TY - THES A1 - Pizzoni, Luca T1 - Conceptualization of a digital companion for shared automated vehicles BT - a cross-cultural approach comparing korea and germany N2 - Shared Automated Vehicles (SAVs) offer the opportunity to make Automated Vehicles (AVs) accessible to a wide range of people while reducing air pollution and improving traffic flow. A major difference compared to conventional Shared Vehicles is the absence of a human driver, which poses several challenges. A Digital Companion (DC) could compensate for this circumstance. However, requirements for a DC might vary between different cultures. In this work, we take a cross-cultural approach comparing Korea and Germany to identify the requirements for a DC for SAVs in different cultures. Moreover, we aim to explore whether a DC improves the feeling of security and the user experience of Korean and German passengers on SAVs as well as what type of DC for SAVs is perceived most positively by Koreans and Germans. Through three pre-studies including one interview (n = 1), four workshops (n = 19), and an online survey (n = 33) the requirements of Koreans and Germans for a DC for SAVs were identified. It was found that Koreans might prefer a robot-like DC who is obedient to humans while Germans might prefer a human-like DC who is supportive, reliable, and serious. Based on the findings of the pre-studies as well as related work, two concepts of a DC for SAVs, one robot-like and one human-like, were developed and implemented in three VR scenarios. A sample of 68 participants, divided into the two groups Koreans and Germans (29 Koreans, 39 Germans), evaluated the two concepts, as well as a baseline without DC. A short version of the STAI-S, five items regarding attitude towards SAVs, and the UEQ-S were used for evaluation. The results suggest that a DC improves the feeling of security and the user experience of Korean and German passengers on SAVs. Moreover, the results from the main study indicate that both Koreans and Germans perceive a human-like DC most positively. Implications for the design of a DC for SAVs are discussed. Y1 - 2022 UR - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:bvb:573-35676 CY - Ingolstadt ER -