Impact of In-Cabin Human Machine Interface Designs on Passenger Trust in Urban Air Mobility

Abstract

Urban Air Mobility (UAM) presents a promising solution for alleviating urban traffic congestion and enhancing transportation efficiency. However, the widespread acceptance of UAM, particularly sustained ridership of autonomous passenger air vehicles (PAVs), is contingent upon addressing critical human factors for building passenger trust, especially in the absence of a human pilot. This paper evaluates how different in-cabin human-machine interface (HMI) designs affect passenger trust in the aircraft and in-cabin display, situation awareness, and pilot preferences. Forty participants, equally split between early and late technology adopters, completed two simulated flights: a baseline flight with no HMI and a second flight featuring one of four HMI types: information, audio, video with a professionally dressed remote pilot, or video with a casually dressed remote pilot. Results show that participants exposed to the professionally dressed remote operator report significantly higher trust in the aircraft, trust in the HMI, and demonstrate higher situation awareness, while trust and situation awareness were not significantly influenced by technology adopter profile. Participants also preferred the presence of an audible or visible remote operator, particularly among late adopters. These findings suggest that human-centered HMI designs, especially those that include visual cues of professionalism, can meaningfully improve passenger trust in autonomous air taxis. As the UAM industry advances toward public deployment, incorporating such HMI features may be critical in overcoming trust barriers and enabling broad consumer acceptance.

Authors

• Johnson, Ricole A Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University
• Gallegos, Erika E Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University

Keywords

• Passenger Air Vehicle
• Autonomous Aviation
• Flight Simulation
• Technology Adoption
• Situation Awareness
• Human factors
• Aviation Safety and Security
• Human Factors Psychology