Otto: An Autonomous School Bus System for Parents and Children

Abstract

Technological advances in autonomous transportation systems have brought them closer to road use. However, little research is reported on children’s behavior in autonomous buses (ABs) under real road conditions and on improving parents’ trust in leaving their children alone in ABs. Thus, we aim to answer the research question: “How can we design ABs suitable for unaccompanied children so that the parents can trust them?” We conducted a study using a Wizard-of-Oz method to observe children’s behavior and interview both parents and children to examine their needs in ABs. Using an affinity diagram, we grouped children’s and parents’ needs under the following categories: entertainment, communication, personal behavior, trust and desires. Using an iterative human-centered design process, we created an Otto system, a smartphone app for parents to communicate with their children and a tablet app for children to entertain during the ride.