A Framework to Elicit User Needs of Autonomous Transportation System Based on Activity Theory

The development of a new generation of autonomous transportation system (ATS) requires a complete system architecture to guide, and user needs’ elicitation is the basis for constructing such a system architecture. The “travel activity” was first identified, and several travel modes, and transfer for passengers and by truck for goods, were considered to subdivide the travel activities. For each travel activity, the activity theory is applied. The subject, community, object, tools, rules, and division of labor of travel activities were specified. Activities were then divided based on the travel process and actions, and user needs were elicited from the actions from the perspectives of safety, convenience, efficiency, green, and economy. Finally, the framework was applied to elicit user needs in the context of autonomous driving, and the contradictory concept of activity theory was used to explain the evolution of user needs under different autonomous levels.