ambient assisted living technologies.

BACKGROUND: Steadily increasing numbers of older people and people in need of care represent critical challenges for today's society. In the last years, diverse (health-related) technologies have been developed to facilitate living at home for older people but also to support (professional) care personnel in their daily care efforts. Ambient Assisted Living (AAL) technologies have the potential to enhance safety, support medical therapy, or facilitate everyday chores and social life. With the huge range and variety of technical opportunities, the question arises what influences (potential) users' decisions for the right technology in their individual conditions and situations. In particular with regard to the fragility of the care situation, it is unknown which technologies are desired for different care needs and diverse situations. OBJECTIVES: The present study investigates (1) personal care needs as a potential influencing parameter for technology acceptance and (2) the selection of specific technologies. METHOD: In an online questionnaire (including n = 162 people of all ages), technology acceptance and the selection of specific technologies was assessed, using two scenarios differing in their personal care needs (low care needs vs. moderate care needs) in two situational contexts (emergency detection vs. medical reminders). RESULTS: Personal care needs influence the perception of benefits, barriers, and general acceptance of assisting technologies, independent from situational context. Higher needs for care lead to higher acknowledgements of the technology's benefits, lower agreements or, in parts, higher rejections of potential barriers and higher acceptance. The two care situations differ regarding the participants' preferences for technologies: For emergency detection, smart watches and emergency buttons are clearly accepted. In contrast, cameras are consistently rejected. For situations in which medical reminders are used, smartphone and smartwatches are most wanted, whereas audio assistants and smart TV were rather rejected. CONCLUSIONS: The results provide insights into users' preferences for specific technologies for the purpose of emergency detection and medical reminders as well as for the important influence of personal care needs. These insights can be used to derive user-tailored solutions of technology configurations for specific care needs and situations.

sCARy! Risk Perceptions in Autonomous Driving: The Influence of Experience on Perceived Benefits and Barriers.

The increasing development of autonomous vehicles (AVs) influences the future of transportation. Beyond the potential benefits in terms of safety, efficiency, and comfort, also potential risks of novel driving technologies need to be addressed. In this article, we explore risk perceptions toward connected and autonomous driving in comparison to conventional driving. In order to gain a deeper understanding of individual risk perceptions, we adopted a two-step empirical procedure. First, focus groups ( N = 17 ) were carried out to identify relevant risk factors for autonomous and connected driving. Further, a questionnaire was developed, which was answered by 516 German participants. In the questionnaire, three driving technologies (connected, autonomous, conventional) were evaluated via semantic differential (rating scale to identify connotative meaning of technologies). Second, participants rated perceived risk levels (for data, traffic environment, vehicle, and passenger) and perceived benefits and barriers of connected/autonomous driving. Since previous experience with automated functions of driver assistance systems can have an impact on the evaluation, three experience groups have been formed. The effect of experience on benefits and barrier perceptions was also analyzed. Risk perceptions were significantly smaller for conventional driving compared to connected/autonomous driving. With increasing experience, risk perception decreases for novel driving technologies with one exception: the perceived risk in handling data is not influenced by experience. The findings contribute to an understanding of risk perception in autonomous driving, which helps to foster a successful implementation of AVs on the market and to develop public information strategies.

Let's Talk about TEX-Understanding Consumer Preferences for Smart Interactive Textile Products Using a Conjoint Analysis Approach.

Interactive textiles are reaching maturity. First technology augmented textiles in form of clothes and furnitures are becoming commercially available. In contrast to the close link between technological development and innovations, future users' acceptance and usage of such interactive textiles has not been integrated sufficiently, yet. The current study investigates future users' consumer behavior and acceptance of interactive textiles using a scenario-based conjoint analysis study, which was presented in an online questionnaire ( n = 324 ). Two prototypical interactive textiles were focused on: a smart jacket and a smart armchair. To assess the textile products, the participants had to choose the preferred product alternative consisting each of the acceptance-relevant factors "connectivity", "input modality", "feature range", "usability", and "ease of cleaning"and their respective levels. The results revealed that the "ease of cleaning" is the most important decision criterion for both textile devices (even more important for the smart jacket), followed by "feature range", "connectivity", and "usability". In contrast, the "input modality" is perceived as least important. The study also identified user profiles based on the projected consumer behavior ("adopters", "rejecters", and "undecided") for both products. Besides the differences in product evaluation and projected consumer behavior, the user groups are significantly influenced by the individual affinity to textiles (both products) and gender (smart jacket). The findings are used to derive design and communication guidelines referring to interactive textiles in order to incorporate users' needs, wishes, and requirements into future products.