Understanding motion comfort in automated driving: Bridging vehicle dynamics, driving style, and human-machine interaction

Riener, A., Pretto, P., Sodnik, J., Stojmenova Pečečnik, K., Papaioannou, G., Bazilinskyy, P., Meschtscherjakov, A.

Adjunct Proceedings of the 18th International Conference on Automotive User Interfaces and Interactive Vehicular Applications (AutoUI). Gothenburg, Sweden (2026)

ABSTRACT Passenger comfort is emerging as a key challenge for the successful deployment and public acceptance of highly automated vehicles. Existing research has examined individual comfort determinants, including vehicle dynamics, driving style, trust, perceived safety, and human-machine interaction (HMI), although these factors have been largely investigated in isolation. Consequently, a comprehensive understanding of how they jointly influence passenger comfort remains limited. This workshop aims to bring together researchers and practitioners from the AutomotiveUI community to develop a holistic perspective on comfort in automated driving. Through interactive brainstorming, small-group discussions, and collaborative framework building, participants will identify key comfort determinants, explore the relationships between vehicle behavior, user characteristics, contextual factors, and HMI designs, and discuss methodological challenges in measuring and improving passenger comfort. The workshop will culminate in a community-driven research agenda and an initial conceptual framework to guide future interdisciplinary research on adaptive, human-centered automated mobility systems. conferenceworkshopautomated-drivingpassenger