Mid-Air Haptic Feedback Improves Implicit Agency and Trust in Gesture-Based Automotive Infotainment Systems: a Driving Simulator Study

Gesture-based interactions for automotive infotainment systems pose advantages over touchscreens such as alleviating the visual field. While the focus of these advantages is on improving the driving task, it is also important that a user feels in control and perceives influence over the in-vehicle system. This is known as the user’s sense of agency in psychology, and sensory feedback is a key aspect. The current study involved a dual-task driving (simulator) and gesture-controlled infotainment interaction, accompanied by mid-air haptic or audio feedback. With 30 participants, we utilized an experimental approach with implicit and explicit measures of agency, as well as trust and usability. Results illustrated no difference in explicit judgements of agency, however mid-air haptic feedback improved the implicit feeling. More trust was also reported in the system with mid-air haptics. Our findings provide empirical evidence for mid-air haptics fostering user agency and trust in gesture-based automotive UI.